Events

BLAKE ROBERTS CRALL is Madison Forward Fund Program Manager for UW-Madison's Insititute for Research on Poverty.  Her presentation will provide an overview of the Madison Forward Fund, research findings to date from basic income programs across the country, and how Madison's innovative program is helping to grow the basic income movement in Wisconsin and beyond. 

ALISON PRANGE is the Chief Operating Officer of the MKE 2024 Host Committee.  She will explain the MKE 2024 Host Committee's role in welcoming a major global event to Wisconsin and how the convention will impact the state. She looks forward to sharing information with the audience about planning efforts and what to expect while the convention is in Milwaukee.

Last summer, the hit Bravo reality cooking competition “Top Chef” filmed its 21^st season in Madison and Milwaukee. Cap Times food editor LINDSAY CHRISTIANS will go behind the scenes of the upcoming season, which is set to premiere in March. She’ll talk about how “Top Chef” came to the state, why it matters and what it means for the state’s culinary scene. Note: This will be a spoiler-free talk!

ANJA WANNER is the Enid H. Anderson Professor of English at UW-Madison. A syntactician by training, she teaches classes on the structure and history of English and grammar in use. She has published five books on topics like the use of the passive voice in scientific writing and the relationship between syntax and genre. Her favorite word is ‘serendipity.’  In her Rotary presentation, she will illustrate that we cannot understand English spelling if we believe that it is mainly about matching sounds to letters. She will discuss how grammar, history, politics, language contact and human error are contributing to the joys and vexations tied to the English spelling system.

SCOTT MOSLEY is CEO of StartingBlock, Madison's Startup Hub.  He has a background in strategy and operations who applies a multidisciplinary background and partnership development expertise to accelerate growth.  BEN CAMP is co-founder of RehabPath, an online platform that aims to provide in-depth, unbiased information that helps people make educated decisions during a crucial time in their lives.   In their Rotary presentation, they will talk about the journey of founding and growing a tech startup in Madison and their place in the startup ecosystem.

SAMANTHA RUBIN is general manager of the Madison Mallards. As a Florida native, she grew up playing softball and was the captain of her high school softball team. She is entering her third year with the Mallards, and is the first female General Manager in Mallards history, as well as the first General Manager ever of Madison Softball.  She will talk about the opportunity softball is providing to collegiate athletes and why the Mallards decided to bring a team like this to Madison. 

JIM LATTIS is director of the UW Space Place and a native Madisonian.  He manages the historic Washburn Observatory and teaches course in introductory astronomy and its history as well as leading many trips focused on astronimical tourism.  He will talk about the last total solar eclipse to crss the United States for the next 20 years or so.

KEN MAYER is a professor of political science at UW-Madison and a frequent expert witness in voting rights, election administration, and redistricting litigation around the country in both state and federal courts, and has been active in supporting academic freedom and free speech rights at the UW and other universities. The 2024 presidential election has shaped up as almost all observers expected – a rematch between Biden and Trump.  Mayer will place this election within the framework of the goals of the presidential nomination process and explore different forecasts of the general election.  To put it another way:  How did we get here?  And where are we going?

ARMANDO IBARRA is a Vilas Distinguished Achievement Professor in the School for Workers |Department of Labor Education and Chican@ and Latin@ Studies at UW-Madison.  He has garnered much attention for his work from peers and professional associations. But if you want to find him, look in a classroom or a community space.  He will be in these spaces teaching traditional and adult students on working-class history and contemporary issues these communities face. In all his endeavors, he models what folks say in solidarity circles: “We make the road by walking.”

Local governments always want to innovate to address the needs of their residents, but they need thought partners who can do that with them in a collaborative fashion. With the Wisconsin Idea as a guiding light, UW-Madison has talent that can be better leveraged to help these communities tackle their most complex issues.  UW-Madison's UniverCity Alliance managing director and fellow Rotarian GAVIN LUTER will discuss Wisconsin's efforts in collaboration and highlight many examples of innovative practices happening as a result of the partnership. One of those partnership is with Stoughton Mayor TIM SWADLEY who will talk about the partnership to build the Innovation Center Stoughton.

Our club's Annual Rotary Youth Awards Program honors Madison high school students for their scholastic achievements and contributions to the Madison community by receiving Rotary certificates and cash awards.

BEN AUSTIN is the Sustainability Lead at J.H. Findorff & Son, Inc. headquartered in Madison.  He will provide a definition of sustainability and its current trends in the marketplace. Ben will also share some local examples of why organizations are acting on sustainability for a better future.

JangoBio is testing the regenerative power of stem cell technologies to restore hormone balance in humans. This technology provides a personalized medicine approach to increase healthy longevity while reducing the demand on our overburdened healthcare system. Dr. CRAIG ATWOOD will present a brief overview of how sex hormones regulate aging, and how the dysregulation of hormone balance at menopause in women, and andropause in men, leads to the development of age-related diseases. With this knowledge, he will explore the best strategies to restore hormone balance so that we can live to 150! 

