STAFF
John Gee
Executive
Director
jgee@wicharterschools.org
John Gee brings to WCSA a diverse background in education and technology, and extensive management and leadership experience. Since 1993, he has directly contributed to the development of more than a dozen successful organizations and companies.
Most recently Gee worked as the Chairman and CEO of another statewide association, the Information Technology Association of Wisconsin (ITAWi). Prior to joining ITAWi, Gee conducted business development for the Academic Advanced Digital Co-Lab, an organization associated with the University of Wisconsin System, which develops advanced digital learning applications to improve teaching and learning.
Gee has also worked in various technology-related leadership roles in California. He was the founder and Director of the NASA Ames Technology Commercialization Center. This business incubator in Sunnyvale, CA assisted many successful new ventures, including eBay and iPrint.
Gee brings experience as an executive in a large county government and a school district. He was a key player in developing Beaver Creek, CO, a private city and world class ski resort that is part of Vail Associates, Inc. Gee was elected to the Eagle County School Board during his time in Colorado.
Ingrid
Beamsley
Deputy Director
ibeamsley@wicharterschools.org
Ingrid Beamsley is the Deputy Director for the Wisconsin Charter Schools Association. Prior to joining the Association, Ingrid worked at Verona Area Core Knowledge® Charter School as Program Manager. Before coming to Wisconsin, she worked as Business Manager in Chicago at Urban Gateways, Center for Arts in Education. While living in Chicago Ingrid enjoyed being a Big Sister through the Big Brother/ Big Sister Program and still keeps in touch with her Little Sister. In Wisconsin she assisted with families in the Even Start Family Literacy Program. Ingrid received a Masters Degree in Public Service Management from DePaul University in Chicago and a B.A. in International Relations from Knox College.
Sarah
Granofsky
Program Director
sgranofsky@wicharterschools.org
Sarah Granofsky graduated Carleton College with a BA in American
Studies in December of 2006. She is an associate with
Education|Evolving, working to develop and create the Teacher
Voices on Video and Student Voices on Video projects which aim to
educate viewers on the topics of Teacher Professional Partnerships
and unconventional learning programs through interviews with those
involved in the efforts at the school level. She also
authored a paper for Education|Evolving on innovation in the
charter school sector in Minnesota.
During college Sarah spent a year as a member of Americorps*NCCC
stationed in the southeast region building houses for Habitat for
Humanity, blazing trails in National Parks, working with FEMA after
Hurricane Ivan, and coordinating a start up after school program at
CE Williams Magnet Middle School in Charleston SC. She
prides herself on her dedication to community service.
Sarah is also a rabid Boston Red Sox and New England Patriots
fan
Laurel
Cavalluzzo
Madison Marketing Communications
lcavalluzzo@wicharterschools.org
Laurel Cavalluzzo, owner of Madison Marketing Communications, is a marketing and communications consultant for WCSA.
Laurel previously worked as a Marketing Director for a Fortune 100 company based in the Washington, D.C. area. She then moved to Madison, WI and started up her own firm. She works with many non-profit organizations and also spends much time working with local schools and school organizations.
Laurel graduated with a BSBA from Georgetown University and has an MBA with a dual major in Marketing and Strategic Management from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.
Michelle Kussow
The Capitol Group, LLC
mkussow@charterinternet.com
Michelle Kussow is a partner in The Capitol Group, LLC which is a legislative and public affairs consulting firm established in 2002. Kussow draws from work experience in the public and private sector, including statewide trade associations, state agencies, numerous Wisconsin businesses and the Wisconsin State Legislature. Kussow is past president of Wisconsin Women in Government, a member of the advisory council for the Wisconsin Women’s Health Foundations and serves on numerous committees including the Retail Food Advisory Council and the Wisconsin Women, Infants & Children Committee. In the past, she was appointed by the Legislature to serve on a Legislative Council committee to address the School Calendar Issue. Kussow is a 1992 graduate of the University of Wisconsin Platteville where she received a B.S. in Speech Communications with an emphasis on Public Relations. Kussow and her husband live in Waterloo with their two sons.
Brandon Scholz
The Capitol Group, LLC
brandon@charterinternet.com
Brandon
Scholz is a partner with The Capitol Group, LLC and represents a
broad group of clients on government, regulatory and public affairs
issues since 2003. The Capitol Group, LLC specializes in
serving its clients with direct one-on-one service catering to the
unique needs of the client’s issue. Through his professional
experience in trade associations, business and government service,
Scholz brings decades of experience to the table.
Scholz also serves as the president and CEO of the Wisconsin Grocers Association (WGA), the statewide trade group representing the retail food and grocery industry. The WGA represents the industry at the state and federal legislative and regulatory levels, provides educational seminars, industry information, publishes an industry magazine and sponsors an annual convention for its members.
Prior to joining the WGA, he served as the Director of Public Affairs for Wisconsin Power & Light where he managed legislative activities at the state and federal level covering a wide range of issues including utility deregulation, business, environmental, tax and energy matters. Capping a 15-year career in local, state and national politics, Scholz was Chief of Staff to Congressman Scott Klug directing both the Washington and Wisconsin offices.
Scholz serves on the Board of the Wisconsin Outdoor Alliance Foundation and has previously served on the Boards of the Friends of WHA-TV, America’s Second Harvest of Wisconsin and the Advisory Board of WisPolitics.Com. He was appointed by Governor Tommy Thompson to serve on the Council on Utility Public Benefits and the Wisconsin Tobacco Control Board. He has also served on the Wisconsin State Elections Board, the Governor’s Blue Ribbon Commission on Campaign Finance Reform, the Madison Repertory Theatre, the Friends of the Civic Center, and the Monona Terrace project, It's Wright for Wisconsin. He has been listed twice by Madison Magazine as one of Madison's 50 Most Influential People and appears on a variety of television and radio shows as a political analyst including and co-hosted The Bottom Line, a Channel3000.com web-based political commentary show.
He holds a B.S. in Management and a B.A. in Public Administration from Alfred University, Alfred, New York and currently lives in Madison with his wife Carla and daughters Emma and Avery. His daughter Betsy attends Northeastern University in Boston.
