Professor of Biology, UW-Oshkosh

Sabrina’s primary research interests are concentrated on the connection between microbial communities and environmental health focusing how these interactions can impact human health. The anthropogenic footprint (e.g. industrial activities, pharmaceutical usage, introduction of invasive species, etc.) is changing soil and aquatic environments in ways that can impact human health. Bacterial and fungal communities are the first organisms to detect and adapt to anthropogenic activities, making them essential in detecting environmental degradation. The goal of her research program is determine how anthropogenic forces shape bacterial communities in terms of diversity and functional activity in different environments (e.g. soils, water, sediments, gut microbiomes, etc.), as these communities continue to carry out ecosystem processes and maintain diversity in the presence of anthropogenic disturbances.

This research extends to the characterization of freshwater bacterial populations  (i.e. Deinococcus aquaticus and related Deinococcus) in the environment, basic physiological characterization of freshwater bacteria, and examination of microbial activities that associated with organic and inorganic contaminants (e.g. personal care products, flame retardants, nanoparticles, and plastics).

Public Health Nurse, City of Appleton Health Department

Jena is a nurse and epidemiologist with a passion for public health. She has experience working at both the state and local level health department, hospital setting acute care, and teaching. Her focus areas are infectious disease follow-up, surveillance and collection of community health data, and education. Her work requires close collaboration with community partners and healthcare providers to improve and empower the well being of the community. Public health has a broad reach from individual services to community based initiatives to policy changes.  

Manager of Mechanical Services,
Voith Paper Inc

The curiosity of a 15-year-old teenager to understand how things are manufactured and built was sharpened during the three years studying mechanical and metallurgical processes in a technical course. And having studied mechanical engineering afterwards, brought all the answers she needed. After several year dedicating herself on the paper and pulp industry, Project Management became her favorite topic and subject of her MBA.

During all these years she could prove that an engineer occupies increasingly different roles. Not just performing calculations or technical drawings on a daily basis but using your technical knowledge to perform and support the entire cycle in a company.

Nowadays she is a proud mother of an 18-months-old girl and Manager of Mechanical Services at Voith.

Quality Engineer, Voith US Inc

Kim is a Quality Engineer at Voith in Neenah, where she has worked for 16 years.  She has a BS in Industrial Engineering from Milwaukee School of Engineering and an MS in Engineering from UW-Milwaukee.  

At Voith, Kim works with her employees to ensure that products meet high quality standards.  She documents processes and implement systems to make sure products meet customers' expectations.  She also looks for ways to improve and streamline those processes and systems.  Kim engages in problem solving when issues arise.

Associate Professor of Chemistry,
Lawrence University

Deanna is passionate about teaching and research. She did her undergrad studies in Chemistry at Augustana College and received her doctorate in Marine and Atmospheric Chemistry from the University of Miami. She joined Lawrence University as Assistant Professor of Chemistry in the Fall of 2013 and has been working on the development of a low-cost, mobile laboratory for atmospheric measurements. This work has culminated in the development of ARTEMIS – Atmospheric Research Trailer for Environmental Monitoring and Interactive Science. ARTEMIS has been deployed to monitor the air quality effects of oil and gas activity in the Bakken Shale basin and near a sand quarry in Fremont, WI. In between teaching and researching, Professor Donohoue enjoys sharing ARTEMIS with general audiences, as a way to foster a love of science.

Dentist, Whilm Dental

Dr. Michelle Wihlm was born in Oshkosh and graduated from Lourdes High School in 1999. She continued her education at Winona State University earning her Bachelor of Science degree in Biology and her Doctor of Dental Surgery (DDS) from Marquette University School of Dentistry in 2007. She joined a dental practice in Oshkosh, WI immediately after dental school, bought the practice and created Wihlm Dental.

Dr. Wihlm and her husband, Tony, have 3 daughters, Kayla (14), Avianna (12) and Brielle (4) to keep them busy. All three of their daughters were born in Alabama and were adopted as infants. When Dr. Wihlm is not spending quality time with her family, she also enjoys relaxing at home, being active, baking and reading. She is really enjoying practicing dentistry in her hometown. She is passionate about giving back to her community and staying connected with the Oshkosh area. Something you may not know about Dr. Wihlm, is back in 2009 Dr. Wihlm and her siblings set a Guinness World Record when they became the “most siblings (16) to complete the same marathon”. As of 2023, they still hold the record!

