Addie Boland '01
Communications
Thilmany, LLC

Don Byrne '87
Producer/Director/Videographer/Editor
The Post House, Inc.

Don is an award winning Producer/Director/Videographer and Editor and owns The Post House, Inc. in Eau Claire, Wisconsin.  He has worked on hundreds of videos ranging from training, corporate sales and TV commercials to documentaries and network cable programs. His clients include local small businesses, Fortune 500 companies, ad agencies and cable networks. 
 
Don’s editing and videography work on the documentary, "Drug-Endangered Children: Breaking the Cycle" has earned several awards including a Bronze award from the New York International Film Festival and a Gold Award from the Greater Wisconsin Media Communications Association-International. More information is available at www.theposthouse.tv.

John Hein '86
Director – Global Marketing Communications
Johnson Controls Inc.

John is responsible for global marketing communications activity for the Building Efficiency business of Johnson Controls. His team works with vertical market and line-of business owners to create integrated marketing communication programs that link to their business goals and support the overall Johnson Controls brand.

John leads Building Efficiency branding initiatives and is a member of the global communications council.

He has a bachelor's degree in Journalism with an Advertising emphasis from the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire and a master's in Business Administration in Marketing from Keller Graduate School of Management.  He is a past president of the Milwaukee chapter of the Business Marketing Association and is a certified business communicator CBC.

Jeff Hovind

Don Huebscher
Editor
Leader-Telegram

Don is editor of the Leader-Telegram daily newspaper in Eau Claire. He has been an advisory board member since the group's inception.

Don is a 1975 journalism graduate of UW-Whitewater. He was sports editor of the Daily Jefferson County Union in Fort Atkinson from 1975-78 before becoming a sports reporter at the Janesville Gazette. In 1983 he became city hall reporter at the Gazette, and in 1985 was promoted to associate editor.

Don joined the Leader-Telegram in 1987 as managing editor and was named editor in 1999.

He and his wife Sandy have two children: Ryan, a 2006 graduate of UW-Eau Claire; and Brenda, a junior at Viterbo University in La Crosse.

Greg Leaf '80
President
GroupLeaf, LLC

Greg is president and co-founder of GroupLeaf LLC, a Hudson, Wisconsin-based advertising and public relations agency that was formed in 2003.  GroupLeaf  serves a wide range of international, national and local clients, including Cargill Animal Nutrition, Delta Dental Plans Association,  PIC USA, the Minnesota Turkey Growers and the Minnesota Pork Board.

He is past president of Miller Meester Advertising, where he served in various public relations and advertising positions for 14 years beginning in 1991. Greg also has worked as a reporter/copy editor for the Eau Claire Leader-Telegram; account executive for Bozell & Jacobs Public Relations in Milwaukee (1980-82); account executive for Daniel J. Edelman, Inc. in Chicago (1982-83); Vice President for Bozell Public Relations in Chicago (1983-89); and Senior Vice President for Ruder-Finn, Inc. in Chicago (1989-91). 

Greg graduated from UW-Eau Claire in 1979 with a B.A. in Journalism and a minor in Political Science. The Journalism Department named him its 1996 alumnus of the year. Greg and his wife and business partner Catherine Larson Leaf sponsor a public relations scholarship for UW-EC students.

Jay Lux '91
Manager of Organizational Effectiveness
AgriBank

Jay serves as the Manager of Organizational Effectiveness for AgriBank.  AgriBank is the largest banking organization, by way of funds lent, in Minnesota.  In his role, Jay works with individual bank organizations to improve individual and organizational performance.  Prior to joining AgriBank, Jay held roles in Human Resources Development with Naterra Land, Target Corporation, Wilson Learning Worldwide and Supervalu. 

Jay holds a master’s degree from the University of St. Thomas in Human Resources Development and a B.A. from the University of Wisconsin–Eau Claire in Organizational Communication.  Jay has been very active in professional organizations, such as the Society for Human Resources Management, Twin Cities Human Resources Management and OD Network.  Jay has also served on the Board of Directors for Career Solutions, Inc. in the role of secretary. 

Jay lives in Forest Lake, Minn. with his wife, Christy, of 14 years and their two sons, Aidan and Gavin.  In his spare time, Jay is a tournament water skier, downhill skier and mountain-biker. He also enjoys hiking with his family. 

James J. MacLachlan '80
President
Tartan Marketing

Lisa Patrow '95
News Director/News Anchor
WQOW Channel 18

Lisa Patrow is the News Director for WQOW and also anchors Live at Five weekdays.

Born and raised in the Chippewa Valley, Lisa has been involved in all aspects of news gathering and reporting since she was a teen. She had her first job in high school when she landed a position at WWIB-FM.

While still in college, she began working part-time for Phillips Broadcasting in Menomonie as a news director and morning anchor. After graduating from the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire in 1995 with a double major in Broadcast Journalism and Political Science, she took on full time duties for Phillips when it moved to Eau Claire.

After six and a half years with the radio station, she decided to make the jump to television and joined the News 18 staff in October of 2000. She started out as the six and 10 p.m. anchor before becoming News Director in 2003.

Lisa has won numerous awards for broadcast excellence including 27 awards from the Wisconsin Broadcasters Association. She is also a correspondent for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

Lisa is married and has one son. She enjoys fishing and camping with her family.

Bob Smith '84
Regional Vice President
Gray Television, Inc.

Pam Pappas Stanoch
President
Athena Group International