For almost 40 years, KAREN OBERHAUSER and her students have conducted research on several aspects of monarch butterfly ecology; this research depends on traditional lab and field techniques, as well as the contributions of a variety of audiences through participatory science.  Karen will describe the amazing biology of migratory monarchs, how we can use data collected by scientists and public to understand what is driving monarch numbers, and what we can do with that information.  Her take-home message will be how we can address species conservation—in our own gardens and beyond—in the face of climate and other human-driven changes.

A Rotary Scholarship Committee annually selects students from each participating Madison high school to receive 4-year MRF Scholarships. Applicants chosen are students with high academic standing and with character and leadership ability who have made contributions to their schools and communities and have financial need.  In addition to financial support, some of these students will have a Rotarian Mentor as a way to help them transition into college and will be available for counsel during their continuing coursework.  

Volunteers have agreed to hold Breakout Luncheons in their offices or conference rooms on June 5.  Members must register in advance to attend one of these luncheons.  Deadline for reservations is May 15, 2024.  Contact the Rotary office for more details and to sign up to attend one of the locations.

RI President GORDON MCINALLY is a member of the Rotary Club of South Queensferry, Lothain, Scotland.  He is a graduate of dental surgery at the University of Dundee, and he owned and operated his own dental practice in Edinburgh.  He says, "My vision is to see Rotary continue to change and reflect the times, especailly at this pivotal moment.  The opportunities with which we have been presented will shape the direction we take over [the next] several years." 

Another Rotary year is coming to a close, and on June 26 we bid farewell Club President CHARLES McLIMANS. We thank him for his Rotary service over this past year. Charles will hand the gavel to incoming president JASON ILSTRUP. Then, following our club's tradition, we will review and highlight key accomplishments over the past year. 

ALEXANDER SHASHKO is a lecturer in the UW Madison Department of Afro-American Studies. He teaches the history of Black popular music from the blues to hip-hop and the history of the Civil Rights Movement.  His classes are generally packed, and he has won teaching awards, including the Honored Instructor Award from University Housing.  He will talk about how the greatest African-American musicians of the 1960s and 1970s both chronicled and inspired the social activism of the time and inspired activists and artists alike.

TOM FARLEY grew up in Madison and graduated from Georgetown University with a degree in Marketing.  He began his career in banking and finance, living and working in the New York City area.  From 1999 to 2012, he ran The Chris Farley Foundation, a nationally recognized non-profit dedicated to substance abuse prevention. Like his brother, Tom was successful in opening the “eyes and ears” of youth audiences through the powerful and effective use of humor.  In 2008 he wrote “The Chris Farley Show”, a New York Time bestselling biography of his late brother, the actor and comedian Chris Farley.  In his Rotary presentation, Tom will chronicle his lifelong journey with his brother, Chris. Touching on lessons learned from Chris and his struggles with addiction, Tom will begin by speaking about his brother’s addiction and the affects it had on his family, and specifically, himself. He will discuss his own journey in recovery and his work as an advocate for those with substance use disorders. Using humor, the family gift, Tom approaches these difficult topics with compassion, generosity, and honesty. 

Madison School & Community Recreation has been Madison’s public recreation provider since 1926. As a department of the Madison Metropolitan School District, MSCR plays a unique role in the community providing accessible recreation and enrichment opportunities to people of all ages while also supporting. MARY ROTH, Executive Director of MSCR, will share some unique ways MSCR supports the community, program opportunities you may be less familiar with and a celebrated partnership between Rotary Club of Madison and MSCR.

Human trafficking is a growing issue within our culture and our communities here in Dane County. This reality impacts each of us in ways we may not understand or initially recognize. MARLENE SORENSON, co-founder and CEO of Zeteo Community, will tell us what it means for us locally to empower individuals with accurate and up-to-date information regarding the complexities of human trafficking around us. We will hear the personal story of trafficking survivor, McKENZIE VALENZA, who was trafficked right here in Madison. Marlene will share about Zeteo Community which is working to meet one of the greatest needs the survivors face which is long term residential programming.  Zeteo Community workis to provide housing, healing and hope for women who have been sexually exploited and their children. She started Zeteo Community eight years ago alongside her husband Kenton. Together they have built a growing community of people working to bring solutions to the problem of human trafficking.

Supervisory Special Agent (SSA) AMANDA KNUTSON entered the FBI in 2010 as a Special Agent assigned to the Los Angeles Field Office.  In 2019, SSA Knutson was selected as SSA for the Milwaukee Field Office to run the Cyber Task Force and the Computer Analysis Response Team (CART). 

CHARLES TUBBS is a fellow Rotarian who joined our club in 2013.  He is an expert in the areas of homeland security, policing, emergency management and human relations.  He is an internationally recognized practitioner and brings expertise and education to public safety, emergency management and preparedness, community-oriented policing, crisis management, leadership, race/gender relations, school safely, and climate change. 

Their presentation will cover some of the following items:

• the scope cybersecurity (What is the geographic area the FBI covers, how many staff do they have, what are the most common/most unusual types of cyber threats/cases they work on), 
• what kind of challenges do they face in trying to keep ahead of technological advances used by hackers. 
• How has AI helped prevent cyber attacks?  And conversely: how does AI make hackers more effective and dangerous? 
• Has the FBI played a role in investigating the recent ransomware attacks