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DairyLand - Not DataLand
Democracy 's Response to Megascale AI Data Centers
AI poses a serious challenge to our 21st century democracy since it takes human beings and public accountability out of decision making. In this session we will talk about the threats that unbridled AI development poses for our society -="-" in particular rural communities where hyper data centers entail land grabbing, extreme water loss, and voracious energy consumption. We will alsoalk about successful grassroots campaigns to stop this trend.
Much of what we call 'progress' has often been at the behest of and primarily provided economic benefit to the few rather than the many. This has only accelerated under our current administration, and with the proliferation of data centers and all that comes along with it, including more use of fossil fuels that threaten our future on this planet. We’ll talk about how this is evolving and what we can do about it.
Presenters:
Don Ferber
BIO:
Don grew up in central Illinois and has lived in Madison since 1974. A long-time environmental activist, Don has been a Sierra Club volunteer for 25 years. He currently chairs the Wisconsin Chapter, and is the lead Beyond Coal team volunteer that is fighting fossil fueled power plants, and working to provide clean and equitable energy to our state.
Don has seen how many environmental issues mirror what’s occurring with our democracy and the threats to it, and knows that without a functioning democracy, the planet we live on will suffer too. As our country seems to be lurching towards oligarchy, he places his faith in people and community as the path forward to a better future.
Contact:
Email: d_ferber@sbcglobal.net
John Peck
BIO:
John E. Peck grew up on a family farm in MN and now operates Yellow Dog Flowers and Produce with his partner near Brooklyn, WI. For the last two decades, he has been the executive director of Family Farm Defenders and has been a longtime board member of the WI Network for Peace and Justice (WNPJ). He has a PhD in Land Resources from UW-Madison's Nelson Institute and is a part-time Economics instructor at Madison College.
Contact:
Email: familyfarmdefenders@yahoo.com
Phone: 608-345-3918
Website: www.familyfarmers.org
Fund WI Public Education: See You in Court!
Every child in Wisconsin deserves a well-rounded education in safe, supportive classrooms. But decades of underfunding have stretched many public schools to the verge of crisis, leading to larger class sizes, crumbling school infrastructure, and fewer opportunities for our students. This didn’t happen by accident — it’s the result of the state legislature failing to meet their constitutionally-mandated responsibility to adequately fund public schools. Wisconsin can and should honor its promise of a universal, quality public education for all our children. Because when we invest in our schools, kids thrive, families stay, and communities grow stronger. In 2026, we’re taking action.
Students, parents, advocates, educators, school districts, and community members who support stronger schools in Wisconsin have come together in the Fund Wisconsin Public Schools Coalition to support a landmark lawsuit against the Wisconsin Legislature for failing to adequately fund public schools. No matter where we live or what our politics are, we all want kids to be safe, supported, and prepared for their futures – and this lawsuit is a critical step toward fulfilling that commitment. Attorneys from Law Forward and WEAC make up this litigation team.
Presenters:
Carlene Bechen
BIO:
Carlene Bechen is a retired Madison Metropolitan School District educator and former Fair Maps Coalition State Organizing Director. Carlene’s pro-democracy work spans almost 60 years, from canvassing in her home state of North Carolina when her dad ran for local school board to engaging Wisconsinites to understand the impacts of partisan gerrymandering on their lives. During those years, Carlene has been involved at all levels of activism from stuffing envelopes and making phone calls to coordinating volunteers and building local organizing teams.
Carlene is a founding member of the Oregon Area Progressives, one of Wisconsin's most active grassroots organizations. She served two terms as Village Trustee in Oregon WI. In addition, Carlene has managed several successful local races for Oregon School, Village and Town Boards, and has volunteered on multiple county, state, and national races. Carlene is currently Community Liaison at Law Forward, a nonpartisan nonprofit pro-democracy law firm based in Madison, WI.
Contact:
Email: cbechen@lawforward.org
Phone: 608-513-7655
Julie Underwood
BIO:
Julie Underwood is a nationally recognized authority on school law. She is the author of many books, briefs, and articles. She was the education expert on the ALEC Exposed series and project. She was the General Counsel for NSBA in Washington, D.C. from 1997 to 2005, where she was involved in more that 20 cases in front of the U.S. Supreme Court. From 2005 to 2015 she was Dean of the School of Education at UW Madison, which has been consistently ranked as the #1 School of Education in the nation. She has continuously served on the board of the grassroots advocacy organization, Wisconsin Public Education Network, since its creation. Currently she serves on the Wisconsin’s League of Women Voters legislative committee.
