Ad Hoc Committees

Faisal Abdu'Allah

Faisal Abdu'Allah is a multidisciplinary British artist who creates iconographic imagery through a conceptual lens, exploring intersections of race, identity, power, and representation as they relate to ideology and culture. Abdu'Allah studied in London at the Royal College of Art. He is Associate Professor of Printmaking at UW–Madison and has been the recipient of numerous awards, including the 2012 Mayors prize for sustainability for his film Double Pendulum, Decibel Visual Artist Award, London, First Prize at the Tallinn Print Triennial, Estonia, and is a 2016 recipient of The Joan Mitchell Foundation Grant Program for Painters and Sculptors.

Katherine Alcauskas

Katherine Alcaukas is the Chief Curator at the Chazen Museum of Art, University of Wisconsin-Madison. Previously, she was Collections Curator and Exhibitions Manager for the Ruth and Elmer Wellin Museum of Art at Hamilton College in Clinton, NY, the Collection Specialist in the Department of Drawings & Prints of the Museum of Modern Art in New York City, and the Florence B. Selden Senior Curatorial Fellow in the Department of Prints, Drawings, and Photographs of the Yale University Art Gallery in New Haven, CT.

Peggy Gunderson

Peggy Gunderson is the President and CEO of Strategic Brand Marketing in Madison, Wisconsin, a firm focused on brand strategy and marketing solutions. Appointed by Gov. Tony Evers, she has served on the Wisconsin Small Business Regulatory Review Board, advocating for business-friendly policies. She is also a co-owner of the Wisconsin Gift Market.

Ren LaDassor

Ren LaDassor is a fiber artist, graphic designer, and costume designer living in the Arboretum Neighborhood of Madison, WI. She has a degree in Costume Design from University of North Carolina School of the Arts. She started her career in New York City working on costumes for TV, Film, Broadway, and Regional Theaters. After 8 years in the big city, she found her way to Madison by way of her work on costumes at American Players Theater. Now that she calls Madison home, she works as the Graphics Lead for Just Coffee Cooperative and designs costumes with Forward Theater at the Overture Center. She is also an avid fiber artist teaching classes on different styles of embroidery.

Maile Lloyd

Maile Lloyd graduated in 2025 from University of Wisconsin-Madison with a BFA for Painting, photography and printmaking.

T.L. Luke (Chair)

T.L. Luke (she/they) is a professional illustrator and small business owner in Madison, Wisconsin. Concerned with the political schism happening across the country, but especially in Wisconsin, Luke shifted her illustration practice (which previously focused on mental health, queer issues, and healthy escapism) to focus on well-researched comics and infographics on current events in local politics, state taxes, art equity, and more.

William Ochowicz (District 2 Alder)

Alder Will Ochowicz  graduated in 2017 from UW-Madison with a degree in Chemical Engineering, he realized that he wanted to work in technology, and Alder Ochowicz began taking night classes in order to earn a Capstone degree in Computer Science. Alder Ochowicz went back to school  to earn a master's in computer science from UT-Austin through an online program. This last July, he started working at Findhelp, which is a company dedicated to connecting people who need help with the social service programs that provide it. Alder Ochowicz also am the founder and a lead for Madison is for People (MifP), a local YIMBY group.

Faisal Abdu'Allah

Faisal Abdu'Allah is a multidisciplinary British artist who creates iconographic imagery through a conceptual lens, exploring intersections of race, identity, power, and representation as they relate to ideology and culture. Abdu'Allah studied in London at the Royal College of Art. He is Associate Professor of Printmaking at UW–Madison and has been the recipient of numerous awards, including the 2012 Mayors prize for sustainability for his film Double Pendulum, Decibel Visual Artist Award, London, First Prize at the Tallinn Print Triennial, Estonia, and is a 2016 recipient of The Joan Mitchell Foundation Grant Program for Painters and Sculptors.

Brenda Baker (Chair)

Brenda Baker is Co-CEO of the Madison Children's Museum (MCM), in Madison, WI.  Brenda earned an MFA from University of Wisconsin-Madison, a BA from DePaul University, and studied at both the Austro-American Institute in Vienna, Austria and Karl Marx University of Economics in Budapest, Hungary. She is the recipient of numerous awards including an NEA grant in sculpture, an Arts Midwest fellowship, and several Wisconsin Arts Board, Madison Arts Commission and Dane County Cultural Affairs Commission grants.

Bethany Jurewicz (Vice Chair)

Bethany Jurewicz is the Director of Public Programming and Community Outreach at Garver Feed Mill. Formerly, she was the Exhibitions and Events Manager at the James Watrous Gallery, a program of the Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts, and Letters where she remains on staff part-time as a financial advisor.

Toni Sikes

Toni Sikes is Founder and CEO of CODAworx, the global leader in commissioned art, serving as a professional network for a wide variety of artists, design professionals, and industry resources. She also serves as Chair of the Wisconsin Technology Council and the Center for Healthy Minds. She founded Artful Home, an ecommerce company that is now the largest retailer of artist-created home furnishings, and authored The Artful Home: Using Art & Craft to Create Living Spaces You'll Love.

Alder Mike Verveer (District 4)

Alder Mike Verveer (he/him) has represented the city's core downtown since 1995. Mike was most recently re-elected to the Madison Common Council in April 2025. He previously served as Common Council President for the 2003-2004, 2007-2008 and 2016-2017 terms and as Common Council President Pro Tem (now called Vice President) for the 2001-2002 term.

Mike, a practicing attorney, is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin Law School. He currently serves on the boards of the following organizations: Capitol Neighborhoods, Inc., Downtown Madison, Inc., Madison's Central Business Improvement District, Madison Elks Lodge, and the Overture Center Foundation.