Michael Childers | Board President
Professor Michael Childers received his MS and PhD in Workforce Education & Development from Southern Illinois University – Carbondale. He joined the faculty at School for Workers in 2005 after completing a post-doctorate fellowship and brings diverse management and engineering experience to his teaching in the Department of Labor Education and the Wisconsin School of Business. Professor Childers was inducted into Phi Kappa Phi in 2003 and joined the Phi Kappa Phi executive board in 2018. He assumed the Presidency in 2023.
Debbie Berger | Secretary
Debbie is the Assistant Director of the Undergraduate Academic Awards Office at UW-Madison. She is the main contact for new Phi Kappa Phi initiates and current members, and keeps the chapter running smoothly. Students may contact Debbie by emailing phikappaphi@wisc.edu.
Megan Jo Baumunk | Executive Member
Megan is a teaching faculty in the Department of Rehabilitation Psychology and Special Education. Megan received a BA in Human Relations at the University of Iowa, an MS in Clinical Rehabilitation Counseling from UW-Madison and in 2024 she received a PhD in Rehabilitation Counselor Education from UW-Madison. Megan is passionate about advocating for equity for all individuals, especially for folks with disabilities.
Ralph Grunewald | Executive Member
Ralph is an associate professor in the Department of English and the Center for Law, Society, and Justice. He currently is Mellon-Morgridge Professor of the Humanities. He received his law degree from the University of Mainz and the State of Bavaria, Germany, a Ph.D. in Criminal Law and Criminology from the University of Mainz (summa cum laude) and a Master of Laws Degree (LL.M.) from the University of Wisconsin-Madison Law School.
Ernesto Livorni | Executive Member
Ernesto Livorni is Professor of Italian Language and Literature, Comparative Literature and Religious Studies, at the University of Wisconsin – Madison. His scholarly publications include Avanguardia e tradizione: Ezra Pound e Giuseppe Ungaretti (1998) and T. S. Eliot, Montale e la modernità dantesca (forthcoming). He also translated into Italian and edited Ted Hughes, Cave-Birds: Un dramma alchemico della caverna (2001). He has published articles in Italian and in English on medieval, modern and contemporary Italian literature, English and American literature, Italian-American literature, and comparative literature. Livorni is the founding editor of L’ANELLO che non tiene: Journal of Modern Italian Literature.
Wyl Schuth | Past-President
Wyl is a Degree Planning Coordinator in the Academic Information Management Office of the College of Letters and Science. A native of the Driftless Area, Wyl enlisted in the United States Marine Corps after graduating from culinary school in 2002. He deployed to Iraq in 2004. With support from the G.I. Bill, Wyl attended the University of Wisconsin-Madison as an undergraduate & graduate student, nurturing interests in Eastern European intellectual history and United States civil-military relations. Wyl won teaching awards as an ethics & authenticity instructor in the School of Business and as a teaching assistant in the Integrated Liberal Studies program. He is the poetry editor of The Deadly Writers Patrol, a literary journal concerned with war & its aftermath. Wyl is a lifetime member of the Disabled American Veterans. He joined the Phi Kappa Phi board in 2014 and served as President from 2016 to 2023.
Julie Stubbs | Executive Member
Director of the Undergraduate Academic Awards office, Julie received her BA in History from Marquette University. She received her MA and PhD in History from the University of Michigan. Julie is passionate about academic award opportunities for students and is devoted to helping students obtain both campus-wide and national scholarships.
Annabelle Hoth| Student Vice President
Annabelle is a senior undergraduate majoring in biology and Spanish with leadership and social justice & education certificates. She has been conducting research through Gail Robertson’s Neuroscience lab at the Wisconsin Institutes of Medical Research while also working at St. Mary’s Hospital in Madison. She currently serves as Vice President of Marketing and Media for Badger SPILL, is an active alumnus for Wisconsin Leadership Seminars, and is part of the L&S Honors Program. Annabelle has recently applied to master’s programs in Cardiovascular Perfusion with aspirations to begin her studies soon.
Sunshine Prost | Student Vice President
Sunshine is a senior double majoring in botany and Scandinavian studies with a certificate in environmental studies. She is currently a lab assistant at the USDA Dairy Forage Research Center where she works on projects breeding alfalfa, red clover, and hairy vetch. She is also an active member in F.H. King, an organization focused on sustainable agriculture. She intends to continue her studies in graduate school, focusing on either agricultural plant breeding or temperate forest ecology.
Sophia Schoenfeld | Student Vice President
Sophia graduated in spring, 2024 with a BS degree in Biology and Health Policy. As an undergraduate Sophie received both the Sophomore Research Fellowship and the Hilldale Research Fellowship. In fall 2025 Sophia will start at the UW-Madison School of Medicine and Public Health (UWSMPH).
Brenen Skalitzky | Student Vice President
Brenen is a medical student in the School of Medicine and Public Health (UWSMPH). He graduated from UW-Madison with a BS in Genetics and Genomics in the Spring of 2024 and is a former recipient of the Hilldale Undergraduate Research Fellowship as well as the Paul R. Ebling Pre-Medicine Scholarship. Brenen currently serves as President of the Medical Student Association within the medical school and is passionate about reproductive medicine and advocacy. Brenen has served on the Phi Kappa Phi board since 2023.