Office of the President & CEO
 Paul Schmitz, CEO
Paul Schmitz founded Public Allies Milwaukee in 1993, and has served as CEO of Public Allies since February, 2000. During Paul's leadership, Public Allies has more than tripled the size of our signature program, created best practice leadership development curriculum and evaluation tools, built innovative alumni programming, and launched The Leadership Practice to disseminate our practices through training and consulting. Paul writes and speaks often on topics of national service, civic engagement, community building, diversity, leadership, nonprofit workforce development, and social entrepreneurship. Paul currently serves as Chair of the Nonprofit Workforce Coalition, Co-chair of Voices for National Service, a faculty member of The Asset-Based Community Development Institute at Northwestern University, and a board member of the UW-Milwaukee Helen Bader Institute for Nonprofit Management. Paul graduated phi beta kappa from UW-Milwaukee in 1994 with a degree in political science, and received their “Graduate of the Last Decade” alumni award. He was also a Next Generation Leadership Fellow with the Rockefeller Foundation. He lives with his three children Maxwell, Maya and Olivia, in Milwaukee.
Pauls@publicallies.org
Cris Ros Dukler, COO
Cris brings more than 20 years experience of executive leadership in the nonprofit, public and private sector. Cris is a reformer who led state regulatory departments in Texas and Wisconsin, and served as COO of a regional nonprofit overseeing $11 million budget and 400 employees working to improve foster care services in 2 states. She was a partner in a venture that invented “electronic benefit transfer cards” for distributing government benefits, e.g. food stamps, preventing fraud and enhancing the dignity of users. After the business was sold, Cris joined UPC Health Network, where she directed an $80 million business employing 350 workers in Wisconsin and Illinois. She started a respiratory therapy business in Illinois that became the most profitable in the company. Cris was an advisory board member of Scholastic, Inc., has served as a vice- chair of Wisconsin Aids Resource Center of Wisconsin, an advisory board member of Public Allies Milwaukee, and has held several other volunteer roles. A cum laude graduate of the Philippine Normal College in Manila, Cris has a Masters in Educational Psychology from the University of Hawaii, Honolulu.
Crisr@publicallies.org
Finance & Administration
Tim Hosch, VP of Finance & Administration
Tim came to Public Allies in February 2003 after serving as the Controller for Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin for the past five years. Previously, he had worked at the American Lung Association and in the private sector. Tim knew the Allies (and alumni) who have served at both the Lung Association and Planned Parenthood, and is very excited to work at Public Allies.
Timh@publicallies.org
Susan Dragieff, Finance and Human Resource Associate
Susan has had a varied career working living and working around the world. She worked accounting and financial analyst positions with BDO Seidman, Siemens, Discovery World Museum, and Robert Half International. She has also worked for a resort in Hawaii, a real estate company in Florida, and formed her own company that developed a time share resort custom inventory system. Susan volunteers for the Wisconsin Humane Society and volunteered in Africa for two weeks with the Cheetah Conservation Fund. Susan has an AA in Accounting and a BA in Business Administration.
Susand@publicallies.org
Marketing & Development
Dawn M. Hutchison-Weiss, Director of Philanthropic Partnerships
Dawn has worked for 15 years in social enterprise as a founder, fundraiser, manager, strategist, and communications expert. A graduate of UW-Madison, Dawn started her career as the National Meetings Director for Campus Outreach Opportunity League (COOL), helping college students engage in community service and advocacy. Dawn then co-founded KaBOOM!, building playgrounds in low-income neighborhoods through corporate challenge grants nation-wide. Later, Dawn served as the VP for Development and Communications at Jumpstart, a national organization committed to teaching early reading skills to children in Head Start programs. Dawn also was an independent consultant working with small and mid-sized organizations on fundraising, communications, and strategy.
Dawnh@publicallies.org
Kenya Evans, Marketing & Development Associate
Kenya is a Public Allies Milwaukee Alumna from the Class of 2006. She has worked in the nonprofit sector for ten years, including, Ko-Thi Dance Company, Discovery World Museum and Girl Scouts of Milwaukee Area. Most recently, she was the Communication Specialist at Manpower Headquarters, an international employment firm. Kenya has danced with various community performance groups in Milwaukee, and has a Creative Writing degree from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. She is a freelance writer, and has had her work published in several publications.
