Susan is the resident big cheese in our office serving as Executive Director and President. Pretty appropriate since we all serve the land of cheese, Wisconsin! She grew up in Japan, so don't try to make references to pop-culture from the 70's because chances are she won't know what you're talking about. She does however remember just about every word to every song that she grew up listening to on the radio or enjoyed while playing the latest singer on her 8 track! (Cassette recorder? We're not telling!) A self-admitted "foodie", Susan and her husband Bob especially enjoy ethnic food and all the spices that accompany culinary delicacies which she is happy to cook or partake of in a restaurant. Her business background includes the giant company Intel which is why she can still throw out phrases like "disagree and commit", "constructive confrontation" and "whose AR (action required) is that?" With two grown sons and a five-year-old daughter, Susan is an expert at multi-tasking. and keeping the thinkmarriage team on track! Feel free to email susan@thinkmarriage.org and ask her why she thinks that healthy marriages are so beneficial to the well-being of children and adults!

Michele serves as the thinkmarriage Communications Director and uses every bit of her 35 years in radio, TV and the advertising field to get out the message about the importance of healthy relationships and marriages in the state of Wisconsin. A certified I Love Lucy fanatic she enjoys the same type of episodes in real life too! As a wife for 30 years to Ray, and the Mom of two grown kids, Ben and Molly, both in the entertainment business, she loves to inject humor into every appropriate situation. With a poster on her wall that reads: "Masquerading as a normal person day after day is exhausting", she likes to entertain and sing on a really weird instrument called a Q chord. Feel free to email michele@thinkmarriage.org and ask her how you can get your very own Myth-Busting Marriage Champion Guide!

As a thinkmarriage Community Programs Director for Outagamie, Marathon, Waukesha and Fond du Lac Counties, Debra attributes her drive to encourage healthy marriages and the legacy that they will give to children to something that happened before her time! In her usual fun and humorous way, she tongue- in-cheek conjectures that her stamina might be derived from her heritage as a possible princess in a long line of royalty in Europe. Unfortunately, the amassed royal fortune was all pilfered away in a in a raging European battle and she didn't get any of it. Perhaps this is why she has determined not to lose any more battles of the heart and healthy intact families. Speaking of hearts, in her free time she's a gardener who never gets her hands dirty. Debra prefers to till the hearts of people through Garden of the Heart Ministries, an organization she founded to teach journaling and prayer. Along with keeping up with her five grown kids and husband of over 30 years, Debra is in charge of statewide classes and seminars geared to married couples. Feel free to email debra@thinkmarriage.org and ask her how you and your spouse can take a class like 10 Great Dates!

Dixie is a thinkmarriage Community Program Director specializing in teens, singles, engaged and married couples. She is also the person who teaches, and trains for one of our most engaging class titles: How to Avoid Marrying a Jerk(ette). Originally hailing from one of the Dakotas (the one that points up on the compass) she attributes her many adventures to her western roots, being in 4-H for 10 years, raising six kids, and the never-say-die attitude she observed in her mother's forever pioneer spirit. Dixie's background includes being a school teacher, business owner and working on the ground level of writing and editing a bi-lingual newspaper, even when she didn't speak Spanish! Dixie is our resident purveyor of words that most of us never use in our lives and a guru on great literature. Never say, "I seen them yesterday" in front of Dixie or you will see steam come out of her ears. Feel free to email dixie@thinkmarriage.org and ask her how you can avoid marrying a Jerk or Jerkette!

Vanessa Roskosch is the Data Management Specialist at thinkmarriage which really means she keeps the online class calendar up date, works with our data base systems and generally keeps our systems and processes flowing together…and not blowing up!  Mom to a grade school daughter, Georgia, Vanessa enjoys cooking, reading , biking, singing and a good cup of coffee. She spends as much time as she can visiting her family in her hometown of Sheboygan…and catches a famous Sheboygan brat whenever she can.  Don't be surprised to find her singing, cooking or telling a fun story about her German heritage while using a Veggie Tales cartoon voice in her spare time! Feel free to email vanessa@thinkmarriage.org and ask her how she got involved with teaching Veggie Connections to preschoolers!