Contact:
Email: julie.madison.wisconsin@gmail.com
Phone: 6084692287
Keeping Communities at the Center: Refusing to Be Taken
Data centers have touched a nerve with the public, across the political spectrum. There are specific arguments against them, some reasonable, some not. The broader issue, though, is this Festival's theme: we elect people to represent us, and they aren't. The sheer scale of data centers and their landscape-changing, long-lasting impact on a small community is bringing people together to effect change, and put the people back at the center of local government decisions.
Residents can be sidelined when corporate interests, regulatory systems, and local decision-makers advance projects without meaningful public participation. Panelists will share lessons from grassroots organizing, public-records research, and community advocacy, with a focus on how residents can reclaim a meaningful role in decisions that shape their communities. A healthy republic depends on an engaged public and public officials who treat the public interest as their central responsibility.
Communities need to understand the threat of many of these hyperscale data center developments and related infrastructure (advanced by monopoly utilities and their majority shareholders), appreciating that state regulators are not protecting us and local governments and communities need to comprehensively protect themselves from the health and environmental harms that are ongoing/being proposed.
Presenters:
Prescott Balch
BIO:
Prescott is a retired technology professional who successfully resisted a data center in the Village of Caledonia. Since then, he has been helping communities across the upper midwest understand both risks and rewards with hyperscale data center proposals. He also ran for and won a seat on his village board, and now serves as Village President.
Contact:
Email: prescott.balch@gmail.com
Phone: 262-880-7248
Website: www.widatacenterfacts.org
Dr. Brittany Keyes, PT, DPT
BIO:
Dr. Brittany Keyes is a physical therapist and the Clean Air Policy Manager with the statewide nonprofit, Healthy Climate Wisconsin (HCW). With HCW she organizes with health professionals advancing climate action, meets with state lawmakers and regulators, testifies against new, large pollution sources, and presents at health professional conferences and community meetings about the health harms of AI hyperscale data centers and methane gas plants. Brittany has also served on Beloit's City Council 2020-2022, and currently serves as the Environmental and Climate Justice Chair with the NAACP Wisconsin State Conference and co-lead of Rock County Neighbors for Responsible Development.
Contact:
Email: brittany@healthyclimatewi.org
Winona Storms
BIO:
Winona Storms is a Wisconsin-based nonprofit founder, community organizer, advocacy strategist, and investigative writer. As founder of the Wisconsin Alliance for Responsible Development (WARD), she works alongside communities to advance transparent, accountable decision-making around large-scale technology, energy, and development projects. Her work combines research, public education, digital organizing, and grassroots mobilization to ensure residents have a meaningful voice in decisions affecting their land, resources, and future.
Money for the Republic
One particular threat to the Republic was close to Ben Franklin's heart.The First Bank of the US was modeled on the same private money system the king had used to keep the colonies down.. Franklin knew the potential of publicly controlled money supply, because, as a youth, he had helped design the prosperity producing Pennsylvania scrip.
We'll skim 250 years of monetary experiments, name some results of today's private Fed system, and we'll talk about a path back to Constitutional money, introduced asThe NEED Act and now, ready on the shelf for crisis response
Presenter
Mary Sanderson:
BIO:
Confused Wisconsin farm girl ran off to South America in the 60’s and fell in love with the infinity of landscapes and peoples. The violence of extreme wealth gap did lay down some questions in her brain. Why? How? Back here in 1988, five generations of Mary's family history was foreclosed, intensifying the questions. How exactly are people dispossessed and shamed? There is an answer with a long, intentionally hidden history: all we have for money is bank credit, designed purposely to consolidate wealth and power by way of interest, inflation and taxes. Shining a light on this mean fact of modern life is a necessary step toward Homo Sapiens' potential survival.
Contact:
Email: marrymerrymoney@gmail.com
The Multi-Reform Movement Coalition:
Needed to Keep Our Republic
The evisceration of our Republic accelerates – we are not currently keeping it. To keep it, we must build a WI Reform Movement Coalition, to not only get big money out of politics, but also advance effective voting approaches and create representative districts. George Penn (of WIUTA) and three other coalition organization leaders will discuss how we are building this movement. We are seeking other coalition partners to help us keep our republic – maybe including one of your favored organizations
Our Republic depends on a engaged electorate that holds office holders responsible to the Constitution. Unfettered money in politics takes the politcal power from citizens and gives those with outsized means outsized impact.
