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Meet The Fellows

Sara Balbin

As a creative force, community leader, and bridge between cultures, few artists have had a greater influence in the Upper Midwest than Sara Balbin.

Kimberly Blaeser, past Wisconsin Poet Laureate and founding director of In-Na-Po—Indigenous Nations Poets, is a writer, photographer, and scholar. She is the author of six poetry collections including Ancient Light, Copper Yearning, and the bilingual Résister en dansant/Ikwe-niimi: Dancing Resistance.

Richard R. Burgess

Richard “Dick” Burgess grew up in Seattle, Washington, received a BS in Chemistry in 1964 at Caltech where he played varsity basketball. In 1969 he received a PhD in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from Harvard University, where he studied with James Watson. After a Postdoc in Geneva, Switzerland, he joined the McArdle Laboratory for Cancer Research at the University of Wisconsin–Madison in 1971.

Mik Derks

Mik Derks has been telling stories in Wisconsin for nearly five decades. Before joining PBS Wisconsin in 1995 to produce documentaries, he made the rounds of other communications media.

Bud Harris

Hallett J. “Bud” Harris is Professor Emeritus, University of Wisconsin Green Bay. After receiving a BS from Coe College, he graduated with a MS and PhD from Iowa State University and joined the University of Wisconsin–Green Bay in 1969, retiring in 1999.

J. Val Klump

J. Val Klump joined the Center for Great Lakes Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee in 1980 and served as the Director of the Great Lakes WATER Institute from 2001 to 2011. He is currently a Professor and Dean of UWM’s School of Freshwater Sciences.

Nasia Safdar

Nasia Safdar, MD, PhD is an internationally recognized leader in healthcare-associated infection prevention research. She was the Medical Director of Infection Control at UW Hospital and Clinics from 2009-2020. Dr. Safdar is board certified in infectious disease and she focuses on healthcare-associated infections, particularly in the acute care setting.

Todd Berry

Todd A. Berry has devoted much of his public life to promoting civil discourse and good government. He fervently believes, as did the founders, that representative government only thrives when citizens are well informed and actively involved. For a quarter century, Berry headed Wisconsin’s only statewide charity dedicated solely to nonpartisan policy research and civic education, the Wisconsin Taxpayers Alliance (WISTAX).