SCVRJP Board of Directors
Back Row: Max Neuhaus, Janet Ellinger, Carol Mottaz, Nick Carstens, Alison Page
Seated: Steve Leitch, Bill Rasmussen, Gary Campbell, Julie Dollahon
Not pictured: Cindy McKahan, Ann Gustafson, Rich Wallace
Chair, Bill Rasmussen
Bill is a former River Falls Police Department sergeant with over 28 years of service to this community. He started his work on the St. Croix Valley Restorative Justice board in 2004. He facilitates court ordered adult and juvenile restorative programs through Chippewa Valley Technical College and is an active volunteer for the Pierce County Drug Court.
Past Chair, Alison Page
Alison Page is currently the CEO of the medical center in Baldwin, Wisconsin. She has worked in health care her entire life. Alison, the mother of five children, served as a member of the River Falls Board of Education for 17 years. She and her husband, David, were foster parents for several years for Pierce County. It was through her work on the Board of education and as a foster mother that Alison recognized the need for communities to "find a better way" to deal with issues that arise in schools, neighborhoods and families. Restorative justice provides better alternatives to expulsion, fines and detention centers. "As a school board member I often saw that, through expulsion, we were pushing away the children the very children who needed us most." "I am encouraged to see the spread of the restorative philosophy. I believe it is the way to strengthen our communities for generations to come."
Treasurer, Steve Leitch
Steve is the owner of Leitch Insurance Agency in River Falls, which just celebrated its 25th anniversary. A long-time resident of River Falls, Steve has enjoyed serving on the boards of various organizations that serve the community, including the River Falls Community Fund, River Falls Mainstreet Project, Chamber of Commerce and Tourism Bureau. He is also an active member of the River Falls Rotary Club."
Secretary, Julie Dollahon
Julie is a certified social worker who is employed as a Juvenile Court Intake Lead Worker for Pierce Co. Dept. of Human Services. She has been employed as a social worker for 32 years, almost 30 of them for Pierce County. Julie is a former President of the Wisconsin Juvenile Court Intake Association, where she was on the Board of Directors for 20 years. She is active in many community organizations, and brings experience to this board in the area of fundraising and board development.
Gary Campbell
Gary Campbell is a School Counselor at Meyer Middle School in the River Falls Area School District. He has a master’s degree from the University of Wisconsin-Stout and an undergraduate degree in Social Work from the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire. Prior to working in a school setting he worked as a case manager in treatment foster care for a non-profit agency. Gary loves working with adolescents and is an advocate for programs and services that create success for children and families. He also sees the many benefits of community involvement for the students he works with and for himself and often stresses participation in activities that support both families and kids. Besides his involvement on the Restorative Justice Board he is a member of the River Falls Partnership for Youth where he is on the Leadership Team, a board member for the River Falls Girls Basketball Association, a co-facilitator for the Strengthening Families Program through the UW Extension Office in Pierce County, a Tri-Chair on the Facilities Action Team for the school district’s comprehensive Strategic Planning committee and helps with the local Relay for Life involving the kids from the Teens As Teachers program that he leads at school. He and his wife Dawn are proud parents of three school aged kids, Mackenzie, Olivia and Ethan.
Nick Carstens
Nick is the Event and Program Coordinator at the River Falls Area Chamber of Commerce and Tourism Bureau. He has been enjoying helping plan community events like River Falls Days and Town N’ Country Days in his four years at the Chamber. Nick is a graduate of The University of Wisconsin- River Falls with a degree in Marketing Communications. Along with being on the Restorative Justice Board his other community involvement includes being the 2nd Vice President of the River Falls Lions Club and being involved in the River Falls Partnership for Youth.
Janet Ellinger
Janet is serving her second term on the St. Croix Valley Restorative Justice Board. Beyond Board responsibilities, she has volunteered at Underage Consumption Panels and Victim Impact Panels. She has used the “circle process” of restorative justice in her own work setting. Janet is the pastor at the River Falls United Methodist Church.
Kent Forsland
Ann Gustafson
Since 1991, Ann Gustafson has been the Coordinator of the St. Croix County Victim/Witness Assistance Program, a prosecutor-based program that assists victims and witnesses of crime. She was a founder and first president of the Wisconsin Victim Witness Professionals; has served on the Wisconsin Crime Victims’ Council, the Wisconsin Interstate Adult Offender Supervision Board, and is the immediate past president of the St. Croix Valley Sexual Assault Response Team (SART). She became interested in Restorative Justice when she participated in a restorative justice conference, Taking Victims and their Advocates Seriously: A Listening Project, in Harrisonburg, VA in 2002. She is also active in a number of community volunteer organizations.
Cindy McKahan
Cindy is the Deputy Clerk for the River Falls Municipal Court. She has enjoyed working in the court system for the past 10 years. She is very involved in the Wisconsin Municipal Court Clerk's Association, since its beginning; as the District X Representative; on the education committee working to continue an education program for clerks collaborated through UW Milwaukee; and established a mentoring program for all new court clerks. Cindy enjoys working with others on the Poskin Lake Association Board.
Carole Mottaz
Carole Mottaz is the retired principal of the Renaissance Academy, a chartered, alternative High School in River Falls. She is currently an adjunct professor with UW-River Falls and Capella University in Minneapolis. Her specialty is alternative education, strategic planning and research. She is the author of two books, “Breaking the Cycle of Failure: How to Build and Maintain Quality Alternative Schools” and “Quality High School Curriculum for Alternative Settings”. She is currently working on a book about conflict management. Carole is also on the boards of the River Falls Rotary Club, St. Croix Valley Homeless Shelter and River Falls Community Education Collaborative. She is the Internal Coordinator for the River Falls School District Strategic Planning initiative.
Maxfield Neuhaus
Maxfield E. Neuhaus is currently an attorney with the law firm Rodli, Beskar, Boles, Krueger and Pletcher, S.C. Along with serving on the St. Croix Valley Restorative Justice Program board, Max is also on the River Falls Area Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors and the River Falls Area YMCA Community Board. In addition to law, Max has a background in dispute resolution, teaching and non-profit advocacy.
Rich Wallace
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