UW-Green Bay Alumni Rise to the Distinction of Distinguished and Outstanding at Annual Alumni Awards dinner
The University of Wisconsin-Green Bay will recognize a number of outstanding alumni and one honorary alumnus at the 2024 Alumni Awards Dinner on Thursday, April 18, 2024 in the Phoenix Rooms in the University Union. The event will begin with a reception at 5 p.m. and is followed by dinner at 6 p.m. The program will begin at approximately 6:40 p.m. The event is open to the public. Tickets are $50 and can be purchased at UW-Green Bay Alumni Awards. For more information, contact the UW-Green Bay Alumni Office at 920-465-2074 or alumni@uwgb.edu.
The Alumni Awards highlight UW-Green Bay graduates and other individuals who have made special contributions to UW-Green Bay, their communities and professions. The 2024 Distinguished honorees are Dean Basten ’89 and Kevin Erb ‘00. Receiving the Outstanding Recent Alumni Award for 2024 will be Ashley Jones ’13 and Dan Terrio ’12 & ‘14. Scott Wochos, retired senior vice president and general counsel for Green Bay Packaging, who has worked tirelessly to advocate for UW-Green Bay and has extensive community involvement, will receive an Honorary Alumni Award.
Receiving 2024 Distinguished Alumni Awards
Dean Basten ’89 (Managerial Accounting) is Secretary/Treasurer and Chief Financial Officer for Miron Construction Co., Inc. in Neenah, Wisconsin. Dean has held this position since joining the firm in 1998. Miron is the largest general contractor in Wisconsin and ranks 57th in the nation. The family-owned company has been in business since 1918 and is one of the nation’s premier construction firms and industry leaders. During Dean’s tenure with Miron, the company has grown from $100 million in revenues to $1.8 billion.
Dean is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay and holds a bachelor’s degree in managerial accounting with a minor in finance. He is licensed as a Certified Public Accountant by the state of Wisconsin. Dean has served on the UW-Green Bay Chancellor’s Council of Trustees since 2008 and has also been a past board member of the UW-Green Bay Foundation. Dean and his wife Kim, who is also an alumna, have been financial supporters to UW-Green Bay and the Athletic Department.
Outside of his position with Miron, Dean is committed to giving back to the community. In addition to his service with UW-Green Bay, Dean also serves on the Governance Committee for the YMCA of the Fox Cities, Vice Chair for Riverview Gardens, Vice President of the Northeastern Wisconsin Chapter of Construction Financial Management Association and is Club President for North Shore Golf Club in Menasha. Dean has also been a Big Brother for the last eight years.
Dean and his wife Kim (’88) live in Appleton, Wisconsin. They have three grown children and two grandchildren.
Kevin Erb ’00 (Master of Science in Environmental Science & Policy) has served as the Outreach Program Manager, Conservation Professional Training Program with the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Division of Extension since 2003. Kevin has had a long career helping the agricultural community of northeastern Wisconsin. In his nearly 32 years of service to the University of Wisconsin – Extension, he has held three different positions. His first position was “water quality educator/nutrient management specialist”. As part of this position, he piloted the first large-scale nutrient management plan implementation project in northeastern Wisconsin (these are required for most farms now.) In his role as Nutrient and Pest Management specialist, he worked directly with farmers to research and demonstrate the cost-effectiveness of management practices that improved water quality. He also worked with public and private consultants to continue to educate farmers on water quality and manure management issues. For the past 20+ years, in his role as Program Manager for the Conservation Professional Development Training Program, Kevin is responsible for bringing in millions of grant dollars to support a wide range of activities, including training opportunities for conservation advisors (from local to federal agencies and private consultants). He develops training modules and curriculum, partners with NGOs, agencies (DNR, etc.), and private sector groups to deliver instructors and content.
Kevin has played an important role in several projects with UW-Green Bay and its personnel. In a nationally recognized effort, Kevin Erb and Ron Stieglitz worked closely with a wide range of stakeholders to lead the Northeast Wisconsin Karst Task Force in 2006-2007. The results of this effort were instrumental in changing agricultural regulations in an effort to improve water quality in northeastern Wisconsin (e.g., Silurian Performance Standards NR151.075). Over his career, he has mentored more than a half dozen UW-Green Bay interns, advised numerous UW-Green Bay graduate students during their research and served on a graduate committee. He led the Conservation on the Land Internship Program for five years, providing experiences and more than $40,000 in scholarships to UW-Green Bay students.
Kevin grew up on a small farm in central Illinois and graduated from the University of Illinois-Urbana with a B.S. in Agricultural Communications in 1990. In 2000, he received his Master of Science in Environmental Science and Policy from the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay while working full time. The data from his MS research showing a readily achievable 80% reduction in excess farm phosphorus had an immediate impact on farms in the Lower Fox River basin. Almost all of the farms participating in his research made management changes to meet the goal within six months, achieving either significant cost savings or at minimal additional expense. Kevin is a Certified Crop Advisor since 1996 and has received numerous awards during his career. He received the North Central Regional Award for Excellence in Extension in 2017, the UW Extension Nominee, University of Wisconsin Board of Regents Academic Staff Excellence Award in 2016, the Wisconsin Association of County Agricultural Agents “Second Mile” Specialist Award in 2015, the UW Colleges/UW Extension 2010 Chancellor’s Award for Team Excellence and the UW Extension Academic Staff Council Award for Excellence in 2009.
