Member Bios

Justin Kyle Bush

Graduate Academic Advisor

Contact: justinkyle.bush@wisc.edu

Justin Kyle Bush is the graduate academic advisor for Manufacturing Systems Engineering (MSE), Engineering Data Analytics (MEDA), and Sustainable Systems Engineering (SSE). Justin supports all aspects of the student life cycle, including recruitment, admissions, new student orientation, academic advising, monitoring of progress towards the degree, course and enrollment management, diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, funding, course and program assessment, and academic program review. I look forward to representing COE Academic Staff to enhance our workplace and community. I am interested in serving on CASI to leverage my skills as a listener, effective communicator, and innovative thinker to continuously improve our working environment. I am relatively new to UW-Madison, joining during the pandemic, and will bring a new perspective to the committee. I look forward to networking with other academic staff to understand our areas of improvement and working towards solutions that will keep COE a great place to work.

Marc Class

Research Engineer, Industrial Refrigeration Consortium

Contact: mclaas@wisc.edu

Marc Claas is a staff Research Engineer with the Industrial Refrigeration Consortium in the Mechanical Engineering Department at UW-Madison. He has been in his current role since 2015, engaging in applied research and industry outreach focused on large ammonia refrigeration systems used in the food and beverage industries. His work focuses on making collaborative industry progress regarding the safety, reliability, performance, and efficiency of these systems with a focus on education.

Alex Conrad

Graduate Advisor, Electrical & Computer Engineering

Contact: alexandra.conrad@wisc.edu

I am a Graduate Student Services Coordinator in the Electrical and Computer Engineering department. I help students, faculty and staff with all aspects of graduate school from admissions through graduation. I care deeply about the staff experience in our college. I look forward to hearing and sharing your concerns with CASI.

Jackie Cooper

Lab Manager, Civil & Environmental Engineering

Contact: jackie.cooper@wisc.edu

I have been in this position for over 20 years, supporting students and faculty in both CEE and CBE, as well as others across campus who utilize the equipment in my lab. I feel my perspective as someone working in a laboratory, which is often times not reflected in other campus committees, will serve me well on CASI.

Mary Fitzpatrick

Director of Diversity Research and Evaluation, Inclusion, Equity and Diversity in Engineering (IEDE)

Contact: mary.fitzpatrick@wisc.edu

Mary Fitzpatrick is in the unit of Inclusion, Equity and Diversity in Engineering (IEDE) in the role of academic staff scientist and has been with the College since 2013. She earned her BS in Biomedical Engineering from the University of Iowa, an MS in Electrical Engineering from Marquette University and was a practicing engineer and program manager for 17 years in the medical device and software industries. She earned a doctorate in Educational Psychology from UW-Milwaukee in 2011. Her current role focuses on providing program evaluation and research related to underrepresented groups in engineering and creating an inclusive culture within the College and UW-Madison.

Daniel Gaona

Accountant

Contact: daniel.gaona@wisc.edu

Daniel joined UW-Madison in January of 2013. He has been with the College of Engineering since August of 2021 and is the Accountant for the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering. Daniel has served on a variety of committees during his time with the university as well as the school district where his children are enrolled.

Daniel looks forward to bringing his breadth of experience to CASI in hopes of being an advocate for staff members whose voices may not always be at the forefront.

Sara Hladilek

Senior Student Services Coordinator, Student Services

Contact: shladilek@wisc.edu

Sara Hladilek is a Graduate Student Services Coordinator working with the Department of Mechanical Engineering and the Department of Engineering Physics to support graduate students and faculty with all aspects of the graduate student programs from pre-admission through graduation.

Jason Jankoski, CASI ex officio member (non-voting)

Assistant Dean for Human Resources

Contact: jpjankoski@wisc.edu, (608) 890-0921

As assistant dean for human resources, payroll and benefits, Jason Jankoski provides leadership in human resource, payroll and benefits systems administration throughout the College of Engineering. He oversees, directs and collaborates with the college’s decentralized departmental human resource, payroll and administrative staff members, and provides leadership and guidance to achieve excellence in these areas. Additionally, he is the college liaison to human resources at the UW-Madison and UW System levels.

