Staff

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Mary Bottari

Director of Strategic Partnerships

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Mary (she/her) has advanced progressive policies as the chief of staff for a growing city, as a legislative aide at the state and federal level, and as a principal strategist for nonprofits dealing with some of the most complex areas of policy making. As Chief of Staff to the Madison Mayor, Mary took a leadership role in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, including helping to establish absentee ballot drop boxes as a safe, secure option for voters and launching Madison CARES, the City’s alternative emergency response for mental health crisis. Previously, at the Center for Media and Democracy, Mary helped launch CMD’s award-winning “ALEC Exposed” investigation, which detailed behind-the-scenes corporate votes and influence on a wide array of legislative proposals. She worked in Washington, D.C., for U.S. Senator Russ Feingold during the debates over the McCain-Feingold campaign finance reform bill and at Public Citizen analyzing the impact of complex global trade agreements on consumer, labor, and environmental policies. She is a founder of the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign and worked for Judge Lynn Adelman when he was a member of the Wisconsin State Senate. A graduate of Bryn Mawr and the University of Chicago, Mary lives in Madison with her daughter and her husband John Nichols.

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Chris Donahoe

Staff Counsel

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Chris (she/her) comes to Law Forward with a decade of litigation experience, fighting unjust systems that entrench poverty, inequity, and discrimination. She has been inspired by the role that lawyers can play in protecting the most vulnerable people and the most fundamental tenants of democracy. She first came to Wisconsin at 18 years old and has lived here most of the time since. Her time away only made her love the Badger State more. She lives near the shores of Lake Michigan and likes to spend summer weekends at the beach, pretending to be a scuba diver with her kids.

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TR Edwards

Staff Counsel

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Before Law Forward, TR (he/him) spent more than a decade working in labor, community and political organizing. He is a zealous advocate for strong communities, family-supporting jobs, and equity. In addition to his work at Law Forward, he is active in pro bono and currently serves as the Community Outreach Chair for the Wisconsin Association of African American Lawyers. TR is a huge movie buff, and as a former collegiate athlete, he enjoys training and finding new ways to compete. TR is a Milwaukee native, and as Law Forward’s only Marquette lawyer, he makes an effort to wear something blue every day.

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Jeff Mandell

General Counsel

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Jeff (he/him) has nearly twenty years of experience in complex litigation and appellate advocacy. He is widely recognized as one of Wisconsin’s leading experts in election-law and constitutional litigation. In 2020, as special counsel to Governor Tony Evers, Jeff played a lead role in repelling the bevy of attacks against Wisconsin’s election results. Earlier in 2020, before he was on the Law Forward staff, Jeff was the lead lawyer who kept Kanye West and Howie Hawkins off of the Wisconsin ballot because they had not followed the rules to obtain ballot access. Jeff has handled a variety of high-profile cases before the Wisconsin Supreme Court, including on absentee-ballot drop boxes, indefinitely confined voters, attempted purges of the voter rolls, separation of powers, and other issues. 

As one of Law Forward’s co-founders, Jeff sought to build legal infrastructure that would help ensure that democracy in Wisconsin works for everyone. After graduating from the University of Chicago Law School with high honors, Jeff served as a law clerk to the Honorable A. Raymond Randolph at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. Jeff has worked in private practice at leading law firms in Chicago, Washington, and Madison, racking up successful outcome and accolades throughout his career. Jeff is an elected member of the American Law Institute and a Fellow of both the American Bar Foundation and the Wisconsin Bar Foundation. 

Before becoming a lawyer, Jeff worked at various times as a policy advocate, a magazine writer, a test-prep instructor, an American poetry scholar, a telemarketer, a waiter, and a water-park lifeguard. He earned a master’s degree in American Civilization from the University of Texas at Austin and a B.A. degree from Trinity University. He and his family have happily been Wisconsinites since 2015.

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Kathleen McNeil

Director of Administration

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Kathleen (she/her) joins Law Forward after spending twenty-plus years as a shareholder and attorney at Garvey McNeil & Associates, S.C. Her work ranged from plaintiff-side litigation to working as general counsel to a professional sports team. A true Badger, Kathleen earned her B.S. and J.D from the University of Wisconsin. Most recently, Kathleen worked in law-firm management as Head of Human Resources and Business Development at a mid-sized Madison-based law firm. She is proud to join Law Forward as Director of Administration and to support the incredible work being done by our team to revive Wisconsin’s traditional commitment to clean and open government, and to preserve fundamental democratic principles. Outside of work, Kathleen loves to read, travel, spend time with family and friends, and play any sport with a racquet.

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Scott Thompson

Staff Counsel

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Scott (he/him) 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

Andrew Disch

Director

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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.

Sarah Godlewski

Director

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Sarah Godlewski is a fifth generation Wisconsinite from Eau Claire. She is a forward-looking leader who has excelled in both government and business. Appointed by Governor Evers as the 29th Secretary of State of Wisconsin, Sarah has made history by becoming only the third woman to hold this esteemed position. Sarah loves spending time outdoors with her husband Max, son Hartley, and their rescue dog Tanner. In addition, Sarah enjoys cheering on Wisconsin sports teams and is a proud Packers shareholder.

John W. Miller

Chair

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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.

Christine Bremer Muggli

Director

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Christine Bremer Muggli is the chief shareholder of Bremer & Trollop Law Offices, S.C., Wausau, Wisconsin. She graduated magna cum laude from Loyola University, Chicago, and received her J.D. from Loyola University School of Law. Christine is the past president of the Wisconsin Association for Justice. Since 2006, Christine has been recognized annually as a Wisconsin Super Lawyer and has now been listed among the Top 10 Attorneys in Wisconsin.  In 2010, Christine was honored to be awarded the Robert L. Habush Trial Lawyer of the Year by WAJ. She serves as a member of the American Board of Trial Advocates. Christine was a member of the Democratic National Committee through 2016 and was appointed to the Wisconsin Electoral College in 2008 and 2012. Christine currently serves as a member of Governor Evers’ Judicial Selection Advisory Committee and the Wisconsin Federal Nominating Commission. She serves on many statewide boards promoting the advancement of democratic ideals. Christine lives with her husband, Paul Muggli, in northern Wisconsin where she centers her law practice serving the injured.

Lori Wallach

Director

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A Wisconsin native and member of the Wisconsin Bar, Lori Wallach is the director of the Rethink Trade program at American Economic Liberties Project. She is an internationally recognized expert on trade with experience advocating in Congress, courts, government agencies, and the media for good jobs and a healthy environment. She has been on Washingtonian’s 500 Most Influential list for many years. Wallach is a graduate of Wellesley College and Harvard Law School. In 1990s, she joined national advocacy organization Public Citizen’s Litigation Group as the first Supreme Court Assistance Project fellow and later founded Public Citizen’s Global Trade Watch, which she directed for 26 years. Before law school Wallach worked on Capitol Hill and on electoral campaigns.

Judy Ziewacz

Secretary/Treasurer

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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.