Kirsten Golinski is the Manager of Operations at the Badger Institute. She earned her Bachelors of Arts degree in political science with a minor in public policy & administration from James Madison University. Prior to joining the Badger Institute, Golinski worked as a campaign field representative for the NRA-ILA.
Nicholas W. Kitzman is an associate with the Milwaukee law firm of Foley & Lardner LLP, focusing on real estate law. He received his B.S. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and his J.D. from Duke University School of Law, where he graduated magna cum laude and served on the editorial board of the Duke Law Journal. Prior to law school, Kitzman worked in a variety of roles for key Wisconsin policy-makers including Sens. Alberta Darling and Luther Olsen and for Gov. Scott Walker as assistant legislative director. While in the state Capitol, Kitzman focused on the areas of health care, K-12 education and entitlement reform. He also has experience in economic development, having worked for the Sheboygan County Economic Development Corp. and having spent a year living in Yerevan, Armenia, while developing rural cooperatives and teaching English.
Andrew Davis is Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce's legislative director. He is part of the advocacy team that lobbies on behalf of MMAC and its members at the federal, state and local levels. Davis came to MMAC after nearly a decade of government and political experience, including serving as Reince Priebus’ Wisconsin political director, and managing stakeholder and external relations for Gov. Scott Walker. He also held roles advising state Sen. Alberta Darling on policy issues and public relations and spent time in Washington, D.C., working in the marketing and communications department of the National Republican Congressional Committee. He is a graduate of St. Norbert College with a degree in political science.
Mary Beth is a fundraising and event planning professional with a background in the arts, contemporary politics and social issues. She previously made her career in retail and wholesale sales and management, specializing in product lines ranging from fresh food to fashion, and now manages the major donor portfolio at Wisconsin’s oldest, largest and most effective pro-life non-profit organization.
When she’s not building community among donors, Mary Beth enjoys policy discussions surrounding a pro-human platform, organizing informal wine tastings for friends, serving the congregation at her Catholic parish, and mentoring her “Little Sister.” You can find some of her most impressive cooking and baking experiments on Instagram under the handle @MaryBethGahn. Mary Beth is a magna cum laude alumna of Saint Louis University in St. Louis, Missouri.
Evan Beuscher is a healthcare actuary in Milwaukee. His work includes pricing commercial insurance in the United States and Sweden and developing predictive risk models. Evan is a graduate of Concordia University Wisconsin where he received a Bachelor’s in Actuarial Science and an MBA in Finance as part of the Business Scholars Program. Evan also serves as the Vice Chairman on the Foundation Board of his high school, Living Word Lutheran.
Kala Hill is the External Relations Operations Manager for the Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation and Development Operations Manager for the foundation’s philanthropic partner, The Bradley Impact Fund. Prior to joining Bradley, Hill spent the prior decade in the Washington, D.C., area working for her hometown congressman, Mac Thornberry, raising funds at the largest political fundraising firm in D.C., and as the Grants Manager at the Charles Koch Foundation. Hill is a Wisconsin transplant, originally from Texas, where she graduated from West Texas A&M University with a degree in Political Science. She received her master’s degree in political management from George Washington University. In addition to AFF, Hill volunteers her time with the Junior League of Milwaukee and training for running races. She lives in Wauwatosa with her husband, Mark, and their son, Nolan.
Ethan Hollenberger is the Public Affairs Coordinator for Washington County. Chief among that job is to work with local governments to share services in an effort to save taxpayer resources. He also represents the county before the legislature and Congress. Prior to this role, Eathan was Communications Director and Committee Clerk for State Senator Duey Stroebel.
Jason Kohout is a partner and business lawyer practicing with Foley & Lardner LLP. Kohout is very involved in the community and serves as secretary for the Harvard Club of Wisconsin, secretary of the Badger Institute and director and treasurer of CARMEN High School of Science and Technology Charter School. He graduated from Harvard College and received his J.D. from Harvard Law School in 2007.
Jess Ripp is a native of Milwaukee who attended Marquette University High School and Marquette University. He currently manages the daily operations of an asset management company that oversees income properties in Waukesha and Milwaukee counties. In his free time, he travels and reads approximately 50 books a year.
Sam Rogers is a Milwaukee native, and U.S. Army Afghan War veteran and former senior intelligence officer. Sam holds a bachelor’s degree in U.S. Law Studies from the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee where he led or supported several policy advocacy organizations and engaged in a wide range of issues ranging from criminal justice reform to veteran education and healthcare reform. Sam brings unique experience and insight into growing grassroots organizations and solving complex problems through human network development.