The United Performing Arts Fund Announces Scott Beightol as Board Chair and Five New Board Members

MILWAUKEE (Dec. 14, 2022) – The United Performing Arts Fund (UPAF) announced this week the appointment of Scott Beightol, partner at Michael Best & Friedrich, as the new chair of the UPAF Board of Directors, succeeding Tim Mattke. Also announced was the appointment of five new members to its Board of Directors. Joining the Board are Jeff Cady of US Bank, David Caruso of Dynamic Events by David Caruso, Dustin Godsey of Milwaukee Bucks and Fiserv Forum, Melanie Maddux of ManpowerGroup and Tim Stewart of DeWitt, LLP.

“As we continue to expand our Board of Directors, we are pleased to identify individuals who have great passion for the important role that the performing arts play in our community as well as those who represent companies who do the same,” said Patrick Rath, UPAF president and CEO. “Along with the great leadership of Scott, we are grateful to have the diverse talents and perspectives of these individuals on our Board of Directors.”

Scott Beightol, a partner in the Milwaukee office of Michael Best, represents businesses in all aspects of employment and labor relations, with special emphasis in litigation of discrimination, noncompete and other matters in federal and state court, arbitration, and before the NLRB and OFCCP. Scott is the former Chairman of the law firm. He also serves on the Board of the Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce, the Water Council, and is on the Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System.  Scott is also on the Political Advocacy and Employment Relations Committees of the US Chamber of Commerce.  Scott and his wife, Desiree, live in Wales, Wisconsin and he has been a member of the UPAF Board of Directors since 2012.

Jeff Cady is a Wealth Management Advisor with U.S. Bancorp Investments and has been serving clients in the financial services industry for more than 30 years. He has been registered since 1991 and has been in his current role since 1994. He graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with a degree in international economics is a Certified Financial Planner™ professional. He also serves on the board of The Holton Youth and Family Center.

David Caruso has had a 20+ career as an event planner, designer, speaker, media personality, curator and consultant. He has planned premiere events throughout the United States and Caribbean. As a speaker, David also makes appearances on news and talk shows as well as conferences nationwide speaking on the topics of weddings, style, business, branding, and design. A turning point in his career was when he won the ultimate industry accolade, Event Planner of the Year by National Association for Catering and Events. Locally, David makes regular appearances on TMJ4’s The Morning Blend and is the host and an executive producer of the new TV show Good Things Brewing in partnership with VISIT Milwaukee (debuting in