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Board of Directors

Dave Callewaert, Treasurer of the Board, has been a member of the Board since 2001. He manages the financial aspects of the organization as the Treasurer of the Board. Dave retired in 1999 from his position as CFO of Johnson Commercial Markets, Inc. after 30 years in a variety of finance, operations, marketing and management roles. He resides in Racine County with his wife, Jean, and owns 40 acres of woodlands in Waushara County. He had owned and operated his own landscaping company for 15 years. He currently serves as the President of the Yorkville School Board in Racine County. He also does independent financial consulting.

Gene Francisco, Secretary of the Board, has been a Wisconsin Family Forest Board member since 2003. He retired in February 2002 as the Chief State Forester with over 34 years of service with the DNR Division of Forestry. Gene was instrumental in raising the visibility of the need to practice sustainable forestry among the Wisconsin Legislature, state agencies and the public. He has recently served as the Executive Director of the Great Lakes Timber Professionals Association. He owns and operates a family forest near Amasa, Michigan and enjoys woodworking and golf in his spare time. Gene and his wife Sue currently reside in Sun Prairie, Wisconsin.

Alan Haney, Past President, has been a member of the Board since 2000 and was president of Wisconsin Family Forests from 2000 to 2003. He is a retired Professor of Forest Ecology, College of Natural Resources, UW-Stevens Point. He has one son, Ryan, who is a professional geologist. His interests include conservation of natural resources, forest management, and wilderness exploration. He and his son own a 158-acre farm on the headwaters of the Tomorrow River. They are reforesting the farm and are operating it for recreational use. In addition to the 30 acres of forest on the farm, they own 88 acres of northern hardwoods in Marathon County that they manage for timber and recreation.

Lowell Klessig, New Hope Alliance, was the founding President of the New Hope Alliance in 2003 and has been on the Board of Directors since then. He is a retired Professor of Human Dimensions of Natural Resource Management at UWSP. He is married to Christine, an attorney, for 25 years. He has two sons. His hobbies include writing, photography, fishing, and wilderness canoeing. He enjoys adventure travel and has traveled to 35 countries. He is a Portage County beef cattle farmer, and shows steers and heifers. He owns property in Portage, Ashland, and Bayfield Counties.

Gerry Mich, Executive Director, has been a member of the Board since 2002 and assumed the role of Executive Director in 2004. He retired in 2001 from an active Family Practice in Appleton after 21 years. He took forestry classes at Fox Valley Technical College. He lives in Appleton with his wife, Margo, and has three children. He owns a cabin and 40 acres with six of his brothers near Rosholt in Portage County. He also has a 213-acre tree farm in Shawano and Outagamie Counties along the Wolf River. He received the first statewide Leopold Conservation Award in Wisconsin in 2006.

Judy Newland, Leon Alliance, is a member of the Board and represents the Leon Alliance in Waushara County. She is originally from Milwaukee and moved to the Pine River area in 1977 where she owns 40 acres of beautiful woods. She retired from Ameritech and started a new career as a medical assistant in 1997. She is a member of the Ice Age Park and Trail Foundation. She enjoys the silent sports such as hiking, bicycling, and snowshoeing. She is currently participating in the Woodland Leadership Institute of Wisconsin.

Martin Pionke, President of the Board, operates a diary farm with his family in Hancock, Wisconsin. He is one of the founding members of the Wisconsin Family Forests Deerfield Alliance in Waushara County. He has served as president of the Deerfield Alliance since the beginning in 1999 and has served as the President of the Board of Wisconsin Family Forests since 2003. He has been instrumental in not only forming the organization, establishing programs, and making presentations, but also in setting the tone and the philosophy of Wisconsin Family Forests. His family owns a 150-acre diary farm that includes 40 acres of woodlands.