Kenyae@publicallies.org
Melinda Rodriguez, Special Projects Director
She was born and raised in Milwaukee and was first introduced to Public Allies where she had the opportunity to coordinate an event in collaboration with Public Allies and Urban Underground. Soon after, she was hired as an employee of Public Allies to work on future endeavors. Melinda is an event coordinator for “Athletes Helping Youth”, a program which assists professional athletes and entertainers in starting up their own non-profit charities. She has also worked in the restaurant/hospitality business for over 10 years in management and event planning. She has a degree in Human Services and was an employee of the Bureau of Child Welfare for 6 years. For most of her adult life, Melinda has been an active volunteer in various agencies around the city working with at-risk youth areas such as teenage pregnancy, job readiness, anti-graffiti, and tutoring/mentoring. Melinda attended UW-Milwaukee and MATC where she received the “Lamp of Knowledge Award” in her graduating class. She is also a member of honor societies such as Phi Theta Kappa, Who’s Who among Junior Colleges, and the National Dean’s List.
Melindar@publicallies.org
Ally Program
Jenise Terrell, VP of the Ally Program
Jenise manages our AmeriCorps grants and site expansion efforts. Jenise Terrell graduated from Marquette University with a degree in Business Administration and has eight years of experience in non-profit management and fundraising. Jenise came to Public Allies from Lisbon Avenue Neighborhood Development where she served as COO and Interim Executive Director. Jenise served as Director of Resource Development and VP of Field Operations at Public Allies before assuming her current role. She serves on the board of Harambee Neighborhood Association. Jeniset@publicallies.org
Michael Allen, Program Improvement Officer
Michael worked for two years at Public Allies Milwaukee as a Program Manager before moving over to the National Office in October, 2006. Prior to that, he served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Zambia, Africa, where he worked on an anti-poaching project; he lived 60 miles from pavement in a mud hut with no electricity or running water. Michael has bachelor’s degrees in Psychology and Philosophy from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, and half of an aerospace engineering degree from the University of Colorado, Boulder. For more than ten years Michael played electric guitar and toured the country incessantly with a Milwaukee indie-rock band, he’s played in almost every state in the nation.
Michaela@publicallies.org
Margrette Castro, Regional Director
Margrette Castro was the Site Director for Public Allies Fellowship Program at Eagle Rock School and Professional Development Center for three and a half years before joining the National Office as a Regional Director. Prior to joining Public Allies in 2004, Margrette worked in education and community development in the US and abroad. Initially, Margrette worked in Turkmenistan as a Peace Corps volunteer where she taught in the secondary level and trained teachers. She later moved to Uzbekistan to manage first the Teacher’s Excellence Program, and then to direct the Future Leaders Exchange Program, a high school exchange program for students of Uzbekistan to study in the US. Lastly, Margrette worked in Jordan as an Adviser for non-profit and non-governmental organizations. Margrette holds a BA in Psychology and an MA in International Relations, and plans to remain in the education and community.
Margrettec@publicallies.org
Eliza Halsey, Regional Director
Eliza was born and raised in New Haven, CT and has spent the better part of her life and professional career in the Elm City where she lives with her partner, Suvadin. Eliza began her career in youth leadership development at a small NGO in Nepal working on street drama and alternative education with children living and working in the streets of Katmandu. Upon returning to New Haven, Eliza became the AmeriCorps Director at Leadership, Education and Athletics in Partnership (LEAP), a local youth development organization. As the Director of LEAP's AmeriCorps Program, she oversaw 80 AmeriCorps members and led AmeriCorps grant-writing, strategic planning, and the organization's internal evaluation process. While at LEAP, Eliza joined the Planning Commmittee to bring Public Allies to Connecticut. After nearly a year of planning, Connecticut was selected as the site for Public Allies.
