Board of Directors

WFM is managed by volunteer Officers and a Board of Directors.

Jonathan Vega, Vice President

Jonathan Vega is currently the National History Day Learning Facilitator with the Wisconsin Historical Society. Before coming to the Wisconsin Historical Society, Jonathan taught Middle and High School in multiple districts across the country. His passion is bringing history to life both inside and outside of the classroom. Jonathan obtained his undergraduate degree in Anthropology at University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh and his M.A. in Public History at University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire. Jonathan joined the WFM Board in 2024.

Anastasia DeMaio, Secretary

Anastasia DeMaio is an emerging museum professional and teaching assistant for the University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee’s and Milwaukee Public Museums’ Museum Studies program. She has a BA in Anthropology from Brandeis University and is currently completing her MS in Anthropology and MLIS at UW-Milwaukee.

Prior to her teaching assistant role, her museum industry experience includes positions at the Wisconsin Historical Society, Harvard’s Peabody Museum, the Museum of Science and Industry, and Milwaukee County Historical Society. 

Lisa Byron

Lisa Byron has been the Development Manager for the Kenosha Public Museums since 2018. She earned a B.A. in Archaeology at the University of Evansville in Indiana and a M.A. in Historical Archaeology at Illinois State University. She also received certificates from UW-Parkside in Nonprofit Management and Fund Development. After graduate school, she worked at the Pabst Mansion and Milwaukee County Historical Society before joining the Kenosha Public Museum Foundation as their Major Gifts and Planned Giving Coordinator in 2015-2016. In 2016-2017, she was the Executive Director of the Kemper Center, a historical and cultural center in Kenosha, Wisconsin.

Stacy Coon

Stacy Coon is the Director of the Oneida Nation Museum in Oneida, Wisconsin. She graduated from the University of Oklahoma with a B.A in Native American Studies and a minor in Anthropology. Stacy was bit by the ‘museum bug’ after accepting an internship to assist with the grand opening ceremonies of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian in 2004. After her internship, she accepted a position as Collections Manager at a tribal museum back in Oklahoma.

In 2015, she returned home and accepted a position as Assistant Director at her tribe’s museum in Oneida, Wisconsin. Stacy enjoys working in the museum field where she is continuing to learn new things and finds it fulfilling to be able learn and share her culture through the work that she does.

Cheryl Jimenez Frei

Dr. Cheryl Jiménez Frei is an Assistant Professor of History and co-director of the Public History Program at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire. She holds a Ph.D. in public history and Latin American history from the University of California, Santa Barbara. Dr. Jiménez Frei's research and teaching specializations are in memory and the built environment, museums, monuments, visual culture, oral history, digital history, and Argentina and the Southern Cone. Her work has been published in the Journal of Latin American Studies, The Public Historian, and Collections: A Journal for Museum and Archive Professionals. She is also a core member of the Wisconsin Latinx History Collective, and an Academic Advisory Committee member of the Contested Histories Initiative at the Institute for Historical Justice and Reconciliation, The Hague, The Netherlands.

Michaela Kraft

Tamara Lange

Tamara Lange is the Curator of Collections and Exhibits at the Sheboygan County Museum. As part of this role, she is responsible for guiding care, research, documentation, and storage of the Museum’s 35,000 piece permanent collection, consisting of archival, archaeological, and material culture objects, along with the education collection. Additionally, she is responsible for the management of all exhibition-related activities for the Museum’s four historic buildings and main museum building, including temporary and long term exhibitions. She holds a Master of Arts degree from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee in Public History with a Certificate in Museum Studies. Prior to joining SCM, she worked in the Department of Special Collections and University Archives at the Raynor Memorial Libraries of Marquette University and as a collection consultant for America’s Black Holocaust Museum in cooperation with the UW System Institute on Race and Ethnicity.

Sarah Phillips

Sarah Phillips is the Director of the Oshkosh Public Museum. As an enthusiastic museum leader with over 15 years of experience, Sarah works to preserve cultural heritage and promote the value of history. She leads a team of professional staff who work to create an environment of curiosity and inclusivity, in the galleries of the museum and in the community.

Sarah earned her Master’s degree in Applied Historical Research from Boise State University before continuing her education at George Washington University. Sarah is also an American Alliance of Museums National Accreditation Peer Reviewer. Prior to her current role, she was the Curator of Collections & Exhibitions for the Idaho State Historical Society, served on the Program and Host Committees for the Western Museums Association, and served on the Board of the Idaho Association of Museums.

Cody Schreck

Cody Schreck serves as the Executive Director of the Ephraim Historical Foundation in Door County. and joined the WFM Board in 2023. He was born and raised just outside of Milwaukee in Lake Country and has been fascinated with local history and the history of Wisconsin from an early age.

Cody received his Master of Arts in History, Museum Studies, and Nonprofit Management from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Before coming to the Ephraim Historical Foundation, he worked with the Milwaukee County Historical Society, the Milwaukee Public Museum, and the Milwaukee Art Museum. He is passionate about utilizing museum collections as a way to make local history more tangible and accessible to communities.

Erica Shrader

Erica Shrader is the Membership and Volunteer Manager at the Betty Brinn Children’s Museum (BBCM) in Milwaukee, WI. She received her Master of Arts in Public History and certificates in Museum Studies and Introductory Non-Profit Management from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

Prior to joining BBCM, Erica worked four years in the childcare profession and aims to utilize museums as a resource for children to cultivate lifelong learners. She also previously worked with the Milwaukee County Historical Society and the Minnesota Children’s Museum.

Janean Van Beckum

Janean Van Beckum is the Curator at Milwaukee County Historical Society. As Curator she oversees the care, documentation and interpretation for over 65,000 objects in the Society's permanent collection. Additionally, she oversees exhibits at the Milwaukee Historic Center, Kilbourntown House, Curtain House and Trimborn Farm. Janean holds a B.S. and M.A. in Anthropology with a focus in Historic Archaeology and a Certificate in Museum Studies from UW-Milwaukee.

Before joining MCHS, she was the Curator of Collections and Exhibits at the Tower Heritage Center in West Bend, and worked as the Volunteer Coordinator at Discovery World.