Staff

Home 5 About Us 5 Staff
Madison Edwards

Madison Edwards

Operations and Comms Assistant

Read bio
Although a recent transplant to Wisconsin, Madison has quickly grown fond of its unique charm and humble resilience and is therefore proud to be part of the Law Forward team, working tirelessly to advocate for Wisconsinites and to protect the democratic values they hold dear. Outside of the office, you’d find them partaking in Wisconsin’s rich rock-climbing tradition at Devil’s Lake State Park.
Dan Lenz

Dan Lenz

Staff Counsel

Read bio
Dan comes to Law Forward with over a decade of litigation experience, including past work involving election administration. He’s honored to be at Law Forward, working on behalf of voters and democratic institutions. Dan has lived in Wisconsin for almost 20 years and during his career, has represented clients all over the state. He has a deep love for the Northwoods and, in his free time, enjoys volunteering in his neighborhood on the east side of Madison.
Elizabeth Pierson

Elizabeth Pierson

Legal Fellow

Read bio
Elizabeth grew up in the Milwaukee area and worked there in direct legal services before coming to Law Forward. She firmly believes that the stronger our democracy is, the better our laws and government will serve all Wisconsinites. On weekends, you can usually find Elizabeth and her dog exploring a state park or hiking the Ice Age Trail.
Photo of Nicole Safar

Nicole Safar

Executive Director

Read bio
Nicole arrived at democracy work after spending 16 years working in the reproductive freedom and public health spaces. She believes we cannot have a healthy democracy without racial justice and bodily autonomy, and we must fight for free and fair elections and other democratic practices that make political equality possible. When not leading the Law Forward team, Nicole, an avid runner, enjoys the long trails and beautiful scenery Wisconsin has to offer.
Scott Thompson

Scott Thompson

Staff Counsel

Read bio
Scott joined Law Forward after spending years litigating civil rights disputes against both private and government entities. Driven to eliminate the inequity that follows a declining democracy, he leads litigation and public education at Law Forward concerned with voting rights and ballot access. Beyond his legal work, Scott is most often found checking the box score of the last Milwaukee Bucks game, and convincing himself that this is the year he will finally run another half-marathon.

Board of Directors

Jeff Mandell

Board President

Read bio
Jeff has always believed in viewing government as the things we choose to do together, as a society. This belief has inspired his years of extensive litigation work advancing democracy and protecting voting rights. In starting Law Forward, Jeff sought to build an organization that would strive to make government work for everyone, through broad access and participation. He and his family have happily been Wisconsinites for more than 7 years, and they look forward to many more.

Judy Ziewacz

Secretary/Treasurer

Read bio
A Wisconsin native and UW-Madison graduate, Judy has over forty years of public policy experience at the state and federal levels ranging from her service as Chief of Staff for a Wisconsin Member of Congress to Deputy Secretary of a Wisconsin state agency. For a decade, Judy was head of a national Foundation based in Washington, DC. She retired in 2018 as President and Chief Executive Officer of an Association that represented the nation’s 90-million members of cooperatives and credit unions.

John W. Miller

Director

Read bio
John is Founder and Principal at Arenberg Holdings, a Venture Capital fund established in 2015 to make investments in early stage companies, with an emphasis on companies located in the Midwest. John began his career as a congressional staffer, serving as chief tax and budget policy advisor for a Congressman serving on the Committee on Ways and Means and the Committee on the Budget. John has also run congressional campaigns, advised gubernatorial and senate candidates, and served on numerous presidential finance committees. Most recently, he chaired the Board of Directors of the Milwaukee 2020 Host Committee. In 2006, John joined Miller-St. Nazianz, Inc., his family’s farm equipment manufacturing business and became the 5th generation of his family to lead the company as President & CEO. In late-2014, he sold his company to CNH Industrial (NYSE: CNHI), its largest customer. John serves on many local charitable boards including Discovery World, Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin Foundation, Public Policy Forum and United Way of Greater Milwaukee and Waukesha County (past member). He holds a B.A. from Marquette University, a M.A. from Georgetown University and a J.D. from the University of Wisconsin Law School.

Andrew Disch

Director

Read bio
Andrew serves as the Wisconsin Political Director for the North Central States Regional Council of Carpenters representing nearly 11,000 carpenters throughout Wisconsin belonging to 19 different local unions. Prior to joining the Carpenters in 2018, Andrew lobbied for other trade associations and founded an issue advocacy organization and serving as its Executive Director. A native of Verona, he is a graduate of UW-La Crosse and William Mitchell College of Law.

Christine Bremer Muggli

Director

Read bio
Christine Bremer Muggli is the owner of Bremer & Trollop Law Offices, S.C. based in Wausau, WI. She and her husband Paul have five adult children, two granddaughters, and one grandson. Christine practices primarily personal injury law, representing the injured. She also co-chairs Governor Evers’s Judicial Selection Advisory Committee.

Legal Advisory Council

U.S. Senator Russ Feingold, honorary co-chair
President of the American Constitution Society
Lt. Governor Barbara Lawton, honorary co-chair
Ian Bassin
Co-founder and Executive Director, Protect Democracy
Nicole Berner
General Counsel, Service Employees International
Union
Peter Earle
Ed Fallone
Associate Professor of Law, Marquette University Law
School
Haben Goitom
Vice President and Commercial Counsel for Mainspring Energy
Daniel Hemel
Professor of Law and Ronald H. Coase Research
Scholar, University of Chicago Law School
Hon. Paul Higginbotham
Wisconsin Court of Appeals (ret.)
Kathleen Garvey McNeil
Stafford Rosenbaum LLP
Hon. Richard Niess
Dane County Circuit Court (ret.)
Stacie Rosenzweig
Halling & Cayo S.C.
Dean Strang
Strang Bradley, LLC
Steph Tai
Professor of Law, University of Wisconsin Law School