Jankoski joined the College of Engineering as assistant dean in 2014. Previously, he spent five years as assistant dean for human resources in the Wisconsin School of Business, and has held human resources positions elsewhere at UW-Madison and at the State of Wisconsin. He earned his bachelor of arts in human resources management from the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire.

Nate Jung, CASI Co-Chair

Teaching Faculty, Technical Communications

Contact: najung@wisc.edu

As a faculty member of the Technical Communications Program, I teach engineering communications courses to students from all areas of the College of Engineering. This interdisciplinary and student-facing role allows me to interact with a wide variety of faculty, administrators, and STEM writing professionals to ensure that our students can integrate all aspects of their engineering education into a cohesive professional identity that reflects the values of the UW-Madison College of Engineering. My direct contact with students in the classroom and my position in a program that interfaces with so many different elements of the College provide me with a uniquely collaborative perspective that I look forward to contributing to CASI. My service experience will also prove beneficial; in addition to the work I do for the Technical Communications Program, I am currently a member of the TTC Appeals Panel, and recently served on the Ad Hoc Committee on Policy and Process Regarding Access to Electronic Records. Previously, I taught courses in engineering communication, health science writing, and business writing at UW-Milwaukee, and I was appointed to multiple-year terms on their university-wide Ombuds Council and the English department’s Grievance Committee.

Angela Kita

Associate Director of Leadership Education

Contact: amkita@wisc.edu

As a member of the Center for Innovation in Engineering Education, Angela Kita is excited to build and grow partnerships that better connect students to their learning, their passions, and their goals. She has worked collaboratively with faculty and staff on curriculum development, improved instructor support, and cross-campus projects. Angela has served as a representative and on a subcommittee of the Academic Staff Assembly (ASA), and is always looking for ways to improve the climate at UW. As a CASI member she plans on asking questions, seeking out ways to improve work conditions, and advocating on behalf of staff members. She is particularly excited about building cross-college connections and increasing promotional and recognition opportunities.

Kelly Petersen, CASI Chair

Main Office Manager, Industrial and Systems Engineering

Contact: kmpetersen2@wisc.edu

Kelly joined the University of Wisconsin – Madison in the summer of 2019. She acts as the Main Office Manager for Industrial and Systems Engineering, doing a little bit of everything to support the Faculty, Staff, and Instructors of her department. She also currently serves on a variety of committees throughout the college.

Kelly received her BS in Elementary Education from Iowa State University and worked in the education field for 5 years before moving into an administrative role in higher education.

Amanda Rasmussen

Executive Assistant to the Office of the Dean

Contact: arasmussen4@wisc.edu

Hi there, my name is Amanda Rasmussen. You may have seen me if you ever had a need to go to the Dean’s Office here in the College of Engineering. I’m an Executive Assistant in the Office of the Dean. Primarily I assist David Noyce, Executive Associate Dean and Chris Castro, Associate Dean for Inclusion, Equity and Diversity in Engineering. I also help out with our research group and Academic Affairs when needed. It’s a team effort here! I’m excited to be nominated for CASI so that I can be involved more involved in decisions in our college, and as a chance to meet other people throughout the Engineering campus. I think that my position in the Dean’s Office would make me a good liaison for CASI and I look forward to being more involved in college policies and procedures.

Sara Tate-Pedersen

Technical Compliance Manager, Computer-Aided Engineering (CAE)

Contact: sara.tate-pederson@wisc.edu

Dynamic IT leader and professional with 25+ years of experience, I currently serve in the role of Technical Compliance Manager with Computer-Aided Engineering at UW-Madison. I am also a co-lead for our campus IT Leaders Program (ITLP) Forward steering team as part of IT Connects, am a past co-lead and founding steering team member of our campus Women in IT (UW-WIT) community, and currently serve as past chair and steering team member on the Big Ten Academic Alliance Women+ in IT Peer Group (BTAA WIT+). Throughout my entire career I have been an active participant and facilitator on a wide variety of strategic initiatives that promote inclusion, equity, diversity, and belonging in the workplace. Outside of my service to the UW-Madison I enjoy opportunities to hike in our National Parks, indulge in hobby geology, and build with LEGO.