The Commission was created by an order of the Wisconsin Supreme Court in response to a petition filed by the State Bar of Wisconsin. We are a tax-exempt 501(c)(3) Wisconsin corporation governed by an 18-member volunteer board. Board members serve three year terms. Our stakeholders make the following number of appointments to our board: Wisconsin Supreme Court (5), Governor (3), State Bar of Wisconsin (4), Wisconsin Senate (1), Wisconsin Assembly (1), Marquette University Law School (1), University of Wisconsin Law School (1), the Wisconsin Trust Account Foundation (1), and the Wisconsin Tribal Judges Association (1).
Our Board
| Nora Platt serves as President of the Commission. She is an Assistant General Counsel at Northwestern Mutual and was appointed by the Wisconsin Supreme Court. Nora was previously a litigation partner with Quarles & Brady LLP in Milwaukee. She has been actively involved in pro bono and diversity and inclusion efforts throughout her career. |
| Hon. Michael Zell serves as Vice-President of the Commission. He is a judge on the Portage County Circuit Court and was appointed by the Wisconsin Supreme Court. Judge Zell joined the bench after twenty-four years of practice. He has been a solo-practitioner, a prosecutor, and a public defender. Much of his time in private practice was focused on representing low-income individuals. |
| Deedee Peterson serves as Treasurer for the Commission. She is the Executive Director of Legal Action of Wisconsin and was appointed by the Wisconsin Supreme Court. Legal Action provides free civil legal aid services in the 39 southern Wisconsin counties as well as farm workers and crime victims statewide. |
| Katie Mertz is Marquette Law School’s director of pro bono and public service. Her work centers on engaging law students in pro bono work. In her role, Katie oversees the operation of the Marquette Volunteer Legal Clinics, which serve nearly 6,000 clients each year. Katie strives to advance pro bono initiatives in the legal profession and increase access to justice for the Milwaukee community and beyond. Prior to joining Marquette Law School, Katie practiced corporate bankruptcy and real estate law. Katie earned her J.D. at Marquette Law School, where she was inducted into the Posner Pro Bono Society, and her B.A. at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. |
| Dean Dietrich is an attorney at the Weld Riley law firm in Wausau. He was appointed to the Commission by the State Bar of Wisconsin. He is a shareholder and a member of the firm’s labor and employment section. His practice includes school law, municipal law, labor relations, employment law, and professional responsibility matters. Dean served as President of the State Bar of Wisconsin in 2023. He has been a leader for more than 30 years in professional responsibility and ethics matters. He serves on the State Bar of Wisconsin’s Committee on Professional Ethics (he currently serves as Vice Chair). He received his law degree from Marquette University Law School. |
| Hon. Richard Sankovitz served as a Circuit Court Judge in Milwaukee County from 1996-2018. He is now a mediator with Resolute Systems. He was appointed to the Commission by the State Bar of Wisconsin. As chair of the State Bar’s Access to Justice Study Committee he was a co-author of its 2007 report “Bridging the Justice Gap: Wisconsin’s Unmet Legal Needs.” Pro bono service has always been a significant part of Sankovitz’ career. Following his clerkship with then U.S. District Judge Terence Evans in the Eastern District of Wisconsin, Sankovitz made pro bono a part of his practice at Jenner & Block in Chicago and at Whyte Hirschboeck Dudek S.C. in Milwaukee. He currently serves as chair of the Wisconsin Court System’s Criminal Benchbook Committee. Sankovitz is a graduate of Marquette University and Harvard Law School. |
| Cary Bloodworth directs the Family Legal Advocacy and Supports Clinic (FLASC)at the University of Wisconsin Law School. Prior to joining the law school, she served as an appellate public defender with the Wisconsin State Public Defender and practiced family law at Community Justice, Inc. in Madison. She is a UW Law School graduate and a former clerk for Hon. Lynn Adelman in the Eastern District of Wisconsin. |
| Hon. Thomas Hruz is a judge on the Wisconsin Court of Appeals for District 3 which is based in Wausau. He was appointed to the Commission by the Wisconsin Trust Account Foundation where he also serves on the board of directors. Prior to joining the bench, Judge Hruz was a partner at Meissner Tierney Fisher & Nichols, S.C.. He served as a law clerk to Judge John Coffey on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit and to Justice David T. Prosser on the Wisconsin Supreme Court. Judge Hruz is a 2002 graduate of Marquette University Law School. |
| Molly Collins was appointed to the Commission by Gov. Tony Evers. She is the Advocacy Director for Wisconsin and South Dakota at the American Lung Association. She has worked in the nonprofit sector in Milwaukee for over twenty years, including as advocacy director at the ACLU of Wisconsin. She received her Master’s Degree in Nonprofit Management and Leadership from UW-Milwaukee and her Bachelor’s Degree in Women’s Studies from UW-Madison. Molly volunteers with several area organizations including the Milwaukee Turners, Felmers Chaney Advocacy Board, and the League of Women Voters. |
| Duana Bremer is the Social Service Director for the Salvation Army in St. Croix, Polk and Burnett Counties. She was appointed by Gov. Evers. Bremer brings deep experience with preventing and responding to food and housing insecurity. |
| Hon. Elaine Smith serves as Chief Judge for the Lac Courte Oreilles Tribal Court. She was appointed to the Commission by the Wisconsin Tribal Judges Association where she also serves as Vice‑Chairperson. She is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin Law School. |
| Karen Bauer is a Senior Counsel at Amundsen Davis and was appointed to the Commission by the State Bar of Wisconsin. Her background includes 15 years working as a civil legal aid attorney with expertise in consumer protection and bankruptcy law. She has authored a number of articles on student loan repayment, and regularly trains other attorneys on ways to manage their educational debt. She received her law degree from the University of Wisconsin Law School. Karen is a member of the State Bar of Wisconsin, and the Association for Women Lawyers. She serves on the State Bar’s Board of Governors, and is a Fellow of both the Wisconsin Law Foundation and the American Bar Foundation. |
| Phoua Yang is the Client Services Director at Judicare Legal Aid in Wausau. Judicare provides civil legal aid services in the northern 33 counties and tribal members statewide. She was appointed by the Wisconsin Supreme Court. She is the recipient of the 2023 WEJF Distinguished Service Award presented by the Wisconsin Equal Justice Fund. |
| Janice Beers was appointed to the Commission by the Wisconsin Supreme Court. She is the Immigration Program Manager at the Community Center for Immigrants in Milwaukee and a Senior Strategic Advisor at Jewish Social Services of Madison. With over 35 years of leadership experience in refugee resettlement, immigration legal services, and immigrant integration, she brings two decades of experience as a DOJ-accredited representative and deep expertise in immigration law. Janice has led the development and expansion of sustainable immigration legal service programs statewide, including spearheading the Wisconsin Capacity Building Mentorship Initiative, which more than doubled the state’s immigration legal services capacity. She previously served as a Policy Advisor for New American Integration at the Wisconsin Department of Children and Families. |