Presenters
Tracy Hunter
BIO:
George Penn
BIO:
George grew up in Yonkers, NY and joined the Navy in 1971. He was a Reactor Operator on a submarine. Leaving the Navy in 1977, George came straight to UW Madison to get a degree in Nuclear Engineering. Inspired by the energy crisis in the 1980s, he received a Master’s in Energy and Environmental Management at the School of Environmental Studies, UW Madison. In the last 20 years of his working career, he ran his consulting company, Global Energy Options. In 2012, he shut down his business to join the movement to get big money out of politics. He is now a part of a new Reform Movement that looks at other political system reforms. He cherishes working with many Wisconsin patriots to reclaim our democracy.
Contact:
Email: georgepenn51@gmail.com
Phone: 608-244-6436
Website: WIUTA.org
Mark Pfost
BIO:
Pfost enlisted in the U.S. Army right after high school. He did his hitch, and then drove truck for a few years before enlisting again, this time in the U.S. Navy. He retired from the Navy in 1996 and then earned BS degrees in geography and wildlife ecology at Madison and a MS degree in biology while in Nebraska. He worked for the US Fish & Wildlife Service on the Upper Miss Refuge in Illinois, the Rainwater Basins Wetland Management District in Nebraska, and for his last twelve years as a Partners for Fish & Wildlife biologist in Wisconsin. Nine months after retiring he “unretired” to help a conservation NGO restore wetland habitats on Wisconsin DNR properties and still hasn’t retired all the way yet. He has been with Veterans for All Voters (originally Veterans for Political Innovation) since its inception.
Contact:
Email: mark.pfost@gmail.com
Beverly Speer
BIO:
Presenters
Mary Bottari
BIO:
Law Forward's Mary Bottari has advanced progressive policies as the chief of staff for the Madison Mayor, as a legislative aide at the state and federal level, and as a principal strategist for nonprofits dealing with some of the most complex areas of policy making.
Contact:
Email: mbottari@lawforward.org
Jeff Mandel
BIO:
Law Forward's Jeff Mandell is widely recognized as one of Wisconsin’s leading experts in election-law and constitutional litigation. In 2020, as special counsel to Governor Tony Evers, Jeff played a lead role in repelling the bevy of attacks against Wisconsin’s election results. Jeff has handled a variety of high-profile cases before the Wisconsin Supreme Court, including on absentee-ballot drop boxes, indefinitely confined voters, attempted purges of the voter rolls, separation of powers, and other issues.
Celebrate Diversity
Artist Activist Dawn Shegonee's multi-media presentation will take you on a historical, transformational journey, creating a new common memory of our interconnectedness with unity, justice, hope & discovery. We are facing the many current crises of our age, from climate change, to water is life, to the land, and social justice. We are at the crossroads of truth.....of untold histories, science, technology & Indigenous Wisdom, in saving our democracy, and creating sustainable solutions for our future generations to come.
Early Learning Educator Genny King will have 2 tables of information: Indigenous Books and Advocacy materials as well as a table of information about the National Association for Multicultural Education.
Presenters
Genny King
BIO:
Genny is a dedicated advocate for Indigenous Peoples. With 29 years in diverse educational settings, Genny’s career began in the Menominee Indian School District, where she taught across all grade levels from pre-kindergarten to 12th grade. Genny’s experiences with her Indigenous students, colleagues, and Tribal Elders profoundly shaped her understanding of Indigenous culture and history. She continues to expand her knowledge by relearning history from Indigenous perspectives, ensuring that her advocacy is both informed and respectful. In her current role as an Early Learning Educator in the Sun Prairie Area School District, Genny is a proactive member of the Early Learning Multicultural Committee. She is instrumental in fostering inclusive educational practices by providing professional development that ensures accurate and respectful representation of diverse cultures in early learning settings. She also shares her commitment to multicultural learning by speaking/presenting at the local and statewide levels. Her goal is to inspire and equip educators with the knowledge, skills, and confidence needed to integrate culturally responsive teaching practices into their classrooms.