Angela Robbins

Angela is the thinkmarriage County Director for Milwaukee County. A city girl through and through, (the word camping is not in her vocabulary), Angela uses her long professional history of nonprofit leadership to serve the families of the Milwaukee County, with a true compassion and commitment for working with African-American families. Along with her husband, Pastor Wayne Robbins, she founded Compel Them To Come, an outreach ministry of His Church. Always a student of life, Angela has also continued her studies at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee in the Helen Bader Institute for Nonprofit Management within the School of Continuing Education. She has no pets but brags humbly about her wonderful children and five amazing grandchildren. Feel free to email angela@thinkmarriage.org and ask her how you can be a key person to change the future of

                                            Milwaukee county!

Jane Wendt

Jane is the thinkmarriage County Director for Fond du Lac County and works with Great Marriages of Fond du Lac, a great county group. Jane is passionate about seeing healthy relationships and she has a wealth of compassion for hurting people. Kindness, warmth, empathy, beauty, truth, loyalty and a pure heart are all very important to her. She feels blessed by a great family and great relationships that often lead to adventures and lots of laughter.  Her hobbies include reading fiction, blogs about faith and relationships and exploring new ways of being “the church.” Jane’s favorite season is fall, with hiking, vacationing and walking high on her priority list. With her background in working with drug and alcohol abuse and domestic violence and her desire to see strong, healthy marriages, she is a great asset to Fond du Lac County. Feel free to email Jane and ask her about some of the best

                                          places to see fantastic sunsets at jane@thinkmarriage.org

Sarah Bodoh

Sarah is the thinkmarriage Brown County Director. A Green Bay native, Sarah spent over 8 years in Moscow, Idaho, but Wisconsin tugged at her heartstrings. In August 2006, back she came! She returned with her cat, Puella, a Liberal Arts and Classical Culture education from New Saint Andrews College, a heart for people, and a true passion to see healthy relationships prosper. She started with thinkmarriage as a volunteer facilitator in the early spring of 2007, and joined the staff in the fall of '07 to share healthy relationship resources with the community. Sarahh (with an “h”, sometimes even two of them!) is also involved with Green Bay Community Theatre doing tech work and set work backstage, and loves to get out and sing karaoke when given the chance.  Writing and people-watching are two of her favorite pastimes that provide much food for thought regarding human personality and interaction. Married to Tim in the Fall of 2008, check out Sarah and Tim's engagement journey on the thinkmarriage blog. Feel free to email sarah@thinkmarriage.org, and find out how you can get a head start on developing healthy relationships in your life!

Kristina Erdmann

Kristina is the Waukesha County Director for thinkmarriage. Her passion for this position comes from her desire to see successful marriages. She saw her own marriage go through many trials and tribulations in the first 3 years. Kristina credits the move from a struggling to successful to marriage to the retreats and seminars she and her husband attended. As Socrates noted; "The unexamined life is not worth living."  She is determined to pass on the knowledge she has attained to help others reach their maximized marriage potential. Kristina lives in New Berlin with her loving husband, Brandon, and their three beautiful children, Kailyn, Tommy, and Karina. They have two adorable dogs, Rocky and Lana, that protect and serve their family diligently. Kristina is currently pursuing a degree through Liberty University to become a Marriage and Family Therapist. In her spare time, she has managed to become Mrs. New Berlin 2008 and is looking forward to competing for Mrs. WI 2008.  Kristina's background includes being a business owner, real estate agent, and avid volunteer in her Parish and community. Feel free to email kristina@thinkmarriage.org to find out how to get what you want out of your relationship.

Jami Kaiser, CFLE

Jami is the Marathon County Director for thinkmarriage . Her passion to promote healthy relationships within her community is fueled by her own rewarding marriage. She would like everyone to be able to experience the joy and possibilities that can be had in a true partner marriage, and that includes being parents to Addison age 2 and Brice, born late 2007. Jami didn't need any research to tell her that it is helpful to have a marriage partner with two children in diapers! She has worked in healthy relationship education with youth for the past three and a half years, and is excited to be able to focus on supporting healthy marriage with adults. Feel free to email jami@thinkmarriage.org and ask her about tips on healthy relationships and what it’s like to operate in two immediate families that totals 22 people and what CFLE means!

