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Members of the Commission Current members Ginger Alden is currently Vice-President of Community Development at River Valley State Bank, Wausau, Wisconsin. She graduated Magna Cum Laude from the University of Utah with a Bachelor's of Science degree in Economics. Previously, she served as the Director of ArtsBlock Campaign, which was responsible for a $13 million addition and renovation to the historic Grand Theater in downtown Wausau. Ginger Alden also served as an elected official for 14 years on the Marathon County Board and eight years on the Rib Mountain Town Board. She was appointed to the Judicial Commission in December 2005 and confirmed in March 2006. Donald Leo Bach is a shareholder in the Madison law firm of DeWitt Ross & Stevens S.C. Mr. Bach attended the University of Wisconsin-Madison graduating with a B.A. in Political Science. Mr. Bach then received his commission in the United States Naval Reserve and spent slightly more than three years on active duty, including a tour in the Vietnam combat zone aboard the guided missile destroyer, USS Benjamin Stoddert (DDG 22). After Mr. Bach’s active duty service, he joined the Naval Reserve and retired with the rank of Captain. Following his release from active duty, Mr. Bach attended the University of Wisconsin Law School receiving his law degree, cum laude. Following graduation, Mr. Bach joined the law firm of DeWitt, Porter, Huggett, Schumacher and Morgan S.C. (now known as DeWitt Ross & Stevens, S.C.), in Madison, Wisconsin, where he practiced law for approximately eleven years, with an emphasis on litigation, administrative and environmental law. In 1986, Mr. Bach was named Legal Counsel and Advisor to Governor Tommy G. Thompson. Mr. Bach served as the Acting Chief of Staff of the Governor's Office until a permanent Chief of Staff was named. He served as Pardon Counsel and Chairman of the Governor's Pardon Advisory Board. In September 1987, Mr. Bach was appointed as Acting Chairman of the Wisconsin Parole Board. In 1988, Mr. Bach was appointed as Administrator of the Division of Administrative Services in the Wisconsin Department of Revenue, and then as Administrator of the Division of State Agency Services in the Wisconsin Department of Administration, and finally as Deputy Secretary of the Wisconsin Department of Revenue. Mr. Bach returned to the DeWitt law firm in 1992. From 1997 to 1999, he served as Chairman of the State Bar’s Bench-Bar Committee, a committee of lawyers and judges tasked with making recommendations for changes in Wisconsin’s system of justice. In May, 1998, Mr. Bach was named as by the Governor’s Advisory Council on Judiciary Selection as “one of the three best qualified candidates” for appointment to the Supreme Court of Wisconsin. Mr. Bach was first named a Super Lawyer and Best Lawyer in America in 2006; in 2008, Mr. Bach was honored as a Leader in the Law by the Wisconsin Law Journal; and in 2009, as a Top Lawyer (administrative law) by Madison Magazine. Mr. Bach is the author of “To Forgive, Divine: The Governor’s Pardoning Power,” Wisconsin Lawyer, February 2005; “Landing In The Alphabet Soup: The A.B.C.G. Compulsory Counterclaim Trap,” Wisconsin Lawyer, March 2006; and “Vox Populi”: Wisconsin’s Direct Legislation Statute,” Wisconsin Lawyer, May 2008. Mr. Bach was appointed to the Judicial Commission in 2004 and served as its Chair in 2007-2008. John R. Dawson is a retired partner in Foley & Lardner LLP’s Milwaukee office. He served as the managing partner of the Milwaukee office from 1994 to 1999 and previously served as the national chair of the firm's Litigation Department from 1986 to 1994. At the time of his retirement in 2005, Mr. Dawson was listed in The Best Lawyers in America® in the areas of alternate dispute resolution, business litigation and First Amendment law. His practice experience encompassed a broad range of commercial litigation and regulatory issues. Mr. Dawson served on the committee of State Bar members assessing for legislative introduction the Revised Uniform Arbitration Act. He is the author of two published articles on mediation: "Why Mediation Works When Negotiations Don't," Wisconsin Law Journal (Dec. 2003); and "Deciding When to Mediate Business Disputes," Wisconsin Lawyer (March 2005). From its formation in 2000 through September, 2006, Mr. Dawson served as a member of the Preliminary Review Committee of Wisconsin's Office of Lawyer Regulation upon appointment by the Wisconsin Supreme Court. Mr. Dawson chaired the Eastern District of Wisconsin Advisory Group on the Civil Justice Reform Act of 1990 under appointment by the chief judge of the district. Mr. Dawson is an adjunct professor at the