Meet Our Staff

Over the seven years that the University of Wisconsin-Extension (UW) and Easter Seals HQ (ES) have collaborated on the National AgrAbility Project grant. NAP has been able to strengthen its staff expertise by employing individuals with experience and academic training in extension, engineering, assistive technology, case management and vocational rehabilitation, agricultural economics and evaluation, marketing and communication, and health care.

Ronald T. Schuler, Ph. D., P.E., is a Professor Emeritus with the Biological Systems Engineering Department at UW-Madison. He’s been with the University for twenty-three years, sixteen of which he’s been involved with AgrAbility of Wisconsin. NAP has been fortunate to have Ron as the project leader for the past seven years. Ron was born and raised on a dairy/swine farm in northeastern Wisconsin before pursuing degrees in Mechanical and Agricultural Engineering. Before coming to UW-Madison, he had fourteen years experience at North Dakota State, the University of Minnesota, and the University of Wisconsin-Platteville.

Douglas B. Carmon serves as the National AgrAbility Project Manager at Easter Seals in Washington, DC. He has been with both Easter Seals and AgrAbility for three years. Doug grew up in Augusta, MO, a rural town of 250 where he worked on neighbors’ farms. Before joining NAP and Easter Seals in 2004, Doug completed eleven years of active duty service in the U.S. Air Force where he served as an Education & Training Director, Pre-hospital Medicine Coordinator, Medical Service Specialist Instructor Trainer, and Emergency Department shift Leader. He has a psychology degree from University of Maryland and a nursing certification.

Cheryl Skjolaas has been an outreach specialist at UW-Madison since August, 2000. Cheryl has worked for UW for the past twenty three years, seventeen years with the Biological Systems Engineering Department, UW-Madison. Prior she was a 4-H Youth Development agent. She was raised on a dairy farm in Stoughton WI. Cheryl has an agricultural education degree from UW-River Falls.

Mary Beck, MS, LPC, has been the rural rehabilitation specialist with NAP in Madison, WI since November of 2002. Mary has a Master’s Degree in Rehabilitation Counseling from the UW-Madison. Prior to NAP, Mary worked for the Wisconsin Division of Vocational Rehabilitation.Past career positions include job developer, rehabilitation counselor, transition specialist and technical college instructor. Mary is a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) in Wisconsin and a member of the National Rehabilitation Association.

Mark Novak, P.E has been with NAP at UW-Madison since July of 2001 as an agricultural engineer. Mark grew up on a dairy farm in Southwest Wisconsin. He graduated with a BS in Agricultural Engineering, and worked five years at International Harvester’s Engineering Research Center in Hinsdale, Ill. After obtaining an Electrical Engineering degree and ending up in Madison, WI, he developed software/hardware for individuals with disabilities for twelve years while working at the Trace Center at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Kathryn Pereira, MS has been the evaluation specialist with NAP at UW-Madison for the past two years. She has been an agricultural economics researcher and writer specializing in survey research, questionnaire design, focus group facilitation, numerical and statistical analysis, program evaluation, data management, and farm financial analysis. Her other interest include organic and sustainable agriculture, small business development and international development.

Therese Willkomm, PhD, ATP has been the assistive technology specialist consultant with NAP for seven years. In 1985 she was the first coordinator of BNG at Purdue University in West Lafayette Indiana before returning to Iowa to establish the Farm Family Rehabilitation Management Program (FaRM) which later became part of Iowa Easter Seals. In 1988 Therese worked with Easter Seals, RESNA and Senator Harkins office on the 1988 Technology Related Assistance Act, as well as worked on an amendment to the 1989 Farm Bill to provide education and assistance to farmer affected by disabilities; the legislation that has funded what is now called AgrAbility. She holds a BS and MS in Vocational Rehabilitation with an emphasis in rehabilitation engineering and worksite modifications, and a PhD in Rehabilitation Technology from the University of Pittsburgh. Her research is in the area of the secondary injuries and farming with a disability.

Taylor McLean, MPS, is the project coordinator on the non-profit side of NAP. She has been with Easter Seals and AgrAbility for almost a year. Taylor received a BS and MPS from School of Agriculture Life Sciences at Cornell University in International Agriculture and Applied Economics and Management. Before joining the NAP staff she worked for two years as an aquaculture extensionist and environmental educator in West Africa.

Sherry Liantonio has been working as the program assistant at UW-Madison for the past three-and-a-half years. Her roles with NAP include program support, maintenance of AgrAbility listservs and toll-free lines, facilitating conference calls and meetings, and planning and implementation of the National Training Workshop. Sherry graduated from UW-Madison with a degree in Journalism. Before joining the national team, Sherry worked for the Department of Commerce where she wrote news releases, newsletters, and facilitated website design.

April Hessenius just joined the NAP staff in November of this year, and is settling in to her job as marketing and communications specialist at Easter Seals. April was raised in a farming family on land that has been in her family for over a century. She graduated with a degree in communications from the University of Northern Iowa before moving to Washington to join the NAP team.

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In This Issue
Section 1: Client Story Section 2: Focus – National AgrAbility Section 3: Meet Our Staff	Section 4: Who Do I Contact If... Section 5: Contacts