The Boys and Girls Club of Dane County has announced the addition of five new board members and the election of former vice president Emilio Cooper as the new board chair.
Cooper is a Regional President with BMO Harris Bank and head of US mortgages. He was also recently named one of the most influential African Americans in Wisconsin by Madison365.
Morgan Stanley financial advisor and first vice president for wealth management Jenny Meicher Santek was named as the new vice chair.
New board members are:
- Group Health Cooperative CEO Mark Huth
- Real estate developer Fred Rouse
- American Family Insurance advertising director Dwayne Maddox
- Madison College Chief Financial Officer Mark Thomas
- Madison-Area Urban Ministry Development Director Nasra Wehelie
“I am excited to work with these leaders in our community and to make great things happen for our local kids,” said Boys and Girls Club CEO Michael Johnson. “I believe we have built the most diverse board of directors and management team in Dane County and I look forward to working collaboratively to impact kids’ lives.”
The following biographical information was provided by the Boys and Girls Club of Dane County:
Emilio Cooper, Chairman of the Boys & Girls Club Board of Directors is the Regional President of BMO Harris Bank and Head of US Mortgages. He has a proven track record for turning businesses around. He has achieved success across geographies. He is uniquely skilled in crafting a vision and a strategy to deliver the full potential of the businesses he has lead. He has a demonstrated history of superior performance in a continually progressive career in retail, business, and mortgage banking in New York, New Jersey, Delaware, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Illinois, Minneapolis, Kansas, Missouri, Florida, Arizona and Indiana. He has expertise in leading retail branch networks, consumer lending, recruiting, mass affluent acquisition, bank at work programs, mortgage, small business banking, operational soundness, and improving employee engagement. He has been the Vice President of the Boys & Girls Club Board and member of the board for three years and has been actively involved in Bike4BGC.
Jenny Meicher Santek is a local Financial Advisor at Morgan Stanley and has more than 10 years of experience in that role. Jenny has a B.A. in Business and Spanish from The University of Wisconsin – LaCrosse. She has been featured in the In Business magazine “Emerging Talent” in 2009 and “40 Under 40” in 2012. Jenny served as Chair of Madison Area Service Club Council and is a member of the Optimist Club of Downtown Madison. She is currently on her second year of serving as Co-Chairman of Bike for Boys & Girls Club and is a member of the Hearts for Helping Committee.
Mark Huth, Chief Executive Officer and Family Physician at Group Health Cooperative. Mark has been working for Group Health since 2007. He was a family physician and then a Chief Medical Officer and now the Chief Executive Officer for the organization. He has overseen 80,000 members of the community as the non-profit healthcare cooperative. Group Health signed on to a 3 year commitment to sponsor Boys & Girls Clubs Thanksgiving event in Allied Drive that feeds over 700 people. He currently serves as a Honorary Chairman for Boys & Girls Clubs Hearts for Helping Event. Mark graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison Family Medicine Residency Program.
Fred Rouse, Owner of Rouse Management. Fred was a barber for 19 years and then started his own business. Rouse Management was founded in 1965. Initially, he purchased a few houses in downtown Madison. As time went on he acquired larger apartment communities and started to form partnerships giving him the opportunity to develop new sites. His current portfolio includes over 1,000 apartments in Madison and Milwaukee. His company manages and has full and partial ownership of properties valued at nearly $90 million dollars. Fred has been a donor of the Boys and Girls Club for the past several years and this will be his first membership on a Board of Directors. He is looking to get more involved in philanthropy and nonprofit work after spending years of building his business and allowing others to run the day to day management of his company.
Dwayne Maddox, Advertising Director at American Family Insurance has been with the organization since 2007. He leads the strategy and execution of all consumer-facing advertising. His primary responsibilities include the execution of all consumer marketing campaigns, media strategy and events and sponsorships for the Fortune 300 company. Dwayne is also the liaison to the NFL and manages American Family’s relationships with the NBA. He currently is serving as Honorary Chairman for Boys & Girls Clubs Hearts for Helping event. Dwayne has a Master of Business Administration and a Bachelor of Arts in Marketing from St. John’s University
Mark Thomas, Chief Financial Officer and Vice President of Administrative Services at Madison College. He has been in that role since 2014. Mark has a rich background in public finances and have served in the CFO and Chief of Staff roles in similar capacities at the Cook County Forest Preserve District, and the Chicago Park District. Mark is currently a member of the Boys & Girls Club finance committee and is a native of Chicago, Illinois. Mark has a Master’s Degree in Public Policy and Bachelor of Business Administration from Western Michigan University.
Nasra Wehelie, Development Director for Madison-Area Urban Ministry (MUM). Prior to joining MUM, Nasra was the President/CEO of Dedicated Consultants LLC. Her organization provided Cross-Cultural Competency Training, Diversity Management and Leadership Development to both local and international Businesses. Nasra holds a BA in International Relations from University of Wisconsin- Madison and MBA from Cardinal Stritch University- Madison. Nasra serves on the Board of Morgridge Center- University of Wisconsin and serves on the SHRAC (Superintendent Human Relation Advisory Council) for the Madison Metropolitan School District. She is the founder of Muslim Youth of Madison whose mission is to bring Muslim Youth together and provide them the venue to carry out recreational, educational, spiritual and charitable activities.
