Board
Sr. Julie Schwab, OP
President
Julie has a B.S.E. in Elementary Education and Special Education, an MA in Theology and an MA in Sustainability. Some of her professional experiences include: grade school teacher, chaplain for individuals with AIDS, solidarity accompaniment in Guatemala, co-director of a center for people who were experiencing homelessness, and most recently service on the leadership team for the Sinsinawa Dominican Congregation. She served as an executive board member on the Recovery Coalition of Dane County (RCDC). She is presently serving on Edgewood Campus School Board.
Susan Herbst
Secretary
Susan Herbst retired after 38 years in county public service as the parking manager at the Dane County Airport. Previous to that, she worked for 25 years in four different Wisconsin counties in service, administration, and supervisory positions. She is treasurer for the Madison Never Alone Nar-Anon support group.
Katherine Kamp
Treasurer
Katherine Kamp retired in March 2020 from her position as the executive director of the Wisconsin Partnership Housing Development, Inc. (WPHD). The mission of WPHD focused on increasing access to affordable housing. WPHD worked with other nonprofits and for-profit developers to create a wide range of housing from multi-family rental units to single family homes for sale. Prior to serving at WPHD, Ms. Kamp was the executive director of the Housing Partnership of the Fox Cities where she developed over 150-units of affordable housing, including new development of a 10-unit affordable rental project, and a 32-unit permanent supportive housing project in an abandoned downtown manufacturing facility. She served as a vice president at Lewin/ICF, a large Washington, D.C. policy consulting firm. Ms. Kamp has a BA from Kalamazoo College and an MPP from University of Michigan. She also completed the Achieving Excellence in Community Development program at the Harvard Kennedy School, a two-year program to develop leaders in the area of community revitalization and affordable housing. Ms. Kamp continues to serve as the president of the Board of Cinnaire Lending, a national CDFI and is on the City/County Homeless Issues Committee for Madison/Dane County.
Jacqueline Landess, MD, JD
Board Member
Dr. Landess is a psychiatrist at Mendota Mental Health Institute with training in adult, child and forensic psychiatry. She earned her medical and law degrees at Vanderbilt University and Indiana University, respectively; and completed her post-graduate training at Northwestern University and University of Colorado. She has used her dual training in medicine and the law to study and serve individuals with psychiatric illness who are justice-involved. She has worked in both jails and prisons, and served as a consultant to a felony mental health court. She also has worked on various advocacy and public policy initiatives that aim to improve access to healthcare services for minority and underserved populations. Dr. Landess specializes in the treatment of serious mental illness, including post-traumatic stress disorder, co-occurring substance use disorders, mood and psychotic illnesses. Her treatment approach combines psychotherapy, psychopharmacology and other modalities with a focus on identifying and bolstering an individual’s resilience, strengths, purpose, meaning and values in order to promote mastery of the person’s unique life stressors, improve self-esteem and build lasting, satisfying relationships with others.
Charles A. Tubbs Sr.
Board Member
Charles A. Tubbs Sr., is the director of Dane County Emergency Management. He leads a department of professionals who are responsible for Dane County’s effective disaster response and recovery efforts in support of local governments and the Dane County Emergency Management programs. He retired from law enforcement after serving nearly 40 years. He served in four other distinguished positions including: interim chief of police for Beloit Police Department, deputy chief of police for Beloit Police Department, administrator of the State of Wisconsin Division of Juvenile Corrections and chief of police for Wisconsin State Capitol Police. He was appointed to the State of Wisconsin Law Enforcement Standards Board by Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers. He serves as an honorary commander of the 115th Fighter Wing Civil Engineer Squadron in the Wisconsin Air National Guard. He serves nationally as an adjunct instructor, observer and controller for the United States Department of Homeland Security and FEMA Integrated Emergency Management Courses. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice Administration from Mount Senario College. He continued training at the Law Enforcement Executive Development Institute of the FBI National Academy with a concentration in diversity and hate crime education through the United States Department of Justice. He is an expert in areas of homeland security, law enforcement, emergency management and human relations. His capacity to relate to all people and situations is as robust as his ability to manage diverse administrative tasks. His ability to be a bridge in conflictual race issues is unwavering. He believes that when we lift up those who are less fortunate, we lift up the entire community.
Ryan Witt
Board Member
Ryan Witt brings over 20 years of experience in the financial services industry. As a wealth advisor, his primary focus is on Investment Management, Estate Planning & Trust Services for individuals and businesses. He also has extensive experience within commercial lending and treasury management services.
Ryan obtained his bachelor’s degree in finance from the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse. He is a board member of the Madison Curling Foundation, a community board member for Clean Lakes Alliance and enjoys volunteering at the American Family Children’s Hospital and Pheasant Branch Conservancy.
Christine Taylor, MSW, LCSW, CSAC
Board Member
Christine has her masters in Social Work and is a licensed clinical therapist with a substance abuse therapy certification. She has a mental health and substance use therapy practice and consulting firm, Heart Space, LLC in Madison, WI. She is a believer in the healing power of being truly seen and heard.
Christine completed undergraduate and graduate studies in the field of Social Work at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, where she also attained her clinical substance abuse treatment certification.
The past 15 years have been dedicated to working with individuals of varying ages, backgrounds and needs who were seeking mental health and substance abuse treatment services in residential, outpatient and community-based settings in Dane County. Her professional focus is person-centered, holistic, community-based recovery.
During Christine’s tenure a behavioral health contract manager for Dane County Department of Human Services, she served on the Recovery Coalition of Dane County (RCDC) Able Change Committee and represented Dane County Department of Human Services as part of the Madison Area Addiction Recovery Initiative (MAARI).
Christine has volunteered with the WisCares Project, served as a mentor for African American females at Shabazz City High School and guest-lectured at Madison College.
Steve Ellsworth
Board Member
Steve is a graduate of UW-Madison with a degree in Public Health-Education. His professional experience includes: fund raising responsibilities for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, numerous sales & marketing positions in the areas of insurance and investment products, money processing equipment & electronic medical records software.
Steve is also a former teacher, basketball coach, U.S. Army medic and spiritual mentor. He has facilitated multiple spirituality retreats for persons in recovery and for the general population of seekers.
He brings to the board a long-term commitment to assisting those among us desiring freedom from addiction as a means of creating a path to a more peaceful, serene, and fruitful existence.
Ritu Bhatnagar, MD, MPH
Advisory Board Member
Dr. Bhatnagar is a psychiatrist specializing in treating addictions and currently serves as medical director for NewStart at UnityPoint Health – Meriter. She has a special interest in integrative medicine, including mindfulness training, hypnosis and yoga. Dr. Bhatnagar believes in looking at the whole picture in which the person with the addiction is living. Dr. Bhatnagar enjoys a team-based approach, where the patient, physician and therapists all work together for a positive outcome. She graduated from University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine, and did her residency in psychiatry and fellowship at University of Wisconsin – Madison.
