Breakout Session 2: 2:05 - 3:05
Breakouts arranged by room number.
Use the text buttons to navigate this page.
NOTE: BREAKOUT SLOTS ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE.
THE FINAL SCHEDULE WILL BE AVAILABLE AT REGISTRATION.
Room 418
Room 419
Room 421
Room 422
Room 423
Room #418
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 Ad [Anchor] vocacy 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.
Room #419
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: (608) 469=2287
Room #421
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
Room #422
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
Presenters
Tracy Hunter
The US Constitution starts with the role of the Congress because it was the most important branch of government. Although today's Congress has become dysfunctional and corrupt we can reform it as we have done in the past and one of the most hopeful innovations is "Final Five Voting".
BIO:
Tracy Hunter is a volunteer with Voters First Wisconsin, focusing on the initiative to bring “Final Five Voting” to Wisconsin. He will explain the “Primary Problem” that Final Five Voting addresses and why it incentivizes Congress to focus on collaboration to solve the serious problems we face like climate change, deficit, immigration reform, affordable housing and healthcare, etc. After Tracy retired as a software developer with GE Healthcare he discovered the Final Five Voting effort in Wisconsin, which made so much sense and stimulated such a sense of hope that he decided to invest his energies there.
Contact:
Email: tjhunter262@gmail.com
tracy@votersfirstwi.org
Phone: (262) 391-1542
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 Awaiting information
BIO:
Room #423
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