Professionally, Dr. Wihlm keeps current as an active member of the American Dental Association, Wisconsin Dental Association and Winnebago County Dental Society, serving as President 2014/15. She also makes it a priority to attend continuing education both online and in person whenever possible. She is active in Oshkosh Mid-Morning Kiwanis and volunteers at Lourdes Academy (former Board of Trustee member), where her children attend school.

Director of Engineering, Oshkosh Corporation

Jill has an engineering background in Materials Science and Engineering. She began her career as a Materials and Process Engineer, working at John Deere and Oshkosh Corporation where she was responsible for conducting failure analysis, material selection and application and process and procedure development. Jill transitioned into engineering management, first leading the finite element analysis team before leading the modeling and simulation team at Oshkosh. Throughout her career Jill has been a passionate advocate for STEM engagement in students and their parents. She has held numerous roles within the Society of Women Engineers at the local and regional level. Jill is an advocate for diversity within STEM careers and was a founding leader of the Oshkosh Corporation Women’s Network and the Oshkosh Corporation Women in Product Development internal group. In addition to leading the modeling and simulation team, Jill is responsible for leading the talent pipeline efforts for Corporate Engineering to include all STEM related activities, our Youth Apprentice and Rotational Engineering programs, and all University Relations including interns, student organizations and selecting the best universities to create strategic partnerships with to meet the future goals of the organization. Jill has a BS in Materials and Process Engineering and a MS in Mechanical Engineering -Polymer Science both from the University of Wisconsin Madison and a MS in Engineering Management from Milwaukee School of Engineering. She spends her free time with her husband, Mike and her two young kids.

Lead Materials Scientist

Kara loves working with and building community, fighting for diversity in STEM, sharing knowledge and her passion areas with others, finding and executing solutions to pressing problems (especially environmental ones) through science, spending all the time she can with her family and friends and escaping outside as much as possible. She dislikes sitting still, completing paperwork, and completing the last five percent of anything she has started.

After completing her undergraduate degree in chemistry at Albion College, she moved to Oregon for her graduate studies in materials chemistry and received my PhD from the University of Oregon working with Pacific Northwest National Lab, completed her post doctoral work at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and taught Chemistry and ran a research lab at the University of Minnnesota, Morris for five years. Kara transitioned to Industry working for Kimberly-Clark, I work mostly on odor control materials for their personal care brands that are very similar to her area of expertise, and she absolutely loves it. Outside of work she has held leadership positions advancing her passion areas just as the President of Women in Graduate Sciences at the University of Oregon and currently the Chair-elect for our local section of the American Chemical Society.

Senior Product Manager

Rhiannon has worked for Kimberly-Clark in multiple Research and Engineering roles for 24 years. Graduating from University of Wisconsin – Madison with a degree in Chemistry, Rhiannon started her career in the Materials Team laboratory titrating to substantiate consumer claims and develop predictive modeling. Rooted in a desire to focus on consumer need but also an interest in exploring other roles, Rhiannon spent time in manufacturing facilities as a Process Engineer and then as Product Developer. Rhiannon had worked in all R&E functions and impacted every Kimberly-Clark Personal Care Brand (Huggies®, Pull-Ups®, Kotex®, and Depend®) before finding a passion in people management. She has been a team leader for 8 years where she manages business decisions and works with talented and diverse subject matter experts on the Materials Team. Rhiannon has also been a community partner for UW-Madison Science is Fun traveling demos, First Lego League, Junior Achievement, and Career Connections.

Rhiannon lives in Appleton with her husband, Jon. They are proud parents of 3 kids that keep them busy with visits to colleges, hockey rinks, lacrosse fields, tennis courts, golf courses, and music studios. In her free time, Rhiannon is an avid cyclist and USA Cycling Certified Coach. She volunteers for Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation as a National Coach and travels the United States to support fundraising rides.