Lisa Hennessey

4K-12 Mathematics Curriculum Coordinator

Sun Prairie School District

I believe that I will be an incredible asset to WMC through my past 10 years of experience in math education.  For the first seven years, I served in the role of classroom math teacher with the opportunity to co-teach with both special education and ESL teachers.  Not only this, but in my years in the classroom, I had the opportunity to go through an instructional transformation from a traditional textbook to an inquiry-based approach. Following this, I served in the capacity of Geometry PLC leader (4 years), Teaching Learning and Equity Council/Math Department Chair (2 years), and Social Justice Committee Facilitator (1 year) all at Sun Prairie High School.  My current role is 4K-12 Mathematics Coordinator for Sun Prairie Area School District (3 years).

In 2017, I earned my Master’s in Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis through UW-Madison where my passion for equity surfaced during the program.  This led to my current roles in the district as summer school principal (elementary) and 4K-12 Math Coordinator.  Through the Sun Prairie Area School District, I have been trained in AVID, CPM, Carnegie, Bridges, Beyond Diversity, and student-centered coaching.  I have also attended and presented at WMC’s multiple PD opportunities throughout the years (dating back to 2010 as an undergrad).  In addition to working with SPASD, I have taught math through UW-Madison’s PEOPLE program and served as a College Preparatory Mathematics Teacher Leader, facilitating workshops and coaching teachers around the state.

Jane Patterson Mlenar

Middle School Math Teacher and Curriculum Facilitator

Greendale Schools 

David Ebert

High School Mathematics Teacher

Oregon High School

I have been teaching high school mathematics at Oregon High School in southern Wisconsin since 1996. During this time, I have strived to engage ALL of my students by using student-centered, hands-on tasks, and by promoting the beauty and joy of mathematics.  Building positive connections with my students is a key to my teaching because it allows me to push them beyond their comfort zone and allows them to feel comfortable in taking risks and making mistakes.  I have shared my love of mathematics with numerous teachers by presenting multiple times at the WMC Annual Conference, writing numerous articles in the WMC journal, plus presenting at many other state and NCTM conferences. 

Additionally, I have been involved in a number of leadership roles throughout my career.  I previously served on the WMC Board of Directors from 2006 to 2014.  I also was honored to serve as WMC President from 2011 to 2013, as well as the Annual Conference Program Chair on seven separate occasions.  I also served as a member of the NCTM Board of Directors from 2017 to 2020, and will share my national expertise with the WMC Board.  I am proud to be a member of the Wisconsin Mathematics Council, and I am excited to have the opportunity to serve the mathematics teachers of Wisconsin once again as a member of the WMC Board of Directors.

Erick Hofacker

Professor of Mathematics

University of Wisconsin - River Falls

Over the last 14 years I have directed our undergraduate mathematics education program at UW-River Falls, preparing over 120 new secondary mathematics teachers in that span of time.  Over the last five years I have also directed the graduate mathematics education program, which works with in-service mathematics teachers.  During that time, I have been involved in curriculum and program reform which has strengthened both of our programs and strengthened the preparation and continued development of mathematics teachers within our respective programs.  Most recently I worked with my colleague to develop a two-block model at UW-River Falls, which expands to serve the preparation of both elementary and secondary mathematics teachers and provide increased and targeted practicum experiences at both the middle and high school levels before student teaching.  I am an advocate for the inclusion of more mathematical modeling and statistics in the mathematics curriculum; and providing professional development for current and future teachers related to these topics.

Since 2007 my colleagues and I have been awarded over 2.5 million dollars in national and state grants to conduct 17 projects related to the development of pedagogical content knowledge and best practices in mathematics teaching for K-12 mathematics teachers in the state of Wisconsin and university mathematicians from across the country.  I have conducted over 1500 hours of professional development related to these projects and have had the privilege to work with approximately 300 K-16 Mathematics Teachers.  Through these projects in-service and pre-service teachers have been invited to share their gained knowledge giving presentations, many for the first time, at the annual WMC Math conference.

Since 2004 I have given over 200 presentations at local, state (WMC), national (NCTM & MAA) and international (ICTCM) mathematics conferences.  These presentations have focused on rich mathematical tasks, mathematical pedagogical content knowledge, emerging technology, mathematics educational research, the mathematical practice standards, 5 Practices for Orchestrating Discussion, and the development of future mathematics teachers.  With my colleagues, I have also published multiple chapters in books related to the use of polling devices in the mathematics classroom, as well as the empowerment of teachers through the standards for mathematical practice.

I am currently chairing the 6-8 and 9-12 committees for the revision of the K-12 mathematics standards in the state of Wisconsin.  I am also currently leading the Wisconsin team as part of the national Mathematics Teacher Education Partnership (MTEP) project, where we are focused on retention and recruitment of mathematics teachers in our state.  In addition to these projects, I am also involved with the state of Wisconsin Math Alignment Task Force where we focus on connecting K-12 mathematics teaching with post-secondary mathematics instruction. 

Throughout the last 12 years I have won the following awards related to my teaching and research related to Mathematics Education.  In 2019 I was awarded the Distinguished Mathematics Educator Award - State of Wisconsin by the Wisconsin Mathematics Council.  In 2016 I was awarded the Excellence in Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity in College of Arts & Sciences - Sciences & Mathematics Division by the University of Wisconsin – River Falls in part due to my securing of grants to work with K-12 math teachers and university mathematicians related to improvement of mathematics teaching and pedagogical content knowledge.  In 2010 I was awarded Dr. Keith G. Wurtz Teaching Award – Innovative Teaching by the University of Wisconsin – River Falls in part due to my infusion of technology and teaching pedagogy in my university classes.  In 2009 I was awarded both the Outstanding Faculty in College of Arts & Sciences – Sciences & Mathematics Division and the Wisconsin Teaching Fellow award based on my work in the classroom.