Marquette University Law School, teaching a course on media law. He also served as president of the Milwaukee Bar Association in 1994-1995. He received his bachelor's degree in business administration from Northwestern University in 1963. Following active duty as a junior officer in the United States Naval Reserve in 1964-1967, Mr. Dawson received his J.D. degree in 1970 from Duke University School of Law. He was appointed to the Judicial Commission in November 2006. James M. Haney is the associate dean of the College of Fine Arts and Communication and head of the Division of Communication at the University of Wisconsin – Stevens Point (UWSP). A Wisconsin native, Haney was a member of the communication faculty at UWSP from 1981-1991 and rejoined the faculty in 2000. From 1991 through 2000 he was the communication director for Wisconsin’s Department of Justice, which includes the division of criminal investigation, the state crime laboratories, the office of crime victim services and the department’s legal services division. Prior to joining the faculty at UWSP in 1981, Haney had been an award-winning radio journalist at Iowa Public Radio and had more than three dozen of his stories aired on National Public Radio. He received his bachelor’s degree from Ripon College and his master’s and Ph.D. from the University of Iowa. In 1989 he won UWSP’s “Excellence in Teaching Award” and in 1998 he was the first non-lawyer in the country to ever win the National Association of Attorneys General “Marvin Award” for being “an outstanding staff member in the office of a state attorney general.” The Senate confirmed Haney’s appointment in April 2006. David A. Hansher, Presiding Judge of the Civil Division, and former Deputy Chief Judge, for Milwaukee County Circuit Court was first elected in 1991. Judge Hansher received a Bachelor’s of Science degree in 1965 from the University of Wisconsin, Madison, and a J.D. in 1968 from the University of Wisconsin Law School. From 1968-1972, Judge Hansher was an Assistant City Attorney for the City of Milwaukee. He was a sole practitioner from 1972-1991. During this time, Judge Hansher served as Arbitrator for the American Arbitrator Association from 1974-1991 and a Court Commissioner for Milwaukee County Circuit Court from 1978-1991. He is a member of the Milwaukee Bar Association and currently serves on the Board of Directors. Judge Hansher has also served on the Judicial Conduct Advisory Committee, former Co-Chair of the Milwaukee Bar Association Judicial Section Committee, and the Board of Directors of the Milwaukee Bar Foundation. Hansher was appointed to the Judicial Commission in August 2003. Cynthia Herber was born and raised in Mexico City, where she received her J.D. from the Universidad Anahuac, A.C. in 1990. In 1993 she obtained an LL.M degree from the University of Pennsylvania Law School. From 1993-1994 she was a Visiting Scholar for the Environmental Law Institute in Washington D.C. within its Latin American Program and until 1996 she served as the Assistant General Counsel for International Negotiations for the Mexican Department of Commerce (SECOFI), where she participated in numerous international trade negotiations, including the final round of negotiations of the Labor and Environment Agreements to the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and the preliminary rounds for the negotiation of a free trade agreement with Chile. Until 1995 she was a member of the Latin American Bar Association. From 2003 - 2004 Ms. Herber served as the Associate Director for Centro Legal, a non profit legal services agency in Milwaukee. She has lived in Wisconsin since 2003 and been a Certified Spanish Interpreter since 2004, where she has provided Spanish Interpreting for defendants in criminal matters in the Circuit Courts of Milwaukee, Kenosha, Racine, Walworth, Jefferson, Dodge and Dane Counties. She has also interpreted in Family Court, Juvenile and Children’s Court, Social Services meetings, Attorney-Client conferences, both private and through the State Public Defender Trial and Appellate Divisions, depositions, probation hearings, and medical settings. During the Spring of 2007, Ms. Herber served on the faculty of the Milwaukee Area Technical College (MATC) in their Court Interpreter Program, lecturing on “Ethics and Terminology for Court Interpreters”. She is a member in good standing of NAJIT (National Association of Judiciary Interpreters and Translators), ATA (American Translators Association), MATI and CHICATA. Ms. Herber has been involved in numerous community organizations. She now is a member of the Agency Review Committee of the Milwaukee Jewish Federation and in the past she served on the Board of the Women’s Division