Mike Nichols, President
Mike Nichols is president of the Badger Institute. From 2009 to 2013, he was a senior fellow at the institute, syndicated newspaper columnist and communications consultant.
A graduate of Boston College and the University of Chicago, Nichols is the author of numerous papers and articles focusing on public policy, including an analysis of data-driven policing, failures in special education funding and accountability, problems and misspending in the Milwaukee Public Schools’ parental outreach program, the high cost of technical college labor contracts, public campaign financing, fraud in the FoodShare program, problems with discord and lack of productivity on the Wisconsin Supreme Court, rampant expansion of the School Lunch Program, the limitation of public subsidies of business, union influence on school boards, positive environmental impacts of the frac sand industry and conservatism in central Wisconsin.
Nichols is also the author of "The Waking," a mystery published by HarperCollins, and "Just a Few Sleeps Away," a work of non-fiction focusing on the aftermath of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. He spent almost 20 years as an award-winning newspaper reporter and columnist for newspapers in Illinois and for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, where he often wrote about Wisconsin policy, politics and people. He lives in Milwaukee with his wife. They have three children.
Michael Jahr, Vice President of Outreach and Special Projects
Michael Jahr is vice president of outreach and special projects at the Badger Institute. Jahr is an experienced communications strategist who uses storytelling and networking to build movements, inform public opinion and improve lives.
From 2012 to 2015, he served as communications director at The Kern Family Foundation. Prior to that, he was vice president for communications at the Mackinac Center for Public Policy, a Michigan-based, free-market think tank. He spent 10 years as a communications director and press secretary on Capitol Hill working for a U.S. congressman who championed limited government and constitutional fidelity.
Jahr’s work in the policy arena spans a wide array of issues. He has written on subjects ranging from corrections reform to school collective bargaining, and his work has appeared in The Wall Street Journal, The Weekly Standard, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, The Detroit News and other outlets.
Jahr is a founding board member of Launch MKE, a nonprofit organization that delivers high-quality entrepreneurial development services to underserved communities in Milwaukee. He is also a member of the Milwaukee Reentry Council, which works to provide opportunities for ex-offenders and significantly reduce recidivism.
Kirsten Golinski, Development Associate
Kirsten Golinski graduated from James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Va., in May 2018. She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science with a minor in public policy & administration. Prior to joining the Badger Institute, she worked as a campaign field representative for the NRA-ILA in Missouri for the 2018 midterm elections.
Julie Grace, Policy Analyst
Julie Grace is a policy analyst in the Badger Institute’s Center for Opportunity. Grace most recently served as a policy and communications advisor to Lt. Gov. Rebecca Kleefisch, where she coordinated the lieutenant governor's press and media appearances and assisted in policy development. Prior to that, she served as an editorial intern for Wisconsin Public Television and a graduate assistant at Marquette University in the O’Brien Fellowship in Public Service Journalism. While completing her master’s degree in communications at Marquette University, Grace interned at the Badger Institute, researching and reporting on the state and local impact of federal grants as part of the institute’s Project for 21st Century Federalism.
Mabel Wong, Editor
Mabel Wong joined the Badger Institute in 2015. She grew up in Milwaukee, attended Milwaukee Public Schools and graduated cum laude from Marquette University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in journalism. She was a journalist at the Milwaukee Sentinel and Milwaukee Journal Sentinel for over 30 years, most recently as a member of the Editorial Board and as editor of the Perspectives (op-ed) page.
Sue Ettmayer, Office Manager
Sue Ettmayer, SPHR, is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Prior to joining the Badger Institute in 2008, Ettmayer spent 15 years in human resource management and recruiting.