Board of Directors
Theresa Gunn, President
Theresa established Gunn Communications, Inc. (GCI) in January 1997 and has 21 years of experience in public involvement, community-based planning, meeting facilitation, project management, and government relations. She is known for her ability to obtain community consensus on difficult issues. Theresa designs unique public involvement programs to meet the needs of each community and stakeholder and is a resourceful and dedicated problem-solver. She also holds a certificate in public participation and has a Masters of Arts degree in organizational management. She has been a member of the International Association of Public Participation (IAP2) since 1994 and was elected in 2011 to the IAP2 USA Board of Directors and also elected as a representative to the International Board of Directors.
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Lewis Michaelson, Vice President
IAP2 Involvement:
I have been an active member of IAP2 (IAP3 back then) since the first conference held in Portland in 1992. In addition to serving on the Board for four years, as President of IAP2, and as a Chapter Chair, I spearheaded the development and adoption of the original Core Values and authored IAP2's Code of Ethics. Later, I founded the IAP2 Public Participation Certificate Training program along with Doug Sarno and Marti Rozelle, including development of the IAP2 Spectrum. In 2009, I was the Conference Convenor for the last International Conference held by IAP2 (in San Diego). I have attended 17 of the 18 international conferences held by IAP2.
Public Participation Experience:
I have been a full-time public participation practitioner for over 25 years. During that time, I have had the opportunity to work on public participation projects at all levels of government on a broad range of issues, including public participation for energy, water, transportation, land use, hazardous waste, endangered species, environmental justice and military issues.
Facilitation and Conflict Management:
My Masters degree is in Conflict Management with specialized training as a facilitator, mediator and arbitrator. I have had the opportunity to help groups of stakeholders build consensus, reach agreements, and solve problems collaboratively on hundreds of issues and projects. I also am a member of the U.S. Institute for Environmental Conflict Resolution Roster of Neutrals.
Work History:
I have worked for Katz & Associates, a communications and public participation firm, for the past 11 years. The prior 15 years were spent providing public participation services as part of environmental and engineering firms, such as Earthtech and ICF. I am a vice president at Katz & Associates and currently serve as the managing director of our headquarters office in San Diego.
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Larry Schooler, Secretary
Larry Schooler oversees community engagement, public input, and conflict resolution projects for the City of Austin, working in conjunction with the Mayor and City Council. He also mediates disputes for the Department of Defense and serves on the national board of the International Association for Public Participation. He is a Fellow at the Center for Public Policy Dispute Resolution at the University of Texas School of Law. He is the author of a forthcoming book on the first Truth and Reconciliation Commission in the United States and related projects elsewhere. He is a pianist and co-founder of jazz trio "Three Piece Suit." He has taught religious studies at several synagogues. He has also worked as a reporter for NPR stations across the country and as a freelance reporter for National Public Radio, Voice of America, and magazines.
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Jeanna Hall, Treasurer
Jeanna Hall has more than 20 years of experience in community relations and public involvement with both the public and private sector in the Portland metro area. Her experience includes regional transportation and water supply projects involving federal agencies and multiple jurisdictions. She has been a member of IAP2 since 2004 and currently serves as the President of the IAP2 Cascade Chapter for Oregon/SW Washington.
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Tim Bonnemann, CTO
Tim Bonnemann is the founder and CEO of Intellitics, a participation startup based in San Jose, California. Intellitics provides internet technology, consulting and services for high-quality online consultations. Tim has more than a decade of experience working as a web project manager and online community architect in both Germany and the US. In 2007, he joined the International Association for Public Participation (IAP2) where he serves as co-chair of the IAP2 Northern California Chapter. In 2010, he completed the IAP2 Certificate Program in Public Participation. Tim lives in San Jose, CA with his wife and two little sons.
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Anne Carroll
Anne has been a strategic planning and public engagement consultant for over 25 years, serving primarily public sector clients. She specializes in designing authentic and transparent public participation processes, bringing underrepresented voices to the table, and ethical governance. Anne has developed training courses on engaging underrepresented stakeholders, and has taught strategic planning and public participation design at the University of Minnesota's Humphrey Institute for Public Affairs (from which she received her Master of Planning in Public Affairs). She also co-authored with Dr. John Bryson the Public Participation Fieldbook (2008), and has served on numerous IAP2 committees and task forces as well as on the international board 2008-10. Anne also serves as a local elected official representing nearly 300,000 constituents, and is a member of the E-Democracy.Org international board as well as other local and national boards and committees.
As part of the inaugural IAP2 USA board, Anne is committed to ensuring that IAP2 USA is more inclusive and that all of our work better reflects the stakeholders we serve in our respective communities; that we lead with our Core Values to establish IAP2 USA as a trusted leader in the field (the "go-to" organization); that we learn how to be effective and ethical stewards of this member organization, and sincerely engage our members in every aspect of the work; and that we quickly build IAP2 USA into an organizationally robust and fiscally strong national force.