of the Milwaukee Jewish Federation and the Milwaukee Chapter of the American Jewish Committee. She was appointed to the Judicial Commission in February 2009. Michael R. Miller retired as Mayor of the City of West Bend in April 2005, after serving 18 years in that position. He was first elected Mayor in April of 1987. Prior to being elected Mayor he served as an Alderperson for 8 years. Miller is currently the Executive Director of the Mid-Moraine Municipal Association. Miller graduated from Spencerian College and served 2 years with the U.S. Army in Panama. Miller is a retired Accounting Methods Manager for Ameritech Services Inc. He is past President of the Mid-Moraine Municipal Association, the League of Wisconsin Municipalities, and the Wisconsin Alliance of Cities. He also was one of the founding fathers of the Southeastern Municipal Executives (SEME) group, having served on the Steering Committee. Miller was elected to the Washington County Board of Supervisors in April, 2008. He also serves on the Southeast Wisconsin Professional Baseball Park District Board (Miller Park Board), the West Bend Economic Development Board, the Moraine Park Technical College Board and the West Bend Noon Rotary Club Board. He is also a member of the American Legion and Knights of Columbus. Miller was appointed to the Judicial Commission in December 2003 and served as chair from August 2006 through July 2007. Gregory A. Peterson, Deputy Chief Judge for the Wisconsin Court of Appeals, was first elected in 1999, after serving 16 years (1983-1999) as a circuit court judge in Eau Claire County. Judge Peterson received his Bachelor's of Art degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1969 and his J.D. from the University of Wisconsin Law School in 1973. He previously was in private practice with a trial emphasis. Judge Peterson was a member since 1990 and Chair from 1998-2002 of the Criminal Jury Instruction Committee of the Wisconsin Judicial Conference. He has also served as Chief Judge (1996-1999) & Deputy Chief Judge (1990-1996) of the Tenth Judicial Administrative District. Judge Peterson has served on the Coordinating Committee for Volunteers in the Courts (1996-1997), Uniform Bond and Forms Committee of the Wisconsin Judicial Conference (1990-1994), Intensive Sanctions Advisory Committee (1991-1993), and Wisconsin Equal Justice Task Force (1989-1990). Judge Peterson is a member of the Wisconsin Judicial Conference, State Bar of Wisconsin and the Eau Claire County Bar Association. Judge Peterson was appointed to the Judicial Commission in August 2004 and served as chair from August 2005 through July 2006. William Vander Loop of Kaukauna was employed at Thilmany Pulp and Paper from 1952-1990. Vander Loop represented the fifth District in the Assembly from 1990 through 1998 before retiring. During his tenure as State Representative he served as a committee member on the Labor & Employment Committee, Workers Compensation Advisory Council, Unemployment Compensation Advisement Council, Veteran & Military Affairs Committee, and Aging & Long-Term Care Committee. Vander Loop also served as an alderman for the City of Kaukauna (1983-1991) and was a member of the Kaukauna Credit Union Board of Directors (1961-1991). Vander Loop is currently a member of the American Legion, Veterans of Foreign War, Lion's International Club, and the Royal Order of the Moose. He was appointed to the Judicial Commission in December 2004 and confirmed in 2005. Executive Director James C. Alexander graduated from the University of Wisconsin‑Madison in 1968 and received his J.D. from the University of Wisconsin Law School in 1974. He served in the U.S. Army 1969‑1971. From 1974 to 1990 Alexander was engaged in the private practice of law in Madison with a primary emphasis in civil trial work. He was admitted to practice in Wisconsin in 1974 and is also admitted to practice in the U.S. District Courts for the Western (1974) and Eastern (1978) Districts of Wisconsin, as well as the United States Court of Appeals, 7th Circuit (1981) and United States Supreme Court (1984). Alexander has been executive director of the Judicial Commission since August 1990. He is an emeritus member and former president of the Board of Directors of the Association of Judicial Disciplinary Counsel and serves on the Advisory Committee to the Center for Judicial Ethics of the American Judicature Society. Administrative Assistant Laury L. Bussan previously worked for the Wisconsin Supreme Court/Court of Appeals as a customer support specialist and assistant deputy clerk. Ms. Bussan was appointed to serve as the administrative assistant to the Commission in August 2003. |
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