Citizens Elected to City Ethics Board

OnFocus – At Tuesday’s Common Council meeting, four citizens (3 for a term, plus 1 alternate) were elected to serve on the new Ethics Board.

Krista James was elected to a 3-year term.

James is a graduate of Columbus High School and later went on to Madison to attend the University of Wisconsin. She got her bachelor’s degree in Social Work and certificates in Educational Policy Studies and Criminal Justice. She stayed in Madison and attended the UW School of Law to obtain her Juris Doctor degree and become a lawyer.

After holding an internship with the Wisconsin Supreme Court, James moved to the Dane County District Attorney’s Office where she worked her way up to Deputy District Attorney. She is currently working as an Assistant District Attorney in the Portage County District Attorney’s Office.

James’s application says, “To this position I would bring relevant prior work experience and a strong skill set in writing, oral communication and conflict resolution. Working as a prosecutor makes me uniquely qualified to serve on the Ethics Board as I regularly must balance competing interests while adhering to strict ethical standards.”

Judge Michael Brennan was elected to a 2-year term.

Brennan is a former circuit court judge of 30 years and has been living in Marshfield for 20 years. After his retirement, Brennan was appointed by former Wisconsin Governor Jim Doyle to serve as member of the Government Accountability Board where he served for seven years.

He graduated from UW-Eau Claire with his bachelor’s degree and went on to get a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Wisconsin Law School in Madison.

Brennan has served as a member of the Sunburst Youth Home Board of Directors, a mentor at Pathway Partners Mentoring Program at Marshfield Senior High School and as a UW Alumni Association Board of Directors where he served as chair of the scholarship committee from 2012-18.

He has also served as a member of WINGS Advisory Board (Cancer Survivorship Program of the Marshfield Clinic), a member of the University of Wisconsin-Marshfield/Wood County Foundation Board, and he co-founded, “Food for Thought”, an annual fund-raising event for UW-Marshfield/Wood County.

Alanna Feddick was elected to the 1-year term.

Feddick-Goodwin currently manages her own law firm, Feddick-Goodwin Law Office, S.C. here in Marshfield. She achieved her Juris Doctor degree from Oak Brook College of Law & Government Policy in Fresno, California.

She has served as the Board President of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Wood County in Marshfield, a board member of Shirley’s House of Hope, Central Wisconsin State Fair, Chestnut Avenue Center for the Arts. She has also been involved in various civic organizations, like Sunrise Rotary and Lions Club, and is a graduate of Leadership Marshfield, which allowed her to work on the foundation of Marshfield Young Professionals.

On her application, Feddick-Goodwin states, “As a member of the Marshfield community, and having served on the City Council and numerous non-profit organizations, I look forward to a system of rules to protect the City and its citizens of ethical violations, and to be a means of the creation of a system to address openness, transparency and integrity.”

Jennifer Jirschele was voted as alternate.

Jirschele’s passion is in human resources as she has worked in the field for over 15 years. After earning her Bachelor of Arts Degree in Psychology and Sociology at St. Norbert College in DePere, Jirschele moved to Madison where she worked in various departments within the state government.

Her titles include: Director of Workforce Planning and Recruitment at the Department of Workforce Development, Business Operations Executive at the Department of Transportation, and Chief Human Resources Officer, Deputy Director of Human Resources, and Human Resources Team Leader at the Department of Health Services.

Jirschele has also worked in various volunteer organizations in and around Madison including: the Wisconsin State Human Resources Managers Council as the President (2016) and Vice President (2015), the Greater Madison Area Society of Human Resources Management as a member, the Junior League of Madison on the Placement Committee, the United Way of Dane County  as a Volunteer Account Executive, and other positions.

Her application states, “I have 15 years of human resources management and leadership experience in government, and I fully support transparency and accountability in government. I’ve spent almost my entire career in government because I have a passion for public service and servant leadership.”

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