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.
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.
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.
Ralph Grunewald | Executive Member
Ralph is an Associate Professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison with appointments in the Department of English. He is a German-trained lawyer and received his PhD in Criminal Law from the University of Mainz (Germany) and a Master of Laws Degree (LL.M.) from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
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.
Lauren Silber | Executive Member
Lauren graduated from UW-Madison in 2019 with degrees in Psychology and Human Development & Family Studies. She received training in how to best interact with a variety of parents and children of all backgrounds and abilities. Additionally, Lauren dedicated time to her independent research on campus funded by the Wisconsin Idea Fellowship and by a Hilldale Undergraduate/Faculty Research Fellowship. She is currently a lead researcher and child care specialist at RISE, a Dane County non-profit that provides wraparound services for early childhood, mental health, and wellness. Lauren has served on the Phi Kappa Phi board since 2019.
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.
Megan Jo Baumunk | Student Vice President
Megan is a PhD student in the Rehabilitation Counselor Education program. She received her BA in Human Relations at the University of Iowa and her MS in Clinical Rehabilitation Counseling from UW Madison. Megan is passionate about advocating for equity for all individuals, especially for folks with disabilities.
Maggie Hauser | Student Vice President
Maggie is a junior studying Consumer Behavior and Marketplace Studies with certificates in Digital Studies and Entrepreneurship. She currently serves on the board of Mazon and is involved in many other campus clubs. Maggie is eager to enter the entertainment field and has been working with Max through Wassarman Next Gen for two years. She plans to study abroad in Barcelona in the spring where she will further her love for global marketing.
Annabelle Hoth | Student Vice President
Annabelle is a junior 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. She currently serves as Vice President of Media for Badger SPILL, she is on the alumni board for Wisconsin Leadership Seminars, and is an active member of AMSA. Annabelle is currently studying for the MCAT with aspirations of attending medical school or perfusionist school.
Sunshine Prost | Student Vice President
Sunshine is a junior 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 is a junior studying Biology and Health Policy. With support from both the Sophomore Research Fellowship and Hilldale Research Fellowship, Sophia has conducted research since her freshman year in the Hernandez lactation physiology lab and Wiltbank reproductive endocrinology lab. She is also involved in the NIH as an Office of Research on Women’s Health intern and is completing a systematic review studying gender as a social and structural variable in health research under Dr. Elizabeth Barr. Sophia’s contributions also extend beyond research, as she is active in CALS as a teaching assistant and in her hometown as a medical assistant in an outpatient clinic. Sophia aspires to apply to medical school and is thrilled to be serving on this board.
Brenen Skalitzky | Student Vice President
Brenen is a senior majoring in genetics/genomics with certificates in criminal justice, global health, and health policy. He currently serves on the executive board of the UW Médecins Sans Frontières chapter, while also involved in other organizations including SACNAS, the Wildlife Society, the Global Health Alliance, and Badger Crops Club. With the support of a Hilldale Undergraduate Research Fellowship, Brenen conducts ecology research on campus in the Townsend Lab, and studies embryology within the Pelegri Lab. Brenen is currently an applicant for medical school to fulfill his aspirations of becoming a physician.