New hires
Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce announced that Jacob Fischer has joined the organization as its new director of communications and marketing.
M3 Insurance welcomed Tim Hoel as its first-ever director of personal lines.
SSM Health hired Bill Boyd as its new St. Agnes Hospital vice president of operations.
Expert Real Estate Partners hired Jessica Engle and Joe Decker as agents.
McMahon, Neenah, hired Brian Bending as a senior public safety specialist, Gabe Sleight as a land survey technician and Mario Zerngast as a senior civil engineering technician.
The Lake Companies, Green Bay, added Keith Worthington as customer success manager and Eric Allen as sales manager.
Promotions
Cruisers Yachts announced Matt VanGrunsven has been named director of business development and Sarah Long has been appointed director of marketing.
Lori Sealock has been named president of Eagle Performance Plastics Inc. in Appleton. Sealock has been with Eagle for 24 years. Prior to joining Eagle, Sealock held accounting roles in a Fortune 100 company and was accounting lead at Dunsirn Industries. Jared Bailin, previously president and CEO, will remain in the role of chief executive officer.
Keller, Inc. announced the promotions of Ryan Sheehy to service order foreman, Alex Pelishek to mechanic foreman, Mike Dunn to building leadman and Oracio Ortiz Dominguez to temporary building foreman. Keller also hired Everett Lamers and Jarred Mertens as building craftsmen.
Ren Scott has been promoted by the Experimental Aircraft Association to vice president – business development, sales and events. Scott joined EAA in July 2021 as a partnership development manager. He was promoted to director of business development in December 2022.
Awards
Alyssa Higley, loan processing officer at The Stephenson National Bank, Marinette, has been selected as the recipient of the 2024 Mary L. Staudenmaier WINGS Award. Higley has devoted 150 volunteer hours to seven different organizations in both volunteer and leadership roles in the past year.
Rachel Lewandowski, an SSM Health St. Agnes Hospital Endocrinology nurse practitioner, is being recognized as an SSM Health One of a Kind Award winner. Kevin Cushing, an SSM Health Laboratories lab support technician, and Nora Kermgard, an SSM Health at Home – Home Health volunteer, have been named recipients of the Be Exceptional Everyday Award.
Graystone Consulting Institutional Consulting Directors Jake Williquette and Becky McCormick have been named to Forbes Magazine’s 2024 list of Best‑In‑State Wealth Advisors.
Two SSM Health registered nurses, Heather Evenson and Renee Weier, were recently recognized by the UW Oshkosh College of Nursing and the College of Nursing Board of Visitors at the annual Nightingale Awards ceremony.
Honkamp CPAs Greg Burbach, Katie Thomas and Holly Cushman have been recognized in Forbes’ inaugural America’s Best-In-State CPAs list.
Seven alumni are being honored with 2025 Lawrence University Alumni Awards. They are Katherine (Wroblewski) Diop, Rebecca Doyle‑Morin, Michael Johnson, Marjorie Liu, Steven Wereley and Charles and Janice Woodward.
The Madison and Northeast Wisconsin chapters of the Public Relations Society of America announced the winners of the 2025 WisCOMsin Awards. Those selected for the practitioner awards included: Communicator of the Year Kenyon Kemnitz, marketing and communications manager at Rainbow Community Care; Young Professional of the Year Mack Fritz, marketing director for Americana Pipedream Apparel, Appleton; and PR/Communications Team of the Year SSM Health Wisconsin Region Marketing & Communications Team.
Board appointments
The board of directors of the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation has unanimously elected Pamela Boivin as its new chair. Boivin was appointed by Gov. Tony Evers to the WEDC Board in 2024 and has been a member of WEDC’s Audit and Budget Committee since 2022. Boivin, a member of the Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin, currently serves as a program manager at the Native Community Development Financial Institution Network. In addition, she owns Boivin Excavating.
The Fox Valley Technical College District board appointment committee has selected Molly Steiner to fill a vacant position on the FVTC District board of trustees.
Aspiro appointed Israel Santiesteban‑Barrientos and Josh Moon to its board of directors.
The Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection announced the members of the sixth Wisconsin Agriculture Youth Council. Northeast Wisconsin members are: Blake Brancel, Endeavor; Alison Gartman, Sheboygan; and Owen Moore, Two Rivers.
Progress Lakeshore Executive Director Jamie Zastrow has been selected for the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago’s advisory council on small business, community and economic development, agriculture and labor. Zastrow will serve as part of the council’s small business, agriculture and labor sub-council.
Transitions
Associated Banc-Corp announced that Chief Human Resources Officer Angie DeWitt will retire after a 17-year career with the company. DeWitt began her career at Associated Bank in 2008 in finance and advanced to chief human resources officer in 2019. The company also announced the promotion of Steven Zandpour to executive vice president, head of consumer and business banking, effective July 1. Zandpour will succeed David Stein, who has announced his intent to retire at the end of 2025.
Education
UW Oshkosh student Chaewon Yoon claimed top honors at the recent Culver Business Model Competition at UWO. Yoon pitched Curb Map, an AI-powered platform designed to transform 2D images and drawings into high-precision 3D models. She earned a $3,000 prize. Taking second was Jhanik Posnanski, who took home $1,500 in prize money, and in third was Emma Hady, who won $500 in prize money. Craig Culver matched the cash prizes.
Two Lawrence University faculty members have been named Associated Colleges of the Midwest Academic Leadership Fellows. Nora Lewis, associate dean of faculty and associate professor of music, and Monica Rico, the Robert S. French Professor of American Studies and professor of history, will begin their terms as ACM Fellows July 1.
All the rest
Eighteen Northeast Wisconsin leaders recently completed the Nonprofit Leadership Institute program. They are Bob Adams, executive director, Foundations for Living; Chantal Baseke, co-director, Hope and Help Together; Ieva Engel, executive director, Oshkosh Area Humane Society; Maria Guzman, executive director, CASA of the Fox Cities; Sara Hanneman, assistant executive director, Future Neenah; Cathy Harvath, executive director, Fox Cares Foundation; Hilary Haskell, executive director, CARES Fox Cities; Hannah Keesler, clinical services director, Samaritan; David Mahan, operations director, Mission of Hope House; Natalie Nelson, executive director, Women in Technology Wisconsin; Carlos Salazar, executive director, Casa Hispana; Erica Suchyta, executive director, Neenah Historical Society; Lauren Sumnicht, special events coordinator, Boys & Girls Club of the Fox Valley; Leslie Thede, program support specialist, Respite Care Association of Wisconsin; Anne Van De Hey, family services manager, Habitat for Humanity Oshkosh; Jennifer Ven Rooy, chief operating officer, Lakeside Packaging Plus; Kiara West, community engagement director, LEAVEN; and Molly Yatso Butz, executive director, Day by Day Shelter.
