Committee Chairs and Regional Representatives
| Michael Axelrod, Ph.D., L.P., NCSP Professional Standards and Practice Chair (715) 836-5020 |
I am presently the Director of the Human Development Center and a Professor in the Psychology Department at the University of Wisconsin – Eau Claire. I earned my Ph.D. in School Psychology from Indiana University in Bloomington, IN and have formal clinical training through Father Flanagan’s Girls and Boys Town and Creighton University School of Medicine, both in Omaha, NE. Prior to coming to UWEC in 2008, I held clinical, research, training, and administrative positions at Father Flanagan’s Girls and Boys Town and the Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor, ME.
My professional interests include helping adults solve problems common to children and adolescents. I’m also interested in promoting the practice of evidence-based school psychology and dispelling myths commonly ascribed to child and adolescent psychology. I’ve written two books (Behavior Analysis for School Psychologists and Great Myths of Adolescence) and have published numerous papers in the fields of clinical and school psychology. I see school psychology as the spearhead for educational reform and believe school psychologists are in positions to provide real assistance to students and their families. My involvement with WSPA has been as a presenter at conferences and now as the Ethics and Professional Standards Chair.
When I’m not being a psychologist, I am a husband (my wife, Angela, is also a school psychologist), father (I have two sons, neither of whom are interested in psychology), and baseball coach (admittedly, I have a lifetime losing record). I enjoy traveling with my family and teaching my dog, Ma-bel – a spirited Welsh Terrier, new skills.
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I've been working in the River Falls School District since I first began as a school psychologist in the 2013-14 school year. I enjoy collaborating with other to create Equitable Multi-level System of Supports for secondary students. Additionally, I'm passionate about increasing advocacy for members of the LGBTQ community. I co-faciliate the GSA at the middle school and previously facilitated a Transgender Advocacy Group at the high school level. I'm in the process of combining my love of dogs and helping others by raising a golden retriever to become a therapy dog at the middle school. My husband, dogs, and I love to take road trips whether it's to our home state of Pennsylvania or to a national park. We're always up for a fun adventure all together! I became the Northwest Regional Representative in 2020 so I'm looking forward to building more relationships with school psychologists through my involvement with WSPA!
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My name is Leah Braunschweig and I began serving as a representative for the Coulee Region Area Psychologists in the Schools (CRAPS) in the spring of 2018. I am a graduate of the UW-La Crosse school psychology program and am currently a school psychologist for the School District of La Crosse, having completed my internship year in 2015-16. Professionally, I am passionate about equity, school climate, trauma informed care, and transition planning. I am from Pewaukee, Wisconsin and my personal hobbies/interests include enjoying the outdoors (i.e., kayaking, boating, biking, hiking, etc.) and traveling, especially back to Pewaukee to spend time with my family and friends. I am excited to be a part of WSPA and to help bring more information back to the Coulee Region!
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| Amy Cole Vacationland Regional Representative Children's Services Committee Chair |
I have been involved with WSPA since I became a school psychologist in 2000. My school psychologist training included the importance of being a member and staying involved in your professional state organization. What I enjoy most about being a school psychologist is working directly with the students and seeing their positive growth. I had worked for Poynette School District from 2000-2011 as the district school psychologist. I currently work for the Portage Community School District since 2001 as the middle and high school psychologist. I enjoy problem solving at the building, district and state levels.
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My name is Caitlin Cox. I joined the WSPA Board in 2017 as the Gateway Representative and ISPA Co-Chair. I worked in Racine Unified School District as a school psychologist from 2015-2018. I am continuing my work as a school psychologist in the private sector while I finish my doctorate. My current interests include intercultural competence, trauma, behavioral interventions, and animal-assisted therapy. Outside of work, I enjoy traveling and spending time with my pup, family, and friends. I look forward to more collaboration and networking with school psychologists in the Gateway region, the states, and internationally.
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I have been on the board since June 2001 and am the current chairperson for the Professional Development Committee. What I like best about being on the WSPA board is meeting people across state and playing volleyball once a year. I like the variety of the role of school psychologist and how we can make a difference for children. I retired from hockey at age nime. I enjoy bike riding.
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My name is Melissa Flucke and I began serving as a co-representative for the Northeast Wisconsin (NEWSPA) region in the fall of 2016 alongside Evan Pagel. I am a graduate of the UW-La Crosse school psychology program and am currently a school psychologist for the Unified School District of De Pere, having completed my internship year in 2015- 16. While my professional passions include cultural competency and inclu-sion, my personal hobbies include running and spending time with family and friends. I am excited to be a part of WSPA and help promote the organization to the NEWSPA area.
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| Jamie Ghere Public Relations Committeegherej@gmail.com |
I have been a practicing school psychologist since 2006 and currently work for Germantown School District. Since 2017, I have been co-chairing the Public Relations Committee to help increase awareness about our profession, support collaboration and professional development for WSPA members, and increase communication between our members and those we serve. I am passionate about inclusive practices and continuous improvement for multi-tiered system of supports. I really enjoy problem solving and finding more proactive, efficient, and effective practic-es when I'm working. When I am not doing that though, you'll find me spending time with my family.
