Tom has been at the forefront of business and sustainability for the last twenty-eight years, both teaching classes in sustainability at the University of Wisconsin and founding and serving as the Executive Director of the WI Sustainable Business Council. Tom taught the first classes at UW in sustainability and later was a co-developer of the graduate certificate in Business, Environment and Social Responsibility (BESR) at the WI School of Business. He serves on the Climate and Energy Committee for the WI Academy and was involved in planning both the 2022 and 2019 Climate Fast Forward conferences. Prior to his retirement, he sat on the Advisory Committee for the UW Office of Sustainability and he continues to sit on the UW Sustainable Management Advisory Board. Growing out of his interest in sustainability, Tom founded the non-profit “Wisconsin Microfinance”. Wisconsin Microfinance’s programs provide people living in areas where access to capital is severely limited access to financial and support services needed to lift their families out of poverty. Tom has a law degree from George Washington University, a Masters in Public Affairs from UW Madison, and prior to law school, was a Peace Corps volunteer in the Philippines.
