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James C. Rahn, President email
Michael Senske, Chief Financial Officer
Greg Forster, Program Director email
Tim Kriewall, Program Director email
Fred Oaks, Program Director email
Ryan Olson, Program Director email
Tom Tunnicliff, Program Director email
Karen Wilken, Program Director email
Clement Mariaselvanayagam, Grants and Network Administrator
Kyle Bode, Program Associate email
Kristen Mekemson, Program Associate email
Jerry Valerio, Bookkeeper
Donna Gunther, Office Manager email
Karen Cartwright, Travel/Event Coordinator email
Pat Morgan, Administrative Assistant email
James C. Rahn
President
jrahn@kffdn.org
James C. Rahn became president of the Kern Family Foundation in February, 2008. In this role, he provides direction for expanding existing programs and establishing new programs in support of the Foundation’s mission to build the future through values, education and innovation. He joined the Foundation in September, 2007 as the Education Reform Program Director. Before joining the Foundation, he spent six years as Director of the Center for Urban Teaching and Assistant Professor of Education at Wisconsin Lutheran College. Prior to his work in higher education, he served in K-12 Lutheran schools as teacher, principal and regional school coordinator.
Education
B.S., Dr. Martin Luther College, New Ulm, MN
M.A., Concordia University, River Forest, IL
Affiliations
Director, Center for Urban Teaching at Wisconsin Lutheran College
Founding Board Member, Alliance for Choices in Education
Lead Consultant, WELS Forward with Lutheran Schools
Associate Consultant, WELS Parish Assistance
Board Member, Center for Humanities, Art, and Religion in Society (CHARIS Institute)
Member of Collaborative Council, Urban School Leadership Consortium
Senior Research Associate, School Choice Demonstration Project
Michael Senske
Chief Financial Officer
Michael Senske joined the Kern Family Foundation in October, 2005. He manages the asset allocation and investment process, consultant and investment manager relationships and administrative duties. He also manages financial reporting, internal accounting, taxes, budgets, payroll and benefits in accordance with Foundation policies, goals and objectives.
Education
B.S. in Accountancy, Marquette University
Certified Public Accountant
Professional Experience
Controller, The Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation, 2000-2005
Tax Manager, Vogel Consulting Group, 1997-2000
Tax Accountant, Scribner, Cohen & Co., 1995-1997
Affiliations
Wisconsin Institute of Certified Public Accountants
American Institute of Certified Public Accountants
Foundation Financial Officers Group Member
Greg Forster
Program Director
gforster@kffdn.org
Dr. Greg Forster joined the Kern Family Foundation in August 2008 as Program Director for American History, Economics and Religion. He identifies and manages grant activities that help build the intellectual infrastructure of a free and just society, in addition to writing books and articles on political philosophy. Dr. Forster’s articles have appeared in the leading scholarly journals Political Theory, History of Political Thought, Religion and Politics, Teachers College Record and Education Next, as well as in the Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times, the Philadelphia Inquirer and the Chronicle of Higher Education.
Education
Ph.D. with Distinction in Political Science, Yale University, 2002
M.A. in Political Science, Yale University, 2002
B.A. summa cum laude in Political and Social Thought in Rhetoric and Communications
Studies, University of Virginia, 1995
Professional Experience
Director of Research, Friedman Foundation for Educational Choice, 2005-2008
Senior Research Associate, Manhattan Institute, 2002-2005
Affiliations
Senior Fellow, Friedman Foundation for Educational Choice
Member, American Political Science Association
Books
The Contested Public Square: The Crisis of Christianity and Politics
InterVarsity Press, forthcoming in 2008
Education Myths (with Jay P. Greene and Marcus A. Winters)
Rowman & Littlefield, 2005
John Locke’s Politics of Moral Consensus
Cambridge University Press, 2005
Tim Kriewall
Program Director
tkriewall@kffdn.org
Dr. Timothy J. Kriewall joined the program staff at the Kern Family Foundation as Program Director for Engineering Entrepreneurship in July, 2008. In this role, he leads the Kern Entrepreneurship Education Network (KEEN) program. He also works closely with other senior staff in program planning, development, and strategy implementation, including identifying and analyzing opportunities to advance the foundation’s mission to enhance engineering entrepreneurship education. Dr. Kriewall most recently served as President of Wisconsin Lutheran College in Milwaukee, a position he held since 2003. He started his career at Bell Telephone Laboratories, and has served in various capacities at 3M and Medtronic corporations, focusing on the invention and commercialization of innovative medical devices. Dr. Kriewall also served as a professor in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of Michigan Medical School for eight years, earning the rank of Associate Professor.