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| Kistin Gillespie |
My name is Kisten Gillespie, and I am a bilingual school psychologist currently working for the Lake Mills Area School District. I have had the opportunity to work all over the state of Wisconsin including CESA #11, the Madison Metropolitan School District, and Beaver Dam Unified School District. I have been a school psychologist since 2004. I am originally from a cattle ranch in Montana, and I spend part of my summer going back to work with my family. I have worked with all ages from EC to high school, and currently work as a middle and high school psychologist. I enjoy spending time with friends and family, traveling, scuba diving, hiking, biking and music. Above all, I love being with my daughter, Thea!
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| Jessica Gutierrez |
My name is Jessica Gutierrez and I have been a practicing bilingual school psychologist since the 2016-2017 school year for the Racine Unified School District. I began serving as co-chair for the Gateway Region in 2020 along with Caitlin Cox. I am originally from Illinois and graduated from the Chicago School of Professional Psychology. I am new to the WSPA board and look forward to networking with other school psychologists, advocating, and staying up to date with current practices. I am passionate about social justice, cultural competence, and MTSS practices. In my free time, I enjoy spending time with family and friends. I especially enjoy my time with my adorable German Shepherd, Xena.
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I have been practicing as a school psychologist since 2006 in the Parkview School District. As the only school psychologist in my district, I have been working to establish relationships with students, parents and educators to promote academic, behavioral, social and emotional growth in a multi-tiered systems of supports. After having my third child, I decided it was time to join WSPA as a regional rep to continue in my journey of growth and to help make a difference in the lives of children in the south-central region and improving how we educate students. I enjoy spending time with my family, partnering with my husband in business ventures, photographing the moments that pass so quickly, working out and doing anything outdoors. __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ |
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I enjoy everything about school psychology, but specific interests I have include PBIS and Responsive Classrooms, trauma-informed care, and Section 504 evaluations and plans. It likely goes without saying that I am also highly invested in MTSS and academic interventions, as well as general assessment and report writing.
I started my career as a school psychologist in the Baraboo School District which I worked for 4 years. I served as a PBIS Tier II coach at the elementary and high school level, and also served as a trauma coach for 2 years at the high school level. For one year I served as the school safety team leader, which was something new for me but relevant in today's school environment. After 4 years in Baraboo, I began working in the Middleton-Cross Plains School District at the middle school level. I currently live in Middleton with my husband and cat, Cleopatches. We love traveling, playing board games and card games, and watching sports especially professional football.
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Tom Hellmers, school psychologist at Hudson High School, has been a school psychologist since 1991 in both Minnesota and Wisconsin, in districts ranging in size from a small rural community to a large suburban district. I have worked with preschool pro-grams, all the way to high school, and am currently working at Hudson High School. As a school psychologist, I am grateful for the opportunities to work with kids in need, and to help identify ways to best help them to be successful. I am new to the WSPA board, and look forward to both learning and contributing. I have been very involved in the development of Hudson’s RtI, SST, and pre-expulsion procedures, and hope to learn even more from my colleagues as a member of the WSPA board. In my free time, I enjoy spending time with my family, watching my kids play sports, relaxing at our family cabin, and various construction jobs.
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| Katie Johnson NCSP Ad Hoc Committee Chair (651) 587-6336 katie.johnsonncsp@gmail.com |
I have served on the WSPA board since 2007, first as Northwest Region Representative, then Regional Coordinator, NCSP Committee Chair, and NASP Delegate. I also coordinated the WSPA Crisis Certificate. Currently I am back in my role as the NCSP Chair. I have been a Wisconsin School Psychologist since 2001, and have worked in the School District of Amery since 2002. I work K-12 in the Amery system but spend most of my time in the elementary and middle school settings. I love the unique role and challenges of rural school psychology. I also love the diverse role a small rural district allows me. I spend most of my time in consultation, helping my district to support students and teachers, develop responsive programming and building relationships with parents. I absolutely love the time spent working with the WSPA board. I have found it to be the best professional development available. Working with the top school psychology leaders in the state and the nation has helped me develop as a leader and as brought so much value back to my school district.
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I have worked for the Shawano School District. I have been on the WSPA board since June 1995 and currently serve as the Publications chairperson. Participating on the WSPA board has always been rewarding as it is a great group with which to work, and helping to discuss important topics and make decisions that impact our profession across the state has been truly inspiring. A special area of interest to me is transition. I enjoy gardening, photography, spending time laughing and having fun with family and friends, and taking vacations with my husband, Dane, and my children, Christopher, Gregory and Jillian. _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ |
| Denise Meyer Technology Committee Chairperson (414)329-6600 Ext. 6617 meyerd@wawmsd.org |
I have been a full-time school psychologist with the West Allis-West Milwaukee school district since 2018. I have been fortunate to fill the technology position with WSPA. Within the field, my joy comes when I get to help kids find their spark and be true to themselves while reaching their goals. Personally, I enjoy spending time with my family, camping, reading, and making my friends laugh.