Advocacy and memberships:
First Nations Flags Committee of the Sun Prairie School District
Wisconsin Indian Education Association (WIEA)
Wisconsin Chapter President of the National Association of Multicultural Education (NAME).
Contact:
Email: kingga@charter.net
Website: nameorg.org
Dawn Shegonee
BIO:
Dawn is a Global Artist, Activist and, with her husband Art, Co-Founder of the world renowned Call for Peace Drum & Dance Company. They represent seven Multicultural Dance Company Directors, coming together in performing a circle dance of unity called, "Dancing the Dream, A New Hope For Humanity." They have been promoting cross cultural understanding through performance art in the US and around the world. The Company holds letters of endorsement from Dr. Arun Gandhi; the late Congressman John Lewis; President Bill Clinton; Charlotte Black Elk; and Former Mayor of Madison, WI, Paul Soglin.
Dawn is a treasured member of WGN. She's been with the Festival since its inception 17 years ago.
Whose Free Press Is It Anyway?
Never in our history has the free press reached a critical point in our history. We need to maintain this freedom if we wish to continue this democracy for future generations. Sean Bode will discuss latest trends in news reporting which includes the FCC, legacy and social media and the long-term effects.
Presenter
Sean Brian Bode
BIO:
Sean began his activism during his youth in Charles City, Iowa. He became a permanent Wisconsinite when he moved to Madison and now resides in Mazomanie, the birthplace of WGN. He's a former Toastmasters member, an award-winning speaker, screenwriter and filmmaker. He keeps an active eye on the changes in media and how news is presented.
Contact:
Email: seanbode0618@gmail.com
Presenters
Diane Cain
BIO:
My name is Diane Cain. I retired from a 45 year career in nursing in 2018. Upon my retirement I vowed to commit my time and energy to wildlife advocacy which includes Rights of Nature. My husband and I sold the apple orchard/blueberry farm we established in 1976 to our daughter and son-in-law in 2020, but we remain active on our farm. My commitment to wildlife advocacy has lead me to serve as a delegate representing my county on the Wisconsin Conservation Congress 2020-2024, the 2021 DNR Wolf Harvest Committee, the WI DNR 2022 Wolf Management Plan & to serve as a member of several wildlife advocacy groups. I have a special interest in wolves and their importance in our ecosystem. I have been a speaker to various groups on behalf of wildlife and to the WI Natural Resources Board. I presented a Rights Of Nature petition to Governor Evers Office asking for Rights of Nature to be part of our WI Constitution. I was chosen as Jackson County, WI Woman in History in 2025 for my work in wildlife advocacy. In 2025 I received a certificate of completion for the Earth Law Summer Course.
Contact:
Email: caindiane68@gmail.com
Phone: Landline 715-963-2303
Cell 715-896-9646
Keeping the Republic: Why Disability Rights Matter to Everyone
As a disability rights advocate, elected school board member, nonprofit leader, and parent of a child with disabilities, my perspective is rooted in the belief that democracy is strongest when every voice has the opportunity to participate and be heard.
The theme, "A Republic, If You Can Keep It," speaks directly to the responsibility we all share in maintaining inclusive and accountable public institutions. My work has focused on advancing accessibility, educational equity, family engagement, and disability inclusion in schools and communities. Through advocacy, public service, and nonprofit leadership, I have seen firsthand how civic participation can create meaningful change—and how barriers to participation can leave entire communities unheard.
My experience brings the perspective of someone who has navigated public systems both as a person with a disability and as a parent advocate, while also serving in elected office. I hope to contribute to conversations about how we strengthen our republic by ensuring that public institutions, especially public schools, remain accessible, responsive, and representative of the communities they serve. A thriving democracy depends on the active participation of all people, including those whose voices have too often been left out of the conversation.
Presenter
Martha Siravo
BIO:
Martha Siravo is a disability rights advocate, community leader, and elected member of the Madison Metropolitan School District Board of Education. Following a spinal cord injury in 2002 and later navigating her daughter's educational journey as a student with disabilities, Martha became a passionate advocate for inclusive public education and family empowerment.
She is the founder and president of Madtown Mommas & Disability Advocates, where she has spent years supporting families through IEP processes, connecting them with resources, and working alongside educators and administrators to improve outcomes for students. Martha is also the founder of Wheels & Heels Inc., a nonprofit dedicated to expanding adaptive dance opportunities and promoting disability inclusion through the arts.
