Board of Visitors

Darrell Bazzell (Madison, WI) has been serving as Vice Chancellor for Administration at the University of Wisconsin-Madison since January 2003. He serves as UW-Madison's chief financial officer and is responsible for overall supervision of a wide array of administrative and auxiliary functions. He also sponsored the university's Campus Strategic Sustainability Initiative, which is aimed at enriching the culture of sustainability on the UW-Madison campus. Bazzell has an extensive background in environmental and natural resources matters. He was with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources from 1993 to 2003 and served as the agency's secretary from 2001 to 2003. Bazzell currently serves on the board of the Gathering Waters Conservancy.

Lynn Broaddus (Wauwatosa, WI) is the director of the Environment Program for the Johnson Foundation at Wingspread in Racine, Wisconsin. She is responsible for shaping the Foundation's environmental programming with an emphasis on the freshwater crisis facing the United States. Lynn also serves on the board of the River Network in Portland, Oregon and the River Alliance of Wisconsin. She has two sons; one who recently graduated from UW-Madison and other who is currently attending and planning to major in environmental sciences.

Jay Carlson (Washington, DC) is a retired senior partner in the Washington, DC law firm of Miller & Chevalier where he practiced for 40 years. He serves on the Board of Visitors of the Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies and has enjoyed his UW work in recent years in conjunction with the Nelson Institute as well as the Laurie Carlson Progressive Ideas Forum. Jay is a 1965 UW-Madison graduate.

Sonnet Edmonds (Atlanta, GA) is the Vice Chair of the Nelson Institute Board of Visitors and serves as General Counsel to Enerecap Partners, an energy investment bank specializing in oil and gas assets. From 1998 until early 2011, Sonnet was a Vice President and Assistant General Counsel at Mirant Corp. (which was renamed GenOn Energy, Inc. as of December 2010). In that role, she was responsible for providing transactional, environmental, and other legal support to the company’s electric generating assets across the United States. Prior to Mirant, she was an attorney at law firms in Kansas City, Missouri, and Washington, D.C. She received her B.A.(1989) and J.D. (1993) from the UW-Madison and is involved with several energy and legal professional associations.

John Francis (Cape May, NJ) is known the world over as the Planetwalker. In 1971, Dr. Francis witnessed an oil spill in San Francisco Bay. The effects of the spill compelled him to stop using motorized vehicles. Several months later, to stop the arguments about the power of one person's actions, he took a vow of silence. His non-motorized lifestyle lasted twenty-two years, and his silence seventeen. During that time Dr. Francis walked across the United States earning a B.A at Southern Oregon State College, an M.S. in Environmental Studies at the University of Montana and a Ph.D. in land resources at the University of Wisconsin. He is an education fellow at the National Geographic Society, and currently a visiting associate professor of environmental studies at the UW-Madison Nelson Institute and is the author of: Planetwalker. 22 Years of Walking. 17 Years of Silence. and The Ragged Edge of Silence: Finding Peace in a Noisy World.

James Knight (Madison, WI) is the President of Bradshaw-Knight Foundation, which supports organizations that unite the advancement of sustainable means of life on the planet with the maintenance of communities of human scale, social and economic justice, and ethical treatment of animals. He received his M.S. in Quaternary Studies at the University of Maine, Orono. James is involved in urban agriculture and films about environmental justice.

Julia Nault (North Reading, MA) is the director of CDM University. CDM is a consulting, engineering, construction and operations firm delivering services in water, environment, transportation, energy and facilities to public and private clients worldwide. She serves in the role of training and development in the areas of project management, technology, leadership and marketing, and sales. Julia received her M.S. in Water Resources Management from the Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies at UW-Madison and has worked in the fields of hydrology and hydrogeology.

John Nelson (Madison, WI) is the Chair of the Nelson Institute Board of Visitors and is a member of Development Team for Wisconsin Institutes of Discovery. He is a former member and chair of the College of Engineering Industrial Advisory Board. John received his M.S. in Mechanical Engineering from UW-Madison. He is the former CEO of an engineering firm.

Tia Nelson (Madison, WI) was named executive secretary of the Board of Commissioners of Public Lands in October 2004. She oversees the management of approximately 78,000 acres of Trust Lands located in northern Wisconsin, the State Trust Fund Loan Program, four Trust Funds valued at over $656 million, and the Original Land Records Program, which includes land survey records dating back to the 1830's. She is a graduate of UW-Madison, a conservationist and an environmental education advocate. Tia is the daughter of the late Senator Gaylord Nelson of Wisconsin.

Elizabeth C. Treacy (Chicago, IL) is president and chief strategist of Treacy Marketing Group. Her company, headquartered in Chicago, specializes in transformational business and brand strategies for companies at an inflection point. Industries served include manufacturing, health care, education, foodservice, hospitality/design, technology, financial and professional services and real estate. Beth’s community outreach efforts include pro bono marketing and consulting for numerous local and national not for profits. In addition, Beth is a trustee on the board of the Chicago Architecture Foundation, a member of the Auxiliary Board of the Art Institute of Chicago as well as a member of the Economic Club of Chicago and Commercial Real Estate Women. She also sits on the board of visitors of the Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies at the UW-Madison. Beth earned an MBA from the Thunderbird School of Global Management and a bachelor of arts in history from Colorado College. She is an avid traveler and has lived, worked and studied abroad.

Sal Troia (Madison, WI) has always enjoyed being outdoors in nature and is an avid cyclist and bicycle racer. He was in the banking business for 28 years. Sal has been on many professional and business boards during his banking career and has served as president for a number of them. Since his retirement his interests have turned to the environment and the lakes. Sal is a member of the Bascom Hill Society and is on the Board of Directors of Friends of the UW Arboretum. He is currently on the Yahara Lakes Association board and has served as its president. He was also on the Wisconsin Association of Lakes (WAL) Board for 11 years and served as its treasurer and a member of its executive committee. Sal is a member of Porchlight Inc. where he is on the Executive Committee and is the chair of the Finance Committee. Porchlight provides solutions to homelessness in the Dane County area.

Gail Wurtzler (Englewood, CO) received a B.A. with Honors in political science and economics from the UW-Madison and a J.D. from the University of Chicago. She is an attorney whose practice focuses on environmental and toxic tort litigation. Gail is a member of the Bascom Hill Society and the Nelson Institute Board of Visitors.