For Immediate Release – May 21, 2025

Contact:
Brian Otten, Marketing Director
Greater Wausau Chamber of Commerce
715-848-5947 | botten@wausauchamber.com

Dozens of graduates honored at Transformational Leadership ceremony

ROTHSCHILD— A group of local leaders has completed the Greater Wausau Chamber of Commerce’s nine-month Transformational Leadership program. These graduates were recognized at a ceremony at the Holiday Inn & Suites in Rothschild on Tuesday, May 20.

The event featured remarks from Dave Eckmann, President/CEO of the Greater Wausau Chamber of Commerce, Laura Huggins, Senior Vice President Marketing at Connexus Credit Union and chair of the Chamber board, and Brett Tritten, Chief Executive Officer of Cenflex. Additional highlights of the evening included the presentation of three Transformational Leader of the Year Awards. These were presented to Jamie Giese, Ashley Pesl and Lizzette Lopez. This award recognizes participants who demonstrated exceptional growth throughout the program, as voted by their peers.

These 65 graduates recognized at the ceremony included: Alex Adden, Matt Bahlow, Jordan Baker, Brianne Barta, Jacob Bartsch, Lacy Betz, Korey Bloch, Mitch Block, Kim Burger, Barbara Burnette, Nicholas Calkins, Steve Carrico, Lisa Cemke,  Jon Claude, Emily Cunningham, Jennifer Ekiss, Brady Erickson, Kaley Fech, Jacee Feit, Clayton Foster, Lisa Fritz, Matt Gates, Justin Gesicki, Jamie Giese, Amber Gober, William Herian, Dave Huss, Jordan Kislow, Alyssa Knoll, Austin Koerner,  Karie Koppa, David Lange, Lizzette Lopez, Tashanna Luoma, Andy Maas, Steve Matuszewski, Cindy Mayer, William McCarron, Sam Moheban, Lynn Monnot, Adam Nowak, Jazzmin Nylund, Angela Oleson, Errin Olson, Justin Osswald, Matt Paulus,  Jason Peroutka, Ashley Pesl, Jordan Phelps, Collin Pieczynski, Todd Polega, Steve Potter, Shawn Reynolds, Terra Sanchez,  Tim Schmidt, Brian Southworth, Jeff Stefonek, Cody Steuck, Derek Sullivan, Emmanuel Ukpong, Llelder Velasquez,  Shannon Wadinski, Dylan Weiler, Megan White and Maikou Yang.

Bridget Wenman, President of Perspectives Training and Consulting LLC, has been leading the Chamber’s Transformational Leadership program since 2019.

“I am continually impressed by the young leadership that I see throughout this program and I am excited to help the Chamber by offering a program that not only challenges the participants, but also positively impacts their organizations and the community.” said Wenman.

Registration for the 2025-2026 Transformational Leadership program is now open. The first in the series of monthly sessions will be held on Tuesday, September 9. The program will include nine sessions totaling more than 70 hours of interactive learning and opportunities to grow both personally and professionally. For more information on the program, visit WausauChamber.com or contact Sharon Baumann at 715-848-5943 or sbaumann@wausauchamber.com.

Transformational Leadership is sponsored at the gold level by Aspirus/Aspirus Health Plan, Associated Bank, Greenheck Group, Linetec and Wausau Window & Wall Systems.

Members of the Greater Wausau Chamber of Commerce can participate in the program at a reduced rate.

Caption for 2025LeadershipAwards.jpg: The Greater Wausau Chamber of Commerce hosted a graduation ceremony for participants in the 2024-2025 session of the Transformational Leadership program at the Holiday Inn & Suites in Rothschild on Tuesday, May 20, 2025. Three graduates were honored with awards at the graduation: Lizzette Lopez, Jamie Giese and Ashley Pesl.

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The Greater Wausau Chamber of Commerce is the source for business information in the Wausau Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA). The organization has earned a 5-Star Accreditation, one of only two chambers in the state with that designation. The Chamber strengthens member businesses and enhances the region by building business success. For more information on the Greater Wausau Chamber of Commerce, visit us online at www.wausauchamber.com or call 715-845-6231.