Presenter Biographies:
The Rev. Woody Carey
E. Ellwood Carey (Woody) is a member of John Knox Presbytery, former pastor of Parkside Presbyterian Church of Madison. He is a graduate of Grove City College, Princeton Theological Seminary and has a Doctor of Ministry degree from McCormick Theological Seminary. He has an interest in relating Christian theology to wisdom from other sources of light and his class is an expression of that interest.Clare Geravais, MD
Gervais is a co-founder and president of the Healthy Lawn Team, a non-profit environmental group, educating citizens about the harms of lawn care pesticides. She is also a citizen member of the City of Madison Pest Management Advisory Committee. She works as a family practice physician at UW Health.
Jane Holveck
Holveck is a teacher who enjoys the Socratic method of discussion and welcomes a spectrum of thought.Brett Hulsey
Hulsey is an award-winning environmentalist with more than 30 years experience in energy and environmental protection. He is founder and president of Better Environmental Solutions, an energy and environmental consulting firm dedicated to practical solutions that save lives, jobs and money. He is also Dane County Board Supervisor where he works to clean up our lakes on the Lakes and Watersheds Commission, improve transportation planning on the Metropolitan Planning Board and provide green jobs on the Madison Development Corporation Board.Lynda K. Koivunen, MSSW
Koivunen is the Coordinator of Respite Care Team Ministry and Assistant Director of Catholic Aging Services - Catholic Charities Aging Service of Madison, Wisconsin.The Rev. Dr. Donald D. McCall
Dr. McCall was born in Beirut, Lebanon, where his parents were Presbyterian missionaries. He graduated from Princeton University and served as Pastor of the First Presbyterian Church in Rochester, MN for 19 years. In addition to his pastoral work, he is a Professor of Homiletics at Minnesota Bible College and has authored two books; "Twice Upon a Time" and "In God's Hands," and creator and producer of a daily TV spot on KROC-TV.Astrid Newenhouse, Ph.D.
Newenhouse has a Ph.D. in Horticulture from the University of Wisconsin-Madison including training in horticultural therapy from the Chicago Botanical Garden. She has done research on living mulches to reduce pesticide use in fruit and vegetable crops. Astrid has worked in outreach, extension, teaching and 4-H, and appears on the Wisconsin Gardener TV show with Shelley Ryan and on Garden Talk radio with Larry Meiller. Currently, she is an Associate Scientist with the UW Environmental Resources Center and works with the UW Healthy Farmers, Healthy Profits Project.Scott A. Ritchie, Ph.D.
Scott Ritchie is a clinical and consulting psychologist who splits time between his private practice and a position with the UW Health Bariatric Surgery Program. He has been in general private practice since 1986. Specialty areas include the treatment of eating disorders, depression and anxiety disorders. He is a past president of the Wisconsin Psychological Association and The Society of Clinical and Consulting Psychologists.The Rev. Dr. Michael A. Schuler
Michael A. Schuler serves as the Parish Minister of the First Unitarian Society of Madison. During his 20 year tenure, the Society has grown from 500 to over 1,600 adult members. This year 570 children registered for Church School and youth activities. For the last several years First Unitarian Society has been one of the three largest UU congregations in North America. This past Fall, the Society dedicated a new 24,000 square foot sustainability designed addition that met the LEED standard for Gold certification.
Schuler has been active on many local boards, including the UW-Madison All-Campus Human Subjects Committee, UW-Madison Pathways to Excellence Advisory Board and the Ethics Committee of the UW Health Center Fertility Clinic. Schuler is also a founding member of the Steering Committee of Dane County United - a broad-based organization of faith communities, labor unions and neighborhood associations committed to promoting the common good. In addition, for several years he was a regular contributor to the features and editorial pages of Madison's afternoon newspaper, the Capitol Times. In 2009, Berrett-Koehler publishers issued Michael's book, "Making the Good Life Last: Four Keys to Sustainable Living".
Tosha Songolo
Senior at University of Wisconsin-Madison
Songolo is pre-med and also majoring in international studies with a certificate in African studies. Her future goals include a career in pediatric medicine with a focus in global health/Doctors Without Borders.John Strikwerda
Current Elder and Chair of the Facilities CouncilStephen J. Weiler M.D.
Dr. Weiler is currently the psychiatric service manager and provider at the Department of Human Services Mental Health Facility for committed sex offenders since July 2009. From 1981 to 2009 Weiler was a faculty member at the UW School of Medicine and Public Health in the Department of Psychiatry where he served many roles. Dr. Weiler's clinical interests include mood, sleep and sexual disorders.