Education
B.S.E.E., University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI
M.S.E.E., Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA
Ph.D., Biomedical Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI
Affiliations
Fellow, American Institute of Medical and Biological Engineers
Senior Member, Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers
Member, American Society for Engineering Education
Past Affiliations
Member, American Management Association
Member, American Society of Extracorporeal Technology
Member, American Society of Manufacturing Engineers
Fred Oaks
Program Director
foaks@kffdn.org Fred Oaks came to the Kern Family Foundation in May, 2005. He directs the Pastoral Ministry Program, which exists to develop exceptional pastors to lead healthy churches. The centerpiece of the Pastoral Ministry Program is the Kern Scholars Initiative through which the Foundation provides full tuition scholarships to Master of Divinity students at eight evangelical seminaries. With Foundation consultant Ian M. Chapman, he advises on all aspects of the development, implementation, and evaluation of initiatives related to seminary education and pastoral ministry, including the Pre-seminary Initiative, the Post-graduate Initiative and Theological Education Initiative.
Education
Bachelor of Arts, Augustana College Rock Island, IL
Master of Divinity, Northern Baptist Theological Seminary
Professional Experience
Pastor serving congregations in rural, urban, and suburban contexts as associate pastor,
solo pastor, and lead pastor of multiple staff, 1981-2005
Consultant with the Indianapolis Center for Congregations
www.centerforcongregations.org, 1998-2005
Author of several articles on pastoral leadership published in Congregations, Leadership
Journal, and Upper Room Disciplines
Author of Welcome, Pastor!: Building a Productive Pastor-Congregation Partnership in 40
Days (FaithWalk Publishing, 2005)
Affiliations
Director, Green Lake Conference Center
Member, Southeast Wisconsin Chapter, American Society of Trainers and Developers
Member, Christians for Biblical Equality
Member, Religious Research Association
Member, Society for the Scientific Study of Religion
Member, Society of Biblical Literature
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Ryan OlsonProgram Directorrolson@kffdn.orgDr. Ryan Olson joined the Kern Family Foundation in June, 2008 as Program Director for Education Reform. In this role, he works closely with other senior staff in program planning, development, and strategy implementation to advance the foundation's mission in education reform. His work involves serving the Kern family and Foundation board by identifying and thoroughly vetting new investment opportunities, making recommendations about education reform portfolio allocations, analyzing the strategy of current and potential grantee organizations, evaluating investments' performance, and working closely with executives to connect their operations with the foundation's values and donor intent. Dr. Olson worked on education policy for three years at the Mackinac Center for Public Policy in Midland, Michigan, and developed a passion for education reform while teaching first-year undergraduates. Having earned his doctorate in classical languages and literature from Oxford University, Olson is the author of a forthcoming book in the Center for Hellenic Studies series at Harvard University Press on literate culture and the first-century Jewish historian Josephus. He lives with his wife and two children in southeast Wisconsin. EducationD.Phil., Classical Languages and Literature, Oxford University M.St., Oriental Studies, Oxford University M.A., Theology, Durham University Diploma in Christian Studies, Regent College B.A., Theology, North Park University
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Tom Tunnicliff
Program Director
ttunnicliff@kffdn.org
Dr. Tom Tunnicliff joined the program staff at the Kern Family Foundation as Program Director for The Theological Education Initiative in December 2009. In this role, he works closely with Foundation consultant Robert Cooley and other senior staff in program planning, design, and implementation of grant activities that focus on the strengthening of ATS accredited theological schools. Currently he oversees the “Leading Through Change: Innovation in Theological Schools” grant partnerships, the In Trust grant partnership, and institutional leadership development partnerships. Dr. Tunnicliff brings a diversity of experiences to this role which includes his work as an architect as well as in academic and pastoral positions. In theological education he has served as a board chair, dean, and adjunct faculty member. His doctoral studies centered on leadership development and educational innovation.
