Thrive Staff
Thrive Staff
Jennifer Alexander
President
Lisa Loniello, Executive Assistant
608.443.1946 | Email Lisa
Jennifer serves as President for Thrive and the Greater Madison Chamber of Commerce. Prior to these roles, she was appointed Secretary of the Department of Workforce Development by Governor Tommy Thompson and subsequently re-appointed by the McCallum administration. Prior to this cabinet post, Jennifer was Division Administrator of Technology Management, where she was responsible for management of the statewide telecommunications network as well as technology planning and development. Jennifer was also a founding partner with Richard Wegner, of Alexander, Wegner & Associates, a management consulting firm focusing on workforce issues, economic development and government reform. Prior to her leadership positions with the State of Wisconsin and business roles, Jennifer was a teacher and principal in the West Bend School District. Jennifer received both her Masters and Bachelors degrees from the UW-Oshkosh and is a Certified Strategic Planner.
Jennifer Post Tyler
Interim Executive Vice President
608.443.1964 | Email Jenn
Jennifer joined Thrive in 2010 as Project Director and currently serves as interim Executive Vice President. As Project Director, she led Thrive's initiatives in Sector Development and Policy & Research, managing programs in agriculture and healthcare, and overseeing research in transportation systems, regional innovation and quality of life. Prior to joining Thrive, Jenn was Director of Planning and Analysis at Overture Center for the Arts. In that role, she led strategy and implementation for major initiatives, including strategic planning, branding, and financial modeling for the Center’s long-term operations and governance. She oversaw Overture’s Community and Economic Impact Study, documenting the effect of the Center and its resident arts organizations on Dane County and the region. Originally from Florida, Jenn’s career began at The Walt Disney Company, where she held multiple roles in marketing, entertainment product development, and organizational development. She holds an MBA from the Wisconsin School of Business at UW-Madison, and received her Bachelor’s degree in marketing from the University of South Florida.
George Austin
Director of Community Outreach
608.692.6398 | Email George
George joined Thrive to support the Advance Now initiative, leading the effort to gather feedback from community stakeholders. He has worked in community planning, project development, and project delivery for the past 35 years. He currently owns his own firm, AVA Civic Enterprises Inc., to provide those services to sponsors and owners of complex development projects. Current customers include the Overture Foundation, the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation, the TOSA Foundation, and the City of Madison. He served as the Project Director for the recently completed Wisconsin Institutes for Discovery, a bio-medical research facility on the UW-Madison campus, and as President of the Overture Foundation, leading the development of the Overture Center for the Arts project in downtown Madison. His previous professional experience had been with the City of Madison where he served as the Director of the Department of Planning and Development and Executive Director of the Community Development Authority of the City of Madison. In that role, he also served as the Project Manager for the development of the Monona Terrace Community and Convention Center. George received his Bachelor of Business Administration degree, the Master of Science degree in Business, and the Master of Arts degree in Public Policy and Administration from the University of Wisconsin–Madison. He is also a licensed Wisconsin real estate broker.
Joe Klosterman
Project Specialist
608.443.1965 | Email Joe
Joe started working as an intern at Thrive in August 2011 and was promoted to Project Specialist in December 2011. He recently received his Master of Science in Urban & Regional Planning with an emphasis in economic development from the University Wisconsin-Madison. Prior to graduate school Joe worked for a marketing research firm in Minneapolis. He also holds a Bachelor’s degree in Marketing from the University of St. Thomas. His time at Thrive has been spent assisting the staff with the Advance Now initiative and updating the Capital Connections database.
Betsy Lundgren
Marketing Coordinator
608.443.1961 | Email Betsy
Betsy brings an extensive background in marketing and communications for the nonprofit sector to her position at Thrive. She relocated to Madison after five years in Washington, DC, where she held positions with various education and arts-related nonprofits. Most recently, she worked as Director of Marketing for CityDance Ensemble, where she was responsible for implementing all aspects of the organization’s sales, promotions, branding, and media relations. She also served as Communications Specialist for Dance/USA, the national service organization for professional dance. Prior to her time in Washington, DC, Betsy worked in marketing for the Madison Symphony Orchestra. She received her Master of Arts in Business from the Bolz Center for Arts Administration at the UW-Madison. She also holds her undergraduate degree from the UW-Madison, with majors in Journalism and Communication Arts.
Kathy Endres
Executive Assistant
608.443.1962 | Email Kathy
Scott Moucka
Intern
Scott joined Thrive in September 2011 as a Geographic Information Systems (GIS) intern. He is currently pursuing a Certificate in GIS from the University of Wisconsin – Madison. Scott recently received his Bachelor of Science in Geography from the University of Wisconsin – Madison. Prior to his time with Thrive, Scott worked as an independent cartographer on contract for the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. He worked within the Real Estate section mapping land transactions and updating DNR intranet map series. Scott also brings a wealth of local knowledge from his work with the Driftless Area Land Conservancy based out of Dodgeville, Wisconsin where he worked as an assistant on conservation easements. At Thrive, Scott built and manages the GIS database. He analyzes and visualizes regional data to create maps for the Advance Now initiative.
Ben Nerad
Intern
Ben joined Thrive in January of 2012 as an intern to help support the Advance Now effort. He is currently a graduate student at the University of Wisconsin – Madison La Follette School of Public Affairs and School of Social Work, focusing on community development. Before starting graduate school Ben served as a Legislative Aide in the Wisconsin State Assembly, where he worked on a variety of policy issues including housing, economic development, and education. He received his Bachelor’s degree in Political Science and Philosophy from UW – Madison.
