Task Force Membership

Joe Nelson is the vice president of commercial banking at Bank First in Mequon. He enjoys being actively involved in the community by serving on the boards of multiple organizations, including the Mequon-Thiensville Chamber of Commerce, Rite-Hite YMCA, and Village of Thiensville Planning and Zoning. He also chairs both the Mequon-Thiensville Chamber of Commerce Golf Committee and Sporting Clay Committee. Nelson and his wife live in Thiensville with their three children who are in Kindergarten, 2nd, and 4th-grade at Oriole Lane Elementary School.

Katie Ott is the director of voluntary benefits and a partner at M3 Insurance in Wauwatosa. Previous to her experience developing and implementing employee engagement strategies with M3, she spent 14 years in group disability, life, and worksite sales at Unum Insurance. Ott also serves on the Board of Directors for the Mequon-Thiensville Education Foundation, Wilson Elementary School PTO, and is a co-chair of the M3 Women's Business Resource Group Community Committee. Ott has lived in Mequon for 11 years with her husband and twins, who are 5th-graders at Wilson Elementary School. 

Melissa Bleidorn is an Adjunct Professor of Law at Marquette University Law School, teaching classes on real estate transactions and contract drafting. Prior to teaching, she spent 12 years at The Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company and 3 years at Quarles & Brady, LLP working on complex residential and commercial real estate and financing transactions. Bleidorn currently serves on the Mequon Board of Police Commissioners, and has previously served as Co-President of both the Donges Bay Elementary and Lake Shore Middle School PTOs. She and her husband have lived in Mequon for 15 years. They have two children, one a 2022 Homestead graduate, and the other, a current Homestead freshman.

Jim Counsellor is a retired Technology Industry Executive with 40 plus years of experience primarily within the financial services sector. He has had Profit & Loss responsibility and relationships with major global accounts. He also served for 10 years as an officer in the U.S. Marine Corps. Locally, he served for three years on a previous Superintendent’s Parent Advisory Committee for the Mequon-Thiensville School District. He currently serves as the President of the Century Estates Homeowners/Well Co-Op, a position he has held for the last 21 years. He is a committee member of the annual Gala for the Thiensville Park and Vice President of the 501c3 non-profit being formed for the Thiensville Park Re-Imagined ongoing initiative. Counsellor is a member of the Thiensville Rotary and the committee Chairman for Veterans Affairs, as well as coordinator for the Chapters affiliation with the SE WI Suicide Prevention Task Force for Veterans. He has lived in Mequon-Thiensville for 37 years with his wife Jenny and has two adult children, a daughter and a son who attended school in the district for 13 years each.

Bio coming soon!

David Gaskin is associate general counsel of Artisan Partners, a financial management firm, responsible for human capital and various corporate and regulatory matters. Since joining Artisan Partners in May 2012, David has also provided legal guidance and support to the firm’s broker-dealer and separate account businesses and global distribution efforts. Prior to joining Artisan, Gaskin was legal counsel for T. Rowe Price and lived in Maryland from 1999-2012. David serves on the Board of Directors for the Mequon-Thiensville Education Foundation, Mequon-Thiensville Community Foundation, Gathering on the Green, and Christ Church Mequon. Gaskin has lived in Mequon for 11 years with his wife Kirsten, and three daughters, a freshman at Homestead, a junior at Homestead and a freshman in university.

Marie Judd is a 25 year Mequon resident, wife and mother of two MTSD graduates (Donges Bay, Lake Shore and Homestead). Marie serves professionally as the National Vice President, Consumer and Patient Experience for Ascension Health. In addition to an extensive background in Operations, Human Resources and Consumer Experience, Marie’s education includes a BA in Sociology, an MBA and a two-year post grad program in Dispute Resolution. As a long time community volunteer, Marie has coached various MT youth sports teams, chaired MTSD fundraising events and served as a MTSD PTO chair, Booster Club Chair, Daisy/Girl Scout Leader, “room mom” and ad-hoc chaperone/helper. She remains committed to supporting MTSD and the community for continued success.

Michael Kramer is a Senior Vice President of Investments at Stifel in Mequon and has served as an investment advisor for over 23 years. Michael currently serves on the Economic Development Board for the city of Mequon and is a former President of the Mequon-Thiensville Chamber of Commerce. Michael and his wife, Heidi, both grew up in Mequon and attended the public schools there until they graduated from Homestead High School in the early 90's. All three of their children also attended MT Schools. Their oldest is now in her third year at the University of Oklahoma and they have twins who are seniors at Homestead High School.

Kerry Meskin is a Physical Therapist at Aurora Sports Health in Mequon. She has held leadership positions in several nonprofit organizations in Milwaukee and Ozaukee Counties since moving to Wisconsin in 2006. She currently resides in Mequon with her husband and two children, a freshman and a junior at Homestead.  Meskin has enjoyed various volunteer roles in the Mequon-Thiensville community and currently serves on the Mequon-Thiensville Recreation Department Advisory Committee, the Board of Directors of the Mequon-Thiensville Education Foundation, and is President of the MTSD Area Council.

Bio coming soon!

Matt Richmond is a business owner in Mequon. He works in investment/finance and holds an MBA, with an emphasis in finance. Richmond is a longtime resident and Homestead High School grad. He is married and a father of two. His son graduated HHS 2023 and his daughter attends HHS as a sophomore. Matt is involved in the community and is past president of the Mequon-Thiensville Chamber of Commerce and Past President of Gathering on the Green.