Jenny Czerkas: Tutoring pupils in need—and feeding them
byIn 2005, Jenny Czerkas, and her husband, Andy, founded The River Food Pantry. The Czerkas’ leadership helped grow the pantry and fill a critical need on Madison’s North Side.
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Masaya Xiong: Nurturing students for success
byAs an adviser, Masaya Xiong’s primary role is working with students who are in designated non-traditional occupation programs.
Alison Helland: Paying it forward
byIn 2019, Helland is looking to pay it forward with the MarketReady Program, a local initiative focused on supporting entrepreneurs who have faced historic barriers to entry that are interested in becoming vendors at the Madison Public Market.
Laurel Burleson: Foodie on a mission
byUgly Apple Café owner Laurel Burleson is using her mobile catering service to promote waste reduction and local agriculture in Dane County.
Cristen Incitti: Expanding access to Girl Scouts
byCristen Incitti, chief operating officer for Girl Scouts of Wisconsin-Badgerland Council, wants to provide everyone the opportunity to reap the benefits of this empowering program.
Amy Gannon and Heather Wentler: Doyenne founders empower female entrepreneurs
byThere’s no ‘I’ in team when it comes to Doyenne Group creators Amy Gannon and Heather Wentler.
Chandra Miller Fienen: Boosting Madison’s startup scene
byWhen you think of technology’s leaders, Chandra Miller Fienen, executive director of StartingBlock Madison, would like YouTube’s Susan Wojcicki, Facebook’s Sheryl Sandberg or Epic CEO Judith Falkner to be top of mind.
Rachel Wilberding: Raising awareness about Parkinson’s disease
byIn Wisconsin, 15,000 people are living with Parkinson’s disease, a progressive nervous system disorder that affects movement. That’s prompting Rachel Wilberding to work to increase community awareness and access to help across the state.
Emily Erwin-Frank: Removing the shame from mental illness
byHaving been stigmatized herself in dealing with a mental illness diagnosis, Emily Erwin-Frank has set out to reduce harmful stigmas about the disease.
Denise Ney: Research helping real people
byBecause of Denise Ney’s work as director of the dietetics program at UW-Madison, patients with the rare genetic disorder phenylketonuria (PKU) now have tastier options to meet their extremely limiting dietary needs.