Sarah Pabian – Executive Director

Sarah spends most of her days in the Lake Wingra watershed and has been raising her family here for more than a decade. Her role is a perfect opportunity to put everything she’s learned—and continues to learn—about Lake Wingra to work, helping ensure this community gem can be enjoyed by everyone. Sarah earned her BS from UW–Madison and her MS and PhD in Wildlife Ecology from Penn State University. She loves exploring Lake Wingra and the surrounding area with her family, whether by foot, bike, boat, ice skates, skis, and more.

Lisa Grueneberg – Chair

Lisa joined the board of directors in 2023. She enjoys stand up paddleboarding and fishing in Lake Wingra, observing wildlife and monitoring lake conditions, and has been the Clean Lakes Alliance deep water monitor for Lake Wingra since 2021. She has a background in computer science, and has spent the years since retiring from her job as a software developer at Epic enjoying the lake and getting more involved in the community around it, including volunteering as the communications and history chair with the Dudgeon-Monroe Neighborhood Association.

Ben Becker – Co-chair

Ben Becker joined the Friends of Lake Wingra Board in 2024. In his regular day-to-day work, Ben works in conservation, focusing on agriculture and water quality. Ben also volunteers at the UW Arboretum and loves engaging with community members during the restoration work parties and enjoying this unique feature of the Wingra watershed. Ben also enjoys hiking, kayaking, and raising bees here in Madison. 

Peter Gascoyne – Treasurer

Peter joined the board in 2023. He is an economist who worked with a wide range of industries, from health care and manufacturing to telecom and insurance. A number of projects he worked on involved measuring the economic and environmental impact of proposed environmental or safety regulations, natural resource damage assessments, and comparisons of the environmental impact from using disposable vs reusable products. He received a master’s degree in economics from San Francisco State University and a Master of Arts in Law and Diplomacy from the Fletcher School. A passion for matters of water came from his Peace Corps experience in Senegal, living in a village with virtually no water.

Ann Kinsley – Secretary

Ann joined the board in 2025. She is the global director of talent for an international consulting firm and has a deep background in fundraising, grants management, and business operations for community groups and nonprofit organizations. Originally from the lakes region of Maine, Ann has adopted Lake Wingra as a ‘home away from home’ for all seasons – swimming, ice skating, long runs and hikes around the Lake and through the Arboretum, birdwatching, and many, many rides around the bike loop with her family. She loves talking with members of the community about the favorite spots, animals, birds, and plants that make Lake Wingra special to them and sharing information about steps we can all take to protect the lake for generations to come.

Amy Callies – Board Member

Amy joined the board in 2025. Amy has several degrees from UW Madison in Ed Psych, Elementary Ed, Preschool/ Kindergarten and is Nationally Board Certified. She taught at the elementary level for more than 30 years.  Amy served as the Middleton-Cross Plains School District school forest coordinator for 15 years. She participated in the UW Arboretum Earth Partnership for Schools course which focused on restoring the land using native plants. She facilitated a service learning project that engaged students in planting a 4,000 plant rain garden. Amy wrote several grants that launched the Wingra Workshop for Teachers Courses and Free Science Thursday programs. Amy has worked as an environmental educator at Aldo Leopold Nature Center for 14 years. She is passionate about providing inquiry-based, hands-on, place-based environmental activities for children, families, and individuals. Amy is a lifelong Madisonian who kayaks with her husband Peter on Lake Wingra often. Amy loves to go hiking, paddling, cross country skiing, ice skating, birding, and gardening in the Wingra Watershed!

Brett Jones – Board Member

Brett joined the board of directors in 2025. Originally from Iowa, he attended the University of Iowa (Go Hawks!) as an undergrad, and has a master’s degree in Sustainable Urban Planning from The George Washington University. He arrived in Madison (his wife’s hometown) in 2016 after several years in Washington, DC and Chicago. He currently serves as the Director of Employer Engagement at the UW-Madison School of Business, helping undergraduate students launch their careers, and also managed Madison’s BCycle system in 2018. Prior to working in higher education, he served as program manager working to improve community access to local active and public transportation systems. He enjoys exploring Lake Wingra and the surrounding areas with his wife and two young daughters, running in the UW-Madison arboretum and supporting the local community. As part of the board, he hopes to leverage his background in partnership development and marketing to foster better community engagement and support for stewardship of the Lake Wingra watershed.

Sarah Kraszewski – Board Member

Sarah joined the board of directors in 2025. She first came to Madison in 2004 to obtain her masters degree in Land Resources from the Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies at UW-Madison and has been working in the natural resources field in Madison and the surrounding communities ever since. Sarah is a Senior Ecologist and Project Manager at Heartland Ecological Group where she prepares restoration and stewardship plans for prairies, wetlands, woodlands, and stormwater infrastructure projects; guides the implementation of ecological restoration work; and consults on a variety of environmental topics. Sarah lives at Arboretum Cohousing with her husband and child, and is grateful for views of the lake and daily adventures along Lake Wingra’s shores throughout the seasons.

David Ortiz – Board Member

David joined the board of directors in 2023. He is currently a PhD candidate at UW-Madison’s Center for Limnology. He completed his B.S. (‘17) and M.S. (’19) both in environmental science at Iowa State University where he studied wetlands and shallow lakes. His current work focused on the spatial differences of water chemistry found in the surfaces of lakes. He is involved with organizations on campus that help to connect underrepresented undergraduate students with mentors such as SACNAS and McNair. David enjoys recreating within Lake Wingra’s watershed, gardening, hiking, and camping throughout the state of Wisconsin.

Sylvia Ramirez – Board Member

Sylvia joined the board of directors in 2026. She loves Lake Wingra in all seasons and regularly checks on the beaver lodge. Sylvia grew up in Florida and feels right at home in the marsh and water of the lake. Sylvia received her bachelor’s degree in English from the University of Florida and masters (public affairs) and Ph.D. (education leadership and policy analysis) from UW-Madison. She currently serves as the Executive Vice President, Finance & Administration at Madison College, where she gets to help care for marshlands around Starkweather Creek. Her perfect Lake Wingra day would include hiking or running to a spring with her husband, spotting a heron, and digging in the sand at the Vilas Beach with her sons.

Maddie Smith – Board Member

Maddie joined the board of directors in 2025. She loves exploring the Lake Wingra watershed and learning about the people, plants, and animals that call it home. As the Community Education Coordinator at the UW-Madison Arboretum, she organizes programs for people of all ages with the goal of cultivating wonder and a deeper connection to the land (and water!) Her perfect Lake Wingra day would include hiking in the Arboretum, looking for tadpoles in the Vilas Park lagoon, and getting a sweet treat from somewhere on Monroe Street.