I am an environmental planner who has focused on integrating public values into decision-making processes for more than 30 years. I became interested in public participation through my planning education at Connecticut College and Herriott-Watt University in Scotland, and have worked for international engineering consulting firms, tribal and local government agencies, and small independent consulting groups in Arizona, Califoria, Illinois, New York, Colorado, Texas, and Alberta. I am a charter member of IAP2 and treasurer of the Grand Canyon Chapter.
As a new IAP2 USA board member I would like to see our membership grow and thrive through vibrant professional development opportunities, to fully integrate the strengths of our chapters into the organization, to forge partnerships and networks with other like-minded P2 organizations, to re-invent our American connections with the international IAP2 community, and to make IAP2 the "go-to" organization for "real" public participation.
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John Godec
John Godec is president of Godec, Randall & Associates Inc., consulting and training business and government in high stakes communication, consensus, crisis, conflict resolution and public involvement. He is a founder and partner in the US Training Consortium as well as The Participation Company. Godec is an IAF Certified Professional Facilitator, a life member and past Vice-President and Board Director for the International Association for Public Participation (IAP2), roster member of the U.S. Institute for Environmental Conflict Resolution, a member of NCDD, and he helped develop a risk and emergency communication protocol for the U.S. National Governors Association. He is a developer and past master trainer of the IAP2 Certificate program and a developer and trainer of the IAP2 Emotion, Outrage and Public Participation course and managed the IAP2 member engagement program for affiliation. Godec has trained and managed nearly 400 complex global projects, been interviewed frequently by national and international news media, lectures at Arizona State University, is an adjunct professor at the University of Arizona, and has lectured at Indiana University, the University of Texas, and at the Queensland University of Technology in Brisbane. He is the past Communications Director of the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality and the former Director of Issues and Crisis Management for Motorola Corporation.
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David Hovde
David works in local relations for American Transmission Co. ATC owns, operates, builds and maintains the high-voltage electric system in much of Wisconsin, Michigan's Upper Peninsula, and portions of Minnesota and Illinois. David is responsible for public outreach, engagement and participations activities, particularly in the context of routing and siting transmission infrastructure projects. He works often and closely with local elected officials and staff; landowners; business, community & civic organizations; environmental groups; and other stakeholders. David has been a member of IAP2 since 2005, and currently serves a Chapter Lead/Chapter Liaison for the IAP2 Great Lakes Chapter, and is one of two IAP2 USA representatives to the IAP2 Federation board.
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Sara Peterson
Sara has worked as a consultant with nonprofits and foundations nationwide, as well as with state and local
government entities in Minnesota. In addition, she has studied organizations on site in Africa, Asia and the Caribbean. From 2000 to 2010, Sara was employed by LarsonAllen LLP. During that period she led planning, program evaluation and search engagements; made numerous presentations on governance, evaluation and organizational change; managed the firm’s annual nonprofit conference; and managed marketing efforts within the firm’s nonprofit and government consulting group. Sara left the firm in 2010 to set up her own business – guiding clients in strategy, governance, and management.
Prior to her employment with LarsonAllen LLP, Sara served as program officer to the James Ford Bell Foundation in Minnesota and as litigator for the Child Support Recovery Unit in Iowa. At the foundation, she managed a multi-organization collaboration, reviewed and administered grants, and maintained information systems for the philanthropy consulting firm in which the foundation was housed.
Sara’s education includes all course work toward a Master of Arts in public affairs from the University of Minnesota Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs, with emphasis on nonprofit management, program evaluation, conflict, and collaboration. She obtained a juris doctor with high distinction from the University of Iowa College of Law and a Bachelor of Arts in French with a minor in music from the University of Iowa.
Sara is a past member of the Academy of Management, the American Evaluation Association, the American Society of Association Executives, ARNOVA, the Midwest Society of Association Executives, and OD Network. Her community service has included the marketing committee of the Charities Review Council, the advisory board of the League of Women Voters of Minneapolis, president of the Humphrey Institute Alumni Board, and secretary for the Textile Center of Minnesota. Currently, Sara is a member of the Democratic Women’s Caucus, the Indiana Coalition for the Arts, the Indiana Evaluators Association, and the International Association for Public Participation-USA governance committee. She also volunteers with both the Nonprofit Alliance of Monroe County and the Monroe County Humane Association.
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Leanne Nurse
Leanne Nurse is a program analyst at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency where she's served since 1989. She leads EPA's efforts to green the workforce and enhance community-based environmental projects. Leanne supports the agency's open government plan, public involvement policy and collaborative decision-making training. She has also served as a community involvement coordinator, a public affairs specialist for water, health and environmental justice programs, and as liaison to the US Green Group. Leanne is an MA candidate at Antioch University Midwest in a new conflict analysis concentration: Civic Development and Systemic Transformation. An inaugural fellow of the University of Virginia's Natural Resources Leadership Institute, she is also certified by IAP2. Prior to government, Leanne worked as an award-winning public and commercial television producer, editor and reporter. She describes herself as a "peace-making Buddhist grandmother."
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