Governance Board
Reflo’s governance board meets quarterly to guide our efforts to support community water projects.
Elizabeth Hittman, Board Chair
Elizabeth first became interested in sustainability when she attended UW-Stevens Point to study natural resources. Since then she's worked for the U.S. Green Building Council, the Midwest Renewable Energy Association and the City of Milwaukee's Environmental Collaboration Office. She currently is working at the non-profit Elevate on the IL Solar for All program which aims to achieve greater access to the clean energy economy for low-income communities. Elizabeth has been involved with Reflo through the Green Schools Consortium of Milwaukee and a number of other projects like Cream City Farms. She is excited to be on the Board!
Angeline Koch, Vice Chair
Angeline Koch is a litigation attorney by training but recently graduated from the University of WI-Milwaukee School of Science with a Masters in Freshwater Science and Technology. Prior to returning to the active practice of law, she worked at Milwaukee Public Schools as the sustainability project manager. She is also a certified master gardener and while a big part of her life centers around the law and sciences, her greatest joys (aside from being with her husband and their two children) are gardening, traveling, and stewardship of our Great Lakes environment.
Jamie Ferschinger, Board Treasurer
Jamie Ferschinger works as a Sr. Project Planner at Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District in the Sustainability Department working on Reforestation and Wetland Restoration and other projects related to integrated watershed management. Jamie earned her Master of Science degree in Conservation Biology from State University of New York – Environmental Science and Forestry. In her free time, Jamie loves creating, exploring, being active, and helping others.
Jacob Sanchez, Board Secretary
Jacob Sanchez began his career with Reflo after completing his bachelor’s degree in Cartography/GIS and Geography at the University of Wisconsin — Madison. While working at Reflo, he developed several map layers for the Milwaukee Community Map. Since then, Jacob has engaged in field work related to conservation and land management. He spent time in Colorado working for the Bureau of Land Management before returning to Milwaukee to support conservation efforts in his hometown with organizations such as Cream City Conservation Corps and Schlitz Audubon Nature Center. Jacob is currently the Trails Coordinator for Milwaukee County Parks. At Parks he continues his passion for stewardship of public lands and expanding access to our shared resources for residents and visitors alike.
Cassie Goodwin
Cassie is passionate about addressing social equity through sustainable infrastructure projects, which she gets to do as a civil engineer and principal at the design firm SmithGroup. Cassie grew up and spent most of her life in Madison (other than a brief time in St. Louis for college. She moved to the Milwaukee area in 2019 with her husband Nick (a local) and their two children after she realized what an amazing city it is. She knew from an early age that she wanted a job that solved issues around water quality, water quantity, and access. She enjoys playing tennis, crafting, cooking, attempting to garden, and basically just being a fun mom to two fantastic girls. Cassie previously served on the Board of the River Alliance of Wisconsin, including two years as president, and led the consultant team for the first full cohort of the Green and Healthy Schoolyard Redevelopment Projects, which is how she first learned about Reflo.
Denice Niebuhr
Denice is an ecology nerd. She is a retired MPS teacher and worked at Tippecanoe School for the Arts and Milwaukee Parkside School for the Arts as an Early Childhood Educator, where she encouraged fellow educators, families and children to learn about nature and spend time playing outdoors and in the water. Now she volunteers at Lynden Sculpture Gardens as an Art and Nature educator. She tries to impart the importance of taking care of our world and the interdependence of the ecosystems. Denice realizes that valuing our world cannot be measured in a test and strives through word and action to inspire everyone to respect all our natural resources and to act responsibly today and in the future. She values water highly, and frequently travels to places that have unique waterfalls. Water is her beverage of choice, and she dips her toes in it every day when she swims. She feels lucky to live near such a large body of fresh water in Lake Michigan.
Joey Zocher
Joey is the Executive Director for the TransCenter for Youth in Milwaukee and is thoroughly committed to providing innovative education uniquely designed for students in a small school setting. As a researcher, Joey’s interests lie in critical pedagogy, sustainability, youth participatory action research and counternarratives. She believes being authentic and transparent are ethical responsibilities of white folks working with communities of color. Recently, she co-authored an article titled “Implementing Ecopedagogy as an Experiential Approach to Decolonizing Science Education” in the Journal of Experiential Education, which featured the innovative curricular model she helped create at Escuela Verde. Joey’s hobbies include playing with and supporting local music, spending time exploring the world with family and friends, playing with her dogs, and restoring native prairies, wetlands and woodlands.
John Sanchez
John Sanchez is a retired principal from the Milwaukee Public Schools at Fernwood Montessori School. He has always made it his mission to prepare students to be active global citizens that will protect and appreciate the environment. During his tenure at Fernwood, he was instrumental in developing and supporting sustainable environmental projects throughout the school and school grounds (i.e. cafeteria composting, rain garden, outdoor education and a fully operational greenhouse, etc.). Currently, John spends his spare time painting, drawing and enjoying the outdoors with his own composting and gardening projects, and he plans to travel more in the near future. John’s hope is to share his years of experience as an educator to help all schools in the city of Milwaukee in developing safe and sustainable playgrounds for all children.