Education
Bachelor of Architecture, Cal Poly State University, San Luis Obispo, CA
Master of Divinity, Western Seminary, Portland, San Jose, & Sacramento, CA
Doctor of Education, in Educational Leadership, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA
Affiliations
Associate Member, Evangelical Theological Society
Licensed Architect, State of California
Past Affiliations
Member, American Institute of Architects
Member, Association for Theological Field Education
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Karen Wilken
Program Director
kwilken@kffdn.org
Karen Wilken joined the Kern Family Foundation in September, 2002. She oversees the Foundation’s K-12 pre-engineering initiative in a four-state region, focusing primarily on the grant program for Project Lead the Way sites. She has worked for more than 20 years in non-profits in both Texas and Wisconsin.
Education
BA Economics and Business Management, Ripon College, Ripon WI
Dual Degree - MBA and MA Non-Profit Management, Southern Methodist University, Dallas, TX
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Clement Mariaselvanayagam
Grants and Network Administrator
Clement Mariaselvanayagam joined the Kern Family Foundation in July, 2010. He handles all Grant and Network Administration.
Education
BSc in Applied Physics, York University, Toronto, Ontario
Professional Experience
Network Administrator, The Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation, 2006-2010
Systems Analyst, Compuware Corporation, 1999-2006
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Kyle Bode
Program Associate
kbode@kffdn.org
Kyle Bode joined the Kern Family Foundation in May 2008. His work spans two programs at the Foundation—the Program in American History, Economics, and Religion and the Pastoral Ministry Program. His central duties include strategic planning, internal and external assessment, and research. He also serves as the Foundation historian and archivist.
Before joining the Pastoral Ministry Program, he spent two years researching the national landscape of K-12 education in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.
Education
B.A in American History and English, Wisconsin Lutheran College
M.A. in Modern American History, Marquette University
Professional Experience
Research Assistant, Marquette University, 2007-2008
Kristen Mekemson
Program Associate
kmekemson@kffdn.org
Kristen Mekemson joined the Kern Family Foundation in April, 2007 as a research associate. In this role, she provided Foundation-wide communications support and evaluated grants for the K-12 STEM program through report collection and analysis as well as site visits to Project Lead the Way schools. She also shepherded the Kern Entrepreneurship Education Network (KEEN) program through various transitions, overseeing and evaluating grants and projects. As a program associate, she dedicates her time to coordinating the KEEN program. In this role, she collaborates with senior program staff in managing the grant program through developing relationships with network members, conducting campus visits, planning and executing national conferences, and preparing proposal recommendations for funding.
Education
B.A. in Writing-Intensive English and French, Marquette University
M.A. in British and American Literature, Marquette University
Professional Experience
Development Officer, Lawrence University, 2005-2007
English Instructor, UW-Milwaukee and Bryant Stratton College, 2004-2005
Jerry Valerio
Bookkeeper
jvalerio@kffdn.org
Jerry Valerio joined the Kern Family Foundation in July, 2010. Where able, he provides bookkeeping and adminstrative support on a part-time basis. Most recently, he served as Business Manager of Wisconsin Lutheran High School for 13 years and reached retirement in March, 2010.
Donna Gunther
Office Manager
dgunther@kffdn.org
Donna Gunther joined the Kern Family Foundation in April, 2007 as an administrative assistant. She manages the office and provides administrative support to the President and CFO.
Karen Cartwright
Travel/Event Coordinator
kcartwright@kffdn.org
Karen joined the Kern Family Foundation in August, 2007. She handles all travel and outside meeting/conference coordination, logistics and support for all five initiatives at the Foundation which consists of 10-15 events per year.
Education
B.B.A. in Marketing, University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, Whitewater, Wisconsin (2006)
Meeting and Event Planning Certificate, Waukesha County Technical College (2009)
M.B.A. in Corporate Communications, Concordia University Wisconsin (anticipated 2011)
Affiliations
Member, Meeting Professionals International - Wisconsin Chapter
Pat Morgan
Administrative Assistant
pmorgan@kffdn.org
Pat joined the Kern Family Foundation in October, 2008. She provides administrative support to all programs.
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