2024 Outstanding Recent Alumni Awards
Ashley Jones ’13 (Public Administration) currently serves as the Team Leader – Grants at The Bellin Health Foundation, Inc. Since assuming this role in March 2021, Ashley has transformed the organization’s grant program, surpassing the original $250,000 fiscal year goal by securing over $2 million in grants within her first nine months. Under her trailblazing fundraising strategies, the health system has been able to implement vital programs, including telemedicine in rural areas, health equity initiatives, COVID testing and mitigation, NICU and Maternity ward capital support, addiction recovery coaching, diabetes care coordination, and behavioral telemedicine for homeless populations.
Before her impactful tenure at Bellin Health, Ashley demonstrated her expertise as the Grants Manager at the Southwest Florida Community Foundation, overseeing the distribution of $2 million in grant funding and leading nonprofit development and capacity building initiatives. Her contributions extended to Florida Gulf Coast University, where she achieved a record-high revenue of $25 million in grant awards as the sole pre-award administrator.
Ashley earned her Bachelor’s degree in Public Administration from the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay in 2013 and later completed her Masters of Public Administration at Florida Gulf Coast University in 2015. In 2023, she returned to UW-Green Bay to receive the Excellence in Nonprofit Leadership Certificate.
Ashley’s dedication to community extends beyond her professional achievements. Actively involved in various organizations, she is a member of the Association for Fundraising Professionals IDEA Committee, the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay Nonprofit Network Advisory Council, and the Greater Green Bay Chamber of Commerce CEO Action Pledge Workgroup. She recently joined the Resource Development Committee of the Brown County United Way.
Recognized for her outstanding professional contributions, Ashley received the Future 15 award from the Greater Green Bay Chamber of Commerce and the 40 Under 40 award from Insight Publications, LLC, both in 2023. Additionally, she earned a Values in Practice (VIP) award from Bellin Health for her role in implementing solutions for diabetic retinopathy patients.
Ashley’s commitment to community extends to her personal life. She resides in Howard, WI with her husband, son, daughter, and two dogs. Having returned to her roots after nearly a decade, Ashley brings a wealth of experiences to build a sense of home for everyone in the community she loves.
For over 25 years, Dan Terrio ’12 (Interdisciplinary Studies) & ’14 (Master of Science in Applied Leadership for Teaching & Learning) has inspired countless youth and adults from all walks of life with his story of perseverance, strength and determination. At the age of 13, he began his motivational speaking and diversity, equity and inclusion career while recovering from injuries sustained in an automobile accident that left him temporarily confined to a wheelchair. Dan later went on to serve two terms as the National Co-President of United National Indian Tribal Youth Inc. (UNITY), the largest American Indian Youth organization in the United States, while traveling to all 50 states presenting his inspiring story from growing up on an Indian Reservation to working in Washington D.C., along with the things that happened in the middle.
Today, Dan is an accomplished and award-winning National and TED Certified motivational speaker and trainer, and currently works as the Director of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion for Milwaukee County. Dan leads the diversity, equity and inclusion efforts for 4,000 employees within Wisconsin’s largest county. With his appointment, Dan is the first Native American director in Milwaukee County history, and the highest ranking Two-Spirit government administration official in the State of Wisconsin. Dan is a member of the Stockbridge-Munsee Community Band of Mohican Indians. Dan holds a Bachelor’s degree (2012) and Master’s degree (2014) from the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay, an executive certificate in Diversity & Inclusion from Cornell University and is pursuing his PhD in Applied Social Justice from Dominican University. A native of Bowler, WI, Dan makes his home in Milwaukee, WI.
2024 Honorary Alumni Award
Scott Wochos took a long road from and back to UW-Green Bay. While attending Green Bay East High School, Scott took several summer courses at UW-Green Bay in the 1970s, and his credits transferred to Duke University, where he majored in Economics and graduated in 1976. He then obtained his law degree in 1979 at Harvard.
After practicing law in Milwaukee and Green Bay, Scott was hired in 2002 by Green Bay Packaging, one of America’s largest privately held manufacturers of corrugated containers, containerboard, folding cartons and coated products. As Senior Vice President and General Counsel, he oversaw legal, safety, environmental, and human resource matters. Scott quickly realized that the company benefitted significantly from the many UW-Green Bay graduates it hired. He also saw that the University’s presence in the Green Bay area elevated the city’s stature to world-class, assisting nationwide recruiting.
Scott’s relationship with UW-Green Bay strengthened in 2004 as a member of the University’s Founders Association Board of Directors, a broad-based community organization offering friend- and fund-raising support to UW-Green Bay. In 2010, he began serving as president of the Founders Association and was the Founders’ ex officio representative to the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay Foundation, Inc.
In 2012, Scott joined the Foundation Board as an at-large member as well as the UW-Green Bay Chancellor’s Council of Trustees. For the past several years Scott and his wife, Cindy, have led the Niagara Society, which encourages alumni and supporters to include UW-Green Bay in their estate planning.
Scott is now retired from Green Bay Packaging. He and his wife, Cindy, have three children.
About UW-Green Bay
Established in 1965, UW-Green Bay is a public institution serving more than 9,600 undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral students and 95,000 continuing education learners each year. We educate students from pre- college through retirement and offer 200+ degrees, programs and certificates. UW-Green Bay graduates are resilient, inclusive, sustaining and engaged members of their communities, ready to rise to fearlessly face challenges, solve problems and embrace diverse ideas and people. With four campus locations, the University welcomes students from every corner of the world. In 2021, UW-Green Bay was the fastest-growing UW school in Wisconsin. For more information, visit www.uwgb.edu.
