Our Mission
The Waukesha County Green Team is a voluntary organization of Waukesha County residents who care about the environment in which we live and raise our families.
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Our mission is to foster a healthier and more resilient environment for current and future generations, we increase awareness of environmental concerns, empower the Waukesha County community to drive action at the individual, municipal, and county levels, invite collaboration with stakeholder organizations, and use The Natural Step Framework as a foundation for our work.
The Waukesha County Green Team is an independent 501 (c)(3) nonprofit organization and is not affiliated with any state or local government agencies.
Meet the Team
Staff
Joanna Salinas, Outreach Coordinator
Joanna Salinas is a life-long resident of Waukesha County, currently residing in Mukwonago. Passionate about environmental issues since childhood, Joanna was thrilled to find the Waukesha County Green Team in 2014 and join the team first as a Board Member, and now as the Outreach Coordinator. She specializes in engaging and mobilizing residents and organizations in environmental and sustainability initiatives and is passionate about meeting people where they are at and tackling sustainability at the local level to initiate systemic change. Joanna has a Bachelor of Science from the UW system in Sustainable Management and certification in Civic Ecology from Cornell.
Outreach Coordinator
Noel has dedicated over ten years to non-profit marketing and fundraising across various sectors in New York City, Pennsylvania, and currently in Wisconsin. Her experience includes project management, copywriting, individual giving campaigns, large-scale events, digital marketing communications, and organizational strategy. In her free time, she enjoys photography, reading, cooking, and exploring the great outdoors, making the most of Wisconsin's many hiking trails.
Marketing and Development Coordinator
Board of Directors
Executive Committee
Debra Schneider, President
Debra is a community advocate and mentor with a focus on spirituality and integral ecology including issues of poverty, peace and the environment. Her emphasis is community education and cultural transition. Debra’s background is in marketing, facilitation and program consulting. She has a certificate in permaculture design, is a Southeastern Wisconsin Master Gardener, and has a Master in Theology from Marquette. She along with her husband Paul, enjoy family, everything outdoors, community gardening, and organically growing their own food including raising chickens and keeping bees. Debra is a founding member of the WCGT.
President
Stacey Balsley, Vice President
Stacey’s journey into environmentalism starts with her lifelong respect and fascination with nature. It is permanently weaved into her life. “Reminding and for some exposing humanity’s synergistic connection to earth is a pleasure to share through the amazing work of the Waukesha County Green Team”. She and her husband, Ken, are silent sport enthusiasts and have racked a lot of miles exploring wilderness areas by foot and kayak. Living sustainably and being conscientious of their actions continues to be an exercise but of the best kind. Stacey works as the Winter Products Manager at Reinders, Inc.
Vice President
Therese Arkenberg, Treasurer
In 2013, Therese attended American University's Washington Semester program to study environment and sustainable development. When she returned to Wisconsin, she was excited to become involved with causes locally. In addition to serving on the planning committee for the Green Alliance Sustainability Fair, Therese is co-president of Plowshare Fair Trade Marketplace and Education for Peace in downtown Waukesha.
She runs a freelance business as a writer and copyeditor, basically “reading for a living.” Her favorite genres are science fiction and fantasy—the literature of possibility. She also enjoys cooking and trying new foods and soaking up sunshine whenever the weather cooperates.
Treasurer
Adra Kusnirova, Board Member
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Adra is the owner of Alaska Fresh, an online seafood shop that sells sustainable, wild harvested catch from small boat fishermen. She loves teaching people how to source sustainable seafood and about the intricate layers of the massive fishing industry spanning our planet. When she’s not fishmongering or soaking up time with her husband, son and dog, you can find her at a rummage sale, in her vegetable garden or searching for the next notch on her fungal foraging belt.
Secretary
Board Members
​Debra Baesemann, Board Member
Elm Grove Green Team
Deb has a passion for supporting sustainability issues both locally and globally. With a background in conservation, urban planning, real estate law and sales, she knows how impactful people’s everyday actions can be on the planet. To support our communities, Deb enjoys serving both on the Board of the WGCT and also being a founding member of the Elm Grove Green Team! She is currently a real estate agent with a GREEN certification and in her spare time enjoys practicing her ukulele, pulling buckthorn and reading. She resides with her family in Elm Grove and hopes you'll say "hi" if you see her out and about!
Elm Grove Green Team Lead
Kate Burke, Board Member
Kate Burke has been passionate about environmental issues since elementary school and received a degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of Notre Dame intending to make positive change from within manufacturing and industry. She stepped away from her career to raise three phenomenal children and was delighted to find the Waukesha County Green Team when her family moved to Pewaukee in 2014. When she first realized environmental issues are not separate but integral to her faith life, “fireworks went off” and she hopes others can experience that energy and passion for themselves as a part of the Creation Care Network community group she helped found. She also enjoys participating in the Pewaukee Green Team, meeting neighbors striving to care for the earth
Waukesha County Creation Care Network
Mary Ellen Comp, Board Member
Mary Ellen’s professional experience includes strategic marketing leadership and brand development, B2B sales, direct and inside sales management, executive leadership, small business ownership and sales training. She focuses on helping organizations capitalize on their unique market strengths and empower business development.
Mary Ellen is a member of Tempo Waukesha and served on the Membership Committee & the Board, serves on the Carroll University President's Community Council and is responsible for leadership development at her church. Mary Ellen has been a longtime supporter of The Waukesha County Business Alliance and served as an Ambassador, been a member of Education Advocacy group and also of the Professional Womens Development Network committee.
