Karen Grupe
President:
Karen lives in the rural Cleveland area with her husband, Keith and their children. They have three sons and one daughter. The two older sons have left the nest and reside in Green Bay and Madison. Their daughter attends the University of Wisconsin-Madison. The youngest attends the University of Wisconsin – Whitewater. She loves to spend time with her family first and foremost. She also enjoys traveling, reading, hiking and is a novice bird watcher.
Currently Karen works with her husband, Keith, who is a Thrivent Financial Representative. She is a member of St. Paul Lutheran Church in Sheboygan Falls. She loves spending her time and using her God given talents to make a difference in our community. Thrivent, Sheboygan Leadership Academy and SCIO provide countless opportunities to serve others and make a positive impact every day.
Emily Grzesiak
Treasurer:
Emily is currently employed as an accountant at Kohler Company. She is a Lakeland University graduate.
Kristine Feggestad
Secretary:
Kristine lives in Sheboygan with her husband, Paul. They have two sons; one in college at St Louis University and one at North High School. She loves to be outdoors, walking, running, biking, hiking or gardening.
Kristine has been a behavioral/mental health counselor for over 20 years. She has worked in a number of community and higher education settings. She currently works at Lakeshore Community Health Care in Sheboygan, a Federally Qualified Health Care Center that provides integrated health care to individuals regardless of insurance status or income level. She understands the importance of meeting people where they are at and providing what they need to move forward and improve their quality of life.
Kevin Witt
Kevin lives in Sheboygan with his wife Carol. They are members of St. Peter Lutheran Church – ELCA. They have two daughters; one that lives in Milwaukee with her husband and son and the other lives in Washington D.C. Kevin recently retired as an Engineer at Kohler Company where he had worked for over 30 years. He believes that SCIO is a catalyst that works to develop and strengthen relationships within our local community. SCIO does this with God’s help and by being partners with organizations that provide basic needs for people in our community. He believes that in this process a world of justice, generosity and compassion is created.
Nhia Yang
Nhia Yang has been the Creative Media Director for Time of Grace Ministry since April 2017. She knows she is blessed to be able to use her God-given video production skills to share the Gospel and volunteer with SCIO.
Nhia worked for more than 11 years in media, 2 years in higher ed marketing, and 2 years in communications consulting.
When not at Time of Grace, Nhia and her husband, John, live in Sheboygan and are busy chauffeuring their three kids to practices, games, and school activities while also loving on their adorable shih tzu, Stewey.
Zac Vredeveld
Zac lives in Sheboygan with his wife, Emily. They are members of Trinity Lutheran Church in Sheboygan. He received his bachelor’s degree in Human Resources from UW-Stout. He currently is an HR Generalist at the Wisconsin Center District in Milwaukee. Prior to the Wisconsin Center District, he worked as an HR Generalist at Lakeland University in Plymouth. Zac enjoys walking with his wife and their three dogs and traveling to Arizona to watch Milwaukee Brewers spring training baseball. Zac also enjoys playing volleyball, basketball, softball, and kickboxing.
Julie Mavity Maddalena
Julie lives in Sheboygan with her spouse, Mike, and two children, one in elementary, one in middle school. She enjoys hiking, reading, coffee, and wine, and is beginning to explore gardening. Julie is the University Chaplain, Ulrich Ethicist in Residence, and Assistant Professor of Philosophy and Religion at Lakeland University. She is ordained in the UCC and is a member at First Congregational UCC Sheboygan.
While completing her MDiv at Emory University in Atlanta, Julie lived in a homeless shelter for women and children, serving as the resident manager. Her transformative experience there led her to more work with single mothers and doctoral work at Southern Methodist University in Religious Ethics. Julie’s dissertation centered the voices of single, working-class mothers and explored ways to create and support systems that promote justice, equality, thriving, and dignity for women across racial identities. Julie teaches university and community courses on ethics, intersections of class, race, gender, and sexuality within the US political economy, and social justice within the Christian tradition.
While still new to the area, Julie is thrilled for the opportunity to support and promote the important work of SCIO as it aligns with her commitments, passion, and focus of the past twenty years.