Meet the Speakers
Joy Cardin
Joy Cardin, moderator, is a retired Wisconsin Public Radio talk show host, member of the League of Women Voters of Dane County and serves on the League of Women Voters of Wisconsin Board of Directors.
Heather DuBois Bourenan
Heather DuBois Bourenan is executive director of Wisconsin Public Education Network, a statewide coalition of supporters of strong public schools. WPEN's work is driven by a passion for ensuring all of our public schools provide equal opportunity for every student to succeed. Healther holds a bachelor's degree in English and a masters in African American and African Studies and her career includes many years of teaching and K-12 outreach experience at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and Madison College. Her commitment to local-level action can be seen in her engagement in Sun Prairie, where she serves as a chief election inspector and is also co-founder of the SPARC Local Action Fund, a non-profit that addresses hunger and equity issues in Sun Prairie public school and a co-founder of Support Sun Prairie Schools. The work of local teams around the state to support strong public schools has been recognized with Friend of Education awards from WEAC and the Department of Public Instruction and the Rural Advocacy Award from the Wisconsin Rural Schools Alliance.
Gina Green-Harris
Gina Green-Harris, MBA, is the director of the Wisconsin Alzheimer’s Institute Regional Milwaukee Office, as well as director of the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health Center for Community Engagement and Health Partnerships (CCEAHP) in Milwaukee. Gina is also the director of the All of Us Research program in Milwaukee, and director of the Lifecourse Initiative for Healthy Families (LIHF).
Laura Dresser
Laura Dresser, MSW, PhD, University of Michigan; BA, Rice University, is associate director of the Center on Wisconsin Strategy (COWS). A labor economist and expert on low-wage work and workforce development systems, she has both written about ways to build stronger labor market systems and worked extensively with labor, business and community leaders in building them. Laura has written about low-wage jobs, care work, inequality and labor market reform. As a co-editor of The Gloves-Off Economy: Workplace Standards at the Bottom of America's Labor Market, she is currently working on the connections between quality care, quality jobs and minimum wages. In 2017, Laura Dresser joined the University of Wisconsin-Madison Sandra Rosenbaum School of Social Work as a clinical assistant professor.
Ellen Penwell
Ellen Penwell is the membership and events manager at the League of Women Voters of Wisconsin. She provides management support to local Leagues throughout the state, serves as the state League liaison with new League interest groups, heads the Membership and Leadership Development Program, and coordinates the League’s statewide events. Ellen served as president of the LWV Whitewater Area for eight years and recently concluded a 40 year career in the museum profession.