A former Ms. Wheelchair Wisconsin and recipient of the Wisconsin Public Education Network Changemaker Award, Martha has served on state-level education and disability advisory groups and has dedicated her career to advancing accessibility, equity, and opportunity. She ran for the Madison School Board because she believes thriving public schools are built through accountability, collaboration, and a shared commitment to ensuring every child has the support they need to succeed.
Contact:
Email: Martha4mmsd@gmail.com
Keeping Humanity in Control: Citizen Action on AI Safety
“A Republic, If You Can Keep It” challenges us to protect the conditions that make self-government possible. Our session asks what that responsibility means in the age of increasingly powerful artificial intelligence. Who decides how AI is developed and deployed? Who bears the risks? And how do we ensure that people—not unaccountable corporations or AI systems themselves—remain in control of our future?
“A Republic, If You Can Keep It” challenges us to protect the conditions that make self-government possible. Our session asks what that responsibility means in the age of increasingly powerful artificial intelligence. Who decides how AI is developed and deployed? Who bears the risks? And how do we ensure that people—not unaccountable corporations or AI systems themselves—remain in control of our future?
In accessible, nontechnical language, we will explain catastrophic AI risk: the possibility of large-scale harm, including threats to human survival, from the misuse of advanced AI or the loss of human control over it. We will explore how these risks connect to concentrated power, democratic accountability, and the public’s right to participate in decisions that could profoundly reshape society.
The session will also address what citizens can do, from grassroots organizing to advocating for enforceable safeguards and democratic oversight. The central message is that keeping our republic requires both protecting our democratic institutions and keeping humanity in control of the technologies we create.
Presenters
Julie Derwinski
BIO:
Julie is a Wisconsin appellate lawyer, educator, and AI safety advocate with more than 30 years of legal experience. She has served as a senior staff attorney at the Wisconsin Court of Appeals and taught at the University of Wisconsin Law School. She is co-founder of ControlAI Wisconsin Action Group, which help community members understand AI risks, the need for effective oversight, and advocate for regulation. She holds degrees from Berkeley Law and U.W. Madison.
Contact:
Email: juliederwinski@gmail.com
Kevin Lotto
BIO:
Kevin Lotto is an AI researcher and software engineer based in Beaver Dam, Wisconsin. He earned his computer science degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. His current focus is on AI safety and existential risk advocacy. Kevin is a public speaker and co-founded ControlAI Action Group Wisconsin with Julie Derwinski. He also volunteers for the Torchbearer Community as a digital communicator and trainer, as well as the AI Safety Awareness Project as a workshop facilitator. Through these grassroots organizations, he drives legislative action and public awareness campaigns to prioritize human safety over the unchecked development of advanced artificial intelligence.
Contact:
Email: kevin.lotto@gmail.com
Website: https://microcommit.io/groups/controlai-citizens-wisconsin
Phone: 608-492-4546
Big Tech, Big Transmission: Data Centers, 345s and 765s, Oh My
Massive power needs of data centers are causing a surge in demand for electricity and a flood of utility proposals to build energy infrastructure across the state. CUB will discuss the rapid changes in the energy world that have led to multiple plans for new transmission lines, including the first 765KV lines ever proposed in Wisconsin. Learn about how the Public Service Commission process works. We’ll also share updates on CUB’s work to make Big Tech pay its way for data centers’ power needs.
Presenter
Tom Content - Citizens Utility Board of Wisconsin
BIO:
Tom Content is executive director of the Citizens Utility Board ofWisconsin (CUB), a nonprofit organization that advocates for residential and small business utility customers. He leads a team that’s actively involved in cases at the Public Service Commission, including rate cases and cases designed to insulate customers from risks and costs tied to data centers. He also advocates for customers in collaboration with other energy stakeholders and the State legislature. He is vice president with the National Association of State Utility Consumer Aadvocares.
Tom joined CUB in 2017 after spending 17 years as a journalist with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel where he specialized in coverage of energy and utilities. His reporting on energy and climate change, specifically in the Journal Sentinel series “A Change inClimate: Global Warming and Wisconsin,” won the National Press Foundation Stokes Award for Energy Writing in 2007. Prior to joining the Journal Sentinel, Tom reported on utility matters for the Green Bay Press-Gazette and wrote for newspapers in towns near Boston and Philadelphia. He lives in Glendale.
Content:
Email: content@cubwi.org