Elizah@publicallies.org
Naomi Tannenbaum, Senior Director for Expansion
Naomi inherited her ethic of service from a family dedicated to community enhancement, inclusion, and political action. Naomi began her career working internationally with large agricultural and natural resource management projects in Asia and the Middle East. She attended graduate school to study cultural anthropology and US culture, and moved from the east coast to Taos, NM in 1999 to pursue her dissertation research. While in Taos, Naomi wound up starting a career in service a little closer to home as Director of Development and Evaluation for two years at the Rocky Mountain Youth Corps. In 2001, Naomi became Program Director of the Public Allies program at RMYC and in 2002 joined our national staff as a Continuous Learning Officer providing support and monitoring to local Public Allies programs.
Naomit@publicallies.org
Alumni Relations
David McKinney, VP of Alumni Leadership Network
David served as an Ally in 1996-1997 at the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Milwaukee, and then led youth programs at the Mid-Town Neighborhood Association. In 1998, David joined Public Allies Milwaukee as a neighborhood organizer for the Milwaukee Youth Initiative, a project of Public Allies and the Greater Milwaukee Foundation to empower youth leadership at the neighborhood level. From 1999-2002, David served as a Program Manager at Public Allies Milwaukee, supporting Allies and leading local evaluation efforts. In August, 2002, David joined the national office as Continuous Learning Officer, providing coaching, technical assistance and monitoring for our local programs. He was promoted to Vice President of the Leadership Network in October 2005. David currently serves as Vice President of the Board of Tikkun Ha’ir, a Jewish social justice organization, and on the advisory board of the Beyond Racism Project with the Interfaith Conference of Greater Milwaukee.
Davidm@publicallies.org
Merilou Gonzales, Director of Alumni Relations
Merilou is the "headhunter" for the Public Allies Leadership Network of 2,200 program graduates and former staff, connecting program graduates with each other and with opportunities to advance their leadership. A native of Chicago, Merilou Gonzales has a BA in political science from DePaul Univeristy, an MA in political science from American University, and an MS in Organization Development from the School of Education and Social Policy at Northwestern University with course work at Kellogg Business School. Aftr working on nonprofit and philanthropic partnerships at the Corporation for National Service's Office of Public Liaison, Merilou joined Public Allies in 1995 as Operations Manager, supporting communications, information flow and other servieces among our national office, local offices and board members. Merilou was promoted to Director of Alumni Relations in 2001 to develop and implement a strategy to engage and advance our leadership network.
Meriloug@publicallies.org
Leadership Practice
Michelle Dobbs, VP of Leadership Practice
After five years in the private sector, Michelle returned to Public Allies to launch our new training and consulting arm, The Leadership Practice. Michelle is the VP for Leadership Practice and is accountable for building this new social enterprise and ensuring the quality delivery of products. Previously, Michelle worked as a Creative Learning Solutions Consultant for Aetna and ING Financial Services analyzing, designing and delivering blended learning solutions to remote teams in a global environment, where she won the “Building Bridges Award” for her work. Michelle helped found Public Allies Milwaukee, and then served as national VP for Programs where. A graduate of Howard University School of Communications, Michelle also has numerous certifications in instructional design, e-learning, coaching, advanced consulting, 360 feedback, and Meyers-Briggs analysis.
Michelled@publicallies.org
Todd Wellman, Director of Training & Learning
Todd served as a Public Ally with the Milwaukee Public Theatre in 2002-2003 and served as a second-year Ally at PA Milwaukee in 2003-2004, where he supported alumni development and community outreach activities. Todd served as the AmeriCorps Member Representative on the Wisconsin National and Community Service Board. Todd has a degree in music from St. Norbert College, where he received the Hamre Award for the Arts, he holds a Masters Degree in Liberal Studies from UW-Milwaukee, and he has received Accelerated Learning training from Dave Meier and the Center for Accelerate Learning. Todd has taught Sunday School classes at the First Unitarian Society of Milwaukee, is an actor and composer with Milwaukee theatres, and has volunteered with many organizations including AIDS Walk Wisconsin, Diverse & Resilient, and Aurora Village Adult Day Center.
Toddw@publicallies.org
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