Board of Directors

  1. About
  2. Board of Directors

The WisconsinEye board of directors is a bipartisan governing body so constituted to ensure that WisconsinEye achieves its mission to provide nonpartisan coverage of state government and public policy discussion.

As a matter of board policy, neither the board nor any individual board member has any involvement in the network’s daily operations or programming decisions.

In March 2022 WisconsinEye founding board member Margaret Farrow passed away. She served as chair for 15 years, continuing actively in that role until early 2022. Margaret was the key inspiration for creation of WisconsinEye, serving in 1999 as co-chair of a Legislature-Citizen committee exploring ways to make state government more accessible to citizens statewide. Her memory lives on in the day-to-day work of WisconsinEye.

The board continues to evolve in response to the network’s mission and vision, technological change, and WisconsinEye’s place in the news and information arena. The board is working to achieve greater geographic, experiential and ethnic representation. We welcome your suggestions and nominations. 

The current board includes:

Mark O’Connell

Chair
Executive director, Wisconsin Counties Association. Wisconsin Higher Education Business Roundtable. Competitive Wisconsin. UW-Extension Board of Visitors. Former positions with the State of Wisconsin.

Brandon Scholz

Vice Chair
Partner, The Capitol Group, Madison; former executive director Republican Party of Wisconsin; former chief of staff to Congressman Scott Klug.

Jim Riordan

Secretary-Treasurer
Retired president, WPS Insurance. Very Special Arts Wisconsin, Madison College Foundation, Madison Rotary, Wisconsin Women’s Health Foundation.

Todd Streicher

President, CyberNINES, Madison/Milwaukee. WI Amateur Hockey Association.

Michael Huebsch

Previously served as Wisconsin Assembly Speaker, Secretary of Wisconsin Department of Administration, and member of the Wisconsin Public Service Commission.

Jim Langdon

Recently retired as vice president for administration, University of Wisconsin System. He served in senior administrative leadership positions through the administrations of five governors. He is a member of the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of the Chippewa. Jim continues to serve a number of volunteer organizations, including a 23-year run as editor of Wisconsin Great Lakes Chronicle, of the Wisconsin Coastal Management Program.

Those who served at the start-up of WisconsinEye (and professional status at that time):

  • Tom Bier, News Director, WISC TV-3, Madison    
  • Dale Cattanach, former Wisconsin state auditor
  • Margaret Farrow, former Lt. Governor and State Senator
  • Bev Greenberg, president, Time Warner Cable Milwaukee
  • Reed Hall, CEO, Marshfield Clinic
  • Diane Hendricks, ABC Supply & Hendricks Holding Co.
  • John Laabs, president, Wisconsin Broadcasters Association
  • Tom Loftus, former Democratic Assembly Speaker & U.S. Ambassador to Norway
  • Jim Riordan
  • David Sanks, station manager, WISC TV-3, Madison
  • Dick Vander Woude, vice president, Wisconsin Education Association Council

Achieving on-air status in May 2007, WisconsinEye expressed gratitude to several who stepped away and welcomed the following who served for a time between 2007 through 2017.

  • Tim Cullen, former Democratic State Senator, Blue Cross Health executive
  • Jill Geisler, former news director WITI TV-6, Milwaukee and faculty, Poynter Institute
  • Richard Graber, former chair of the Wisconsin GOP and former U.S. Ambassador to the Czech Republic. Current president of the Lynde & Harry Bradley Foundation
  • Scott Klug, former news anchor TV-27 Madison, and Republican member of Congress
  • Jeff Snell, former president, Milwaukee Boys & Girls Clubs, COO Argosy Foundation
  • Melody Wilson, former news anchor, WTMJ TV-4, Milwaukee
  • Diane Hendricks
  • David Sanks, former station manager, WISC-TV, Madison