Board Member
Dwayne Sperber is the president of Wudeward Urban Forest Products, a company dedicated to the sustainable recovery and repurposing of wood from urban and community forests. A passionate advocate for urban wood utilization, Dwayne has been a leading voice in advancing awareness, education, and infrastructure to ensure that these valuable local resources are used to their highest potential.
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As a founding member of the Urban Wood Network, Inc. and a former appointed member of the Wisconsin Urban Forestry Council, Dwayne collaborates with architects, designers, municipalities, and industry partners to integrate urban wood into the built environment. His work highlights the environmental, economic, and cultural benefits of transforming trees removed from our communities into long-lasting products.
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Through his leadership and outreach, Dwayne continues to champion a more regenerative and responsible approach to wood use—one that celebrates the full life cycle of trees and the communities they come from.
Board Member
​Joe is a Professor of Chemistry and Environmental Science and Chair of the Life Sciences Department at Carroll University. He came to Carroll in fall 1998 after completing a Ph.D. (1997) and post-doctoral appointment at The University of Arizona in the Department of Soil, Water, and Environmental Science. He received his M.S. in Civil Engineering- Environmental Engineering Sciences (1993) from the University of Minnesota and B.S. degrees in chemistry and mathematics (1989) from Marquette University. Dr. Piatt teaches courses in analytical chemistry, instrumentation, environmental science, and soil and water resources. In addition, he is active in developing and teaching courses in Carroll’s cross-cultural experience program. His main research interests are related to soil and water quality in natural and engineered systems. Dr. Piatt is active in leadership roles at Carroll University and the American Chemical Society. In addition, he is active in several community-based organizations with science outreach initiatives and serves as President of the City of Waukesha Water Utility Commission.
Board Member
Wendy is vice president of Greener Oconomowoc and will run for president in the coming year.
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Wendy has been with Greener Oconomowoc since its inception and is one of the founding members. She is a retired Registered Nurse. She hosted the first Oconomowoc area Natural Step Study after working on a Creation Care program with Church Women United. Wendy found it exciting to know that we could create sustainable livable communities and remain fiscally responsible. She became convinced that the best way to use taxpayer money was to become a sustainable city. She is concerned about the kind of planet we are leaving our children on and wants to ensure that this beautiful Lake Country will still be here to enjoy her grandchildren.
Greener Oconomowoc President
Community Advisors to the Board
Rose Daily PhD, Community Advisor
Dr. Rose Daily is a community sustainability enthusiast who is currently serving as the City Sustainability Coordinator of Sun Prairie, Wisconsin. In this role, Rose is leading Sun Prairie's fight against climate change and its journey to carbon neutrality by 2050. She holds both a masters degree and PhD in environmental engineering from Michigan Technological University (MTU). She is most proud of designing and building nature-based water treatment systems in Costa Rica, and co-founding MTU's Sustainability Demonstration House, which is the university's highest profile sustainability project. In her free time, she enjoys camping, hiking, backpacking, traveling the world, beekeeping, and cooking plant-based dishes
Advisor
Carolyn Paik, Permaculture & Gardening Team Coordinator
Organic gardeners, Mike and Carolyn’s first experience with Permaculture began when Carolyn attended the Permaculture training program with Mark Shepard coordinated by WCGT at NuGenesis Farm. The experience honed their skills of observation, paying close attention to the interdependence and inter-relationships of natural systems. Their new mindset is to get off the annual, monocrop treadmill that our current culture has imposed upon us and start planting perennial ecosystems that are abundant habitats for humans and animals. They derive great joy in growing their own food and connecting with others who have the same passion. Mike, an engineer and Carolyn a teacher, have, over the past 10 years, hosted a community garden on their property and provided outdoor education programs for children who are encouraged to “be the change they want to see in the world.”
Permaculture & Gardening Team Lead
Laura Loucks, Secretary
Laura Loucks is a supply chain sustainability project manager at Rockwell Automation working with our thousands of suppliers to gather product data for Life Cycle Assessments and other Design for Sustainability product initiatives.She has degrees in Sustainable Community Development from Northland College and Sustainable Management from University of Wisconsin Parkside. She has experience in manufacturing efficiency, employee engagement and education, life cycle assessments, renewable energy, zero waste, and sustainability reporting. Laura is also involved in the Wisconsin Sustainable Business Council and Wisconsin Women in Sustainability. When not organizing and implementing sustainability initiatives, Laura spends her time swing- and salsa-dancing, reading, and traveling.
Advisor
Jonathan Sopha
Pewaukee Green Team Co-lead
Jonathan enjoys outdoor pursuits, sharing and learning about environmental issues, and finding ways to foster collaboration in his community. He started the Pewaukee Green Team community group initially to help provide safe outdoor volunteer activities during the pandemic, and since then the group has developed relationships with the City of Pewaukee, the Pewaukee School District, and other sustainability-focused community groups. Jonathan practices law, has degrees in journalism and environmental studies, and looks forward to growing awareness of sustainability issues in Wisconsin.
​Pewaukee Green Team Co-lead
Legacy Board Members
Brian Walsh
Founding Member
Board Member Emeritus
Patrick Keller
Board Member in Memorium
Robert Molthen
Founding Member
Board Member Emeritus