Meet The Fellows

Frederick Heide

Performing artist and psychologist Dr. Frederick Heide is a rare multihyphenate whose career spans from psychophysiological studies of meditation to the comedic stage of Northern Wisconsin. Known to thousands of Wisconsinites as “Doc”, he is co-founder and performer with Door County’s Northern Sky Theater. Recipient of the Wisconsin Governor’s Award for Arts, Culture, and Heritage, Northern Sky is one of the only theaters in the nation that solely creates and produces original musicals.

Rebecca Klaper

Environmental toxicologist and educator, Dr. Rebecca Klaper is a crucial guardian of our Great Lakes whose research on emerging contaminants is shaping the future of water conservation. Klaper is the Dean of the School of Freshwater Sciences at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and the Director of the Great Lakes Genomics Center.

Ken Leinbach

Urban ecology pioneer and author Ken Leinbach is the visionary behind the Urban Ecology Center model, proving that nature is the most powerful tool for community revitalization and education. Leinbach is the co-founder and long-time Executive Director of the Urban Ecology Center (UEC) in Milwaukee.

Larry Meiller

Legendary broadcaster and life sciences communicator Larry R. Meiller has spent decades as the trusted voice of Wisconsin Public Radio, bridging the gap between expert knowledge and the daily lives of citizens. In a distinguished career spanning nearly sixty years, Meiller has served the public as a professor, broadcaster, and mentor.

Lester Pines

Distinguished attorney and civil servant Lester Pines is a titan of the Wisconsin legal community whose career has been defined by a fierce commitment to constitutional rights and the public good. Pines is a founding partner of Pines Bach LLP and a premier Wisconsin litigator.

Melanie Tallmadge Sainz

Indigenous artist and cultural educator Melanie Tallmadge Sainz is a guardian of Ho-Chunk heritage who uses her mastery of beadwork and mixed media to sustain and share Native traditions. Her art is inspired by the history and legacy of her Ho-Chunk people. An enrolled member of the Ho-Chunk Nation, she specializes in traditional and contemporary techniques, including porcupine quill embroidery, beadwork, and mixed-media mosaics.

Sharon Weber

Surgical oncologist, innovator, and educator Dr. Sharon M. Weber is a leader in cancer care whose surgical precision and research breakthroughs are advancing the future of complex medical treatment. Weber attended the University of Wisconsin-Madison for general surgery residency. She completed her specialty training at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, with dual fellowships in surgical oncology and hepatobiliary surgery.

Jason S. Yi

Multi-disciplinary artist, mentor, and curator Jason S. Yi is a cornerstone of the Milwaukee art scene whose monumental installations challenge our perceptions of the built and natural environment. A multidisciplinary artist whose work in photography, video, sculpture, drawing, and site-specific installation explores the geopolitics of place and cultural memory. Yi exhibits nationally and internationally and received a Joan Mitchell Foundation Fellowship, a Mary L.

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Meet The Fellows

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