Board of Directors Candidates

The annual membership meeting on January 24 of the Friends of Cherokee Marsh includes election of board members. If you are interested in serving on the board, please contact board president Sheila Leary at info@cherokeemarsh.org. Board members serve for terms of two years and can be re-elected to additional terms.

Currently in the middle of their terms are board members Timothy Baker, Wendy Murkve, and Ed Snyder. Retiring from the board are Lesleigh Luttrell and Mary Binkley. Past president Jan Axelson acts as an informal, non-voting consultant to the board.

Board of directors candidates are as follows. Our by-laws permit a flexible board size, so additional candidates are welcome.

Steve Ackerman  Our family has lived on the Northside of Madison since 1988,

one year after I joined the UW–Madison Space Science and Engineering Center as an associate researcher. In 1992, I became a faculty member in the Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences and then served in various leadership roles in the University, including vice chancellor of research and graduate education. For 18 years I was director of the Cooperative Institute for Meteorological Satellite Studies at UW. I became an emeritus professor in Fall 2023.

I am a strong advocate of citizen science, science outreach, and science education. I and my colleague Jon Martin have been monthly guests on Wisconsin Public Radio’s “The Larry Meiller Show” for more than two decades. Referred to as the Weather Guys, we join Larry and his callers/listeners in conversations about weather and climate. For over a decade now, the Weather Guys also have written a weekly column in a Madison newspaper answering peoples’ questions about weather and climate.

I am an enthusiast of the Community Collaborative Rain, Hail, and Snow Network (CoCoRaHS).  This non-profit, community-based network of volunteers work together to map 24-hour precipitation across the U.S. Through participation in this community network, one gets an opportunity to make contributions that support science and our understanding of how weather affects our area. This year Anne Pryor and I joined the Clean Lakes Alliance’s water quality monitoring program. Both these community-based monitoring activities are important to creating data for research, outreach, and advocacy. The collection of these data provides a means to raise awareness of the opportunities and challenges facing our water system.

The Cherokee Marsh wetland complex is affected as our climate, land cover, and societal demands change. Community-based engagement and observations help to understand these complex interconnections. If elected, I will fully engage with Friends of Cherokee Marsh science outreach, encourage community science activities, and advocate for these complex wetlands.

Sheila Leary I am completing my third term on the Friends board and my first year as board president. I have lived on the shore of the upper Yahara in the Cherokee Park neighborhood since 2000 and on the Northside since 1990. I have been certified as a Wisconsin Master Naturalist since 2018. A native of Rice Lake in northwest Wisconsin, I grew up amidst a woods, a swamp, and two lakes. With a lifelong interest in botany, I am an avid native plants gardener and am working on expanding my knowledge of mammals, insects, and birds.

From my 35-year career in university press publishing (retired), I bring to the board experience with writing and editing, websites and newsletters, events and publicity, grants and fundraising, and project management. Besides handling much of the website, social media, and newsletter work for the Friends of Cherokee Marsh, I also volunteer as newsletter editor for the Madison Herb Society and the UW-Madison Retirement Association.

For the Friends, I also enjoy leading or assisting with nature walks and other learning events. As a board member, I have encouraged new community science activities at the Marsh, advised two Eagle Scouts on environmental service projects, and participated at outreach tables and conservation work days.

If re-elected, I look forward to working with fellow board members and Friends members, not only to enjoy and understand the Marsh lands, but to protect and advocate for these irreplaceable wetland and upland ecosystems.

Linda Malkin In 2016, my husband and I joined the nearly 40% of UW–Madison alumni who stick around after graduation or return to live in Wisconsin years later. It was then that I discovered the wonders of Cherokee Marsh. As avid paddlers, we spent most of our time exploring the marsh from the water, enjoying the diverse bird and insect life, and taking in the occasional sunset among the lotus flowers.  

Then, in 2021, I took part in a Wisconsin Master Naturalist training program and connected with the Friends of Cherokee Marsh as a way to fulfill my annual volunteer requirements. I soon realized that, while there are natural areas in need of volunteers closer to my Middleton home, the people, approach, and goals of the Friends suited my skillset and personality quite nicely. 

I was pleased to be invited to join the board as an interim member in 2023 and was formally elected in 2024. Since then, I have used my 30+ years of experience in formal and informal science education to support outreach efforts to schools and the community with the goal of increasing the number of people who know and love Cherokee Marsh.  If re-elected, I will continue my efforts in this area, with an emphasis on schools and groups that visit the marsh for educational activities.

Jim Mand I joined the Friends of Cherokee Marsh Board in 2018. Having retired a couple years earlier and living just a mile up from the Marsh's North Unit, I decided to become more involved.

As a lifelong birder, I started with taking on maintenance of the Bluebird Trail in the North Unit and expanded it to 21 nest boxes. Then I started to volunteer my time with various work parties, trail maintenance, and invasive plant removal across all the Marsh public lands, working with both City and County Parks crews. I also maintain the information kiosks—four city and two county—by posting upcoming events and notices.

I have enjoyed working with the other board members advancing the goals of the Friends to maintain and improve the Marsh and encourage others to come out and enjoy all that the Marsh has to offer, including school groups, monthly public nature hikes, etc. I would appreciate your vote for another term on the Board.

Paul Noeldner I enjoy helping restore habitat and connecting with the community as a long-time member of the Friends of Cherokee Marsh board of directors. I also help the Friends of Cherokee Marsh collaborate effectively with Madison Parks and other environmental and Friends groups as part of the Madison FUN Friends of Urban Nature coalition—organizing, facilitating, and co-sponsoring nature and outreach activities.

These activities include bluebird trails, purple martin houses, monthly year-round Bird and Nature Adventures (on the first Sunday every month at Cherokee Marsh), the annual Christmas Bird Count and Great Wisconsin Birdathon northside teams, the city-wide Madison Bird and Nature Festival, and the Madison Parks–FUN Wisconsin Master Naturalist Class, all of which Friends of Cherokee Marsh participates in actively as a major co-sponsor.  

Russell Schwalbe I have lived on the Northside of Madison for three decades, since the days of Rick and Ole’s, Pierce's Grocery Store, “Let’s Go Fish,” and Jim’s Meat Market. The last 22 years my family has spent just steps from the northside marsh. I’ve hiked, fished, skated, skied, canoed, and, yes, even swum the waters in Cherokee over the years and have enjoyed every minute of it. 

I graduated from UW Madison in 1986 and have worked and lived here ever since. In the fall of 2024, I retired from various financial leadership positions at UW–Madison (I was business manager at the UW Press for several years when Sheila was the press director!) and, by coincidence, the Friends board was looking for a candidate for future treasurer. I was looking for a way to give back to the community in a meaningful and helpful way. Seemed like a great opportunity! I became an interim board member in 2025 and hope to be formally elected in January 2026.

In my free time, I love gardening and am constantly working in my gardens spring, summer, and fall; still paddling and fishing Cherokee waters; and hiking the great trails. I also work part time at Jung’s Garden Center on the Northside, restore old cars and motorcycles, and am a 3x/week visitor to our wonderful Lakeview Library. 

I look forward to doing my part, as treasurer, to help to continue the amazing support and guidance that retiring treasurer Lesleigh Luttrell has provided for the finances of the Friends over the years.