| Christine Neddenriep Professional Preparation and Training Representative (262) 472-1850 |
I'm happy to continue to serve on the board as the Professional Preparation and Training Representative. I'm a faculty member and Coordinator of the School Psychology Program at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater. Within the field of school psychology, I especially enjoy teaching and conducting research in the area of academic and behavioral interventions. My husband and I live in Libertyville, IL with our beautiful baby girl, Maggie. __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ |
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My name is Evan Pagel and I began serving as a co-representative for the Northeast Wisconsin (NEWSPA) region in June 2016 alongside Melissa Flucke. I am a graduate of the UW-La Crosse school psychology program and am currently a school psychologist for the Howard-Suamico School District, having completed my internship year in 2015-16. While my professional passion includes mental health, my personal hobbies include traveling and all things outdoors. I look forward to contributing to the WSPA Board and networking with other school psychologists in the NEWSPA region as well as across the state __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ |
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I am an NCSP psychologist working in the Madison Metropolitan School District since 2013. Prior to joining the incredible team of psychologists in MMSD, I worked for the Waterloo School District. I attended UW-Madison for my undergraduate and graduate degrees, and continue to enjoy the Madison community with my husband and children. I joined the WSPA Board in 2017 and am excited to Chair the Recognition and Scholarship Committee and to serve as the At-Large Executive Board Member. Through my role on the Recognition and Scholarship Committee I have the amazing opportunity to learn about the dedicated work of graduate students and school psychologist across Wisconsin. I enjoy work on the WSPA Board because it allows me to advocate for our profession, our schools, and our students. ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ |
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MASP Regional Representative robinss1@milwaukee.k12.wi.us |
My name is Shashina Robinson. I have worked in the Milwaukee Public School District since 2002. I am proud to say that I am an alum of Milwaukee Public Schools (Rufus King High School). I currently work in a K-5 school building part time and with the districts PBIS Tier 3 behavior team. I enjoy learning ways to create equitable schools for students and families.
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I graduated from University-Wisconsin of Milwaukee and am the school psychologist at Muskego High School for the Muskego-Norway school district. One of my passions is working with students as a mental health provider; so I am excited to join the WSPA board as the chair of the Mental Health committee. I look forward to advocating for access to proper training for my fellow colleagues in order to provide excellent support for our students.
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I have been the SWWSPA Regional Rep since June 2011. I feel it is important to be active in WSPA because it allows school psychologist to be current and aware of the initiatives and policies that impact the children we work with. It is also a great way to interact with other school psychologists and learn what other people are accomplishing in their roles and districts. I been a school psychologist in the Kickapoo School District in Viola, WI since 2010. I enjoy the small, rural school atmosphere because it allows you to get to know all the students, staff, and community members. My husband and I live in Westby, WI with our American Bulldog, King. In my free time, I enjoy swimming, biking, running, and reading. |
| Tammy Stowers-Tonn Convention Planning Committee Chairperson (608)697-2235 |
I’ve been a practicing school psychologist since 1991 for CESA 5. In 2009, I received my Director of Pupil Services license, and have been serving in a dual role as a Director and School Psychologist since that time. I enjoy mentoring and providing supervision to School Psychologists participating in their internship year. The wealth of information, and genuine excitement they bring to the field is refreshing. I also coordinate school psychologist networking meetings for the districts within the CESA 5 areas. Topics for these meetings focus on current issues affecting our overall roles in the districts. I was welcomed onto the board as Convention Chair for WSPA in 2017. In my free time, I enjoy spending time with my family playing board games, going to movies and relaxing by the pool. I also enjoy traveling, kayaking, hiking with friends. |
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I have been a school psychologist since 2002. Currently I’m working at North Lakeland Elementary, a unique pre-K through 8th grade school that is literally in the middle of the woods of the Northwoods. Additionally I’m a member of the psychology faculty at Nicolet College in Rhinelander. I’ve filled three different school psychologist roles on a very limited basis over the last three years in the Northwoods due to school psychologist shortages. I’m interested in advocacy for school psychologists and in networking school psychologists in rural areas. When not doing something with the word psychology in it, I like to be out on the lake with my family. |
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Hi, my name is Chris Weins. I am the regional Rep from the Suburban Area. Entering this school year, I have been a school psychologist for the School District of Cudahy (just south of Milwaukee) since 2005. I'm a graduate of the UW-Whitewater School Psychology program. My current interests in the field are focused on systems change and the implementation of interventions within a MLSS. Outside of work, my wife and I have three boys. __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ |
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I have been a faculty member in the school psychology program at UW-Stout since the fall of 2017, and I joined the WSPA board in 2019. Prior to my position at Stout, I was a faculty member in the University of South Dakota school psychology program and served on the board of the South Dakota School Psychology Association. Within the field of school psychology, I am most passionate about enhancing the well-being of children as well as their parents and teachers. In my personal life, I enjoy spending time with my husband and two boys, traveling, and trying new food.
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