Julie Duffy

Julie is the Outagamie County Director. She graduated from UWGB with a degree in Psychology and Human Development. She’s continually fascinated with people and how they think and behave. Julie’s been married to her husband Sean for 12 years.  They credit the success of their marriage to having never stopped dating.  With three daughters;Olivia-9, Sara-7,and Katie-6 life can get crazy! Julie is actively involved with a variety of activities that includes making fleece baby seat covers, crafts, and waitressing and also has an interest in movies, novels and recipes. She loves serving the Fox Valley through thinkmarriage. Feel free to email julie@thinkmarriage.org and ask her about classes in Outagamie County and where she gets all her energy!

Mirta Cabrera

Mirta is the piensa en matrimonio, thinkmarriage Hispanic Program Director. Originally from Uruguay she loves spending time with her family. As one of nine children, she knows the value of family life. She has been married for 20 years, has three children and calls her husband “her best friend.” Her hobbies include music, tennis, reading, and preaching! Fluent in Spanish and English she brings a wealth of resources to the Hispanic community in Brown and Milwaukee counties. When you meet Mirta you will notice right away that she is filled with compassion and caring and is enthusiastic about spreading the word of what is available in healthy relationship and marriage education in Spanish. Email mirta@thinkmarriage.org to learn more about piensa en matrimonio and feel free to email in Spanish!

 

Barb Olenski

Barb holds the title of Evaluator at thinkmarriage. That means she helps us be the best we can be by studying the effectiveness of our programs. Participant questionnaires and public impact surveys are some of the things she digs into, casting a professional eye over the numbers. When statistical discoveries emerge, you know that Barb was the “archeologist” behind the dig! She’s been working in education for the last 14 years in the High School, Middle School and Technical College levels.  Barb has been married for 28 years to her “fella”, Jay who she describes as “great!” They have 2 daughters, 18 and 21. She has traveled extensively while following Jay during a time in the military. Barb rides her motorcycle, loves to bicycle and also promotes a jewelry line. Her favorite place in the world is “da cabin.” Feel free to email barb@thinkmarriage.org to find out some great thinkmarriage statistics and also great tips on riding a motorcycle.

Jeanna Bosacki

Jeanna is a thinkmarriage Program Assistant. She most recently attended Greenville College and North Central University where she studied psychology, social work and music. In her spare time, Jeanna enjoys music and singing. She also loves people and has a passion to help others. Jeanna feels most at home when she’s working in an environment where she can help others reach their goals and succeed. Her future plans include travelling, seeing more of the world and learning about others cultures and their way of life. Feel free to email Jeanna@thinkmarriage.org and ask her what types of music she likes to sing.

 

 Tara Gokey

Tara is a thinkmarriage Program Assistant. She has been married to Allen for six years and they have three girls all under age five! (Alana, Maria and Julia) She is self titled “Mother of the Year” which she says with a big smile because one daughter usually doesn’t have shoes on, her husband’s shirts sometimes get put back in the drawer still dirty and her van has been known to smell like spilled milk. In other words she’s a typical, busy Mom!  Tara has a passion for marriage and what it brings to the life of children. After she and her husband lost a child (AnnaBella) they were determined to not become a statistic of a marriage that didn’t make it. Tara loves her husband and children, in that order, and is excited about what thinkmarriage brings to families. Feel free to email tara@thinkmarriage.org and ask her about how big she thinks thinkmarriage will become.

  Brenda Watermolen

Brenda is the Office Administrator at  thinkmarriage ... and the person most likely to be on the other end of the phone when you give us a call. A born and raised Wisconsin girl, Brenda loves to laugh and spend time with her family. Married to Mark, they have two sons, Jordan age 8 and Vince 1 ½ years old. Another member of the family is a much loved yellow lab named Leo. Always one to embrace a challenge, Brenda is certified in scuba diving and skydiving! After attending St. Norbert college she had a varied career which included working with animals in an animal hospital and spending 15 years as a GIA Certified in diamonds and diamond grading. Most recently Brenda was a lead membership associate at the Greater Green Bay YMCA. She enjoys the passionate mission of thinkmarriage and is proud to be a part of this huge social movement. Feel free to email Brenda@thinkmarriage.org and ask her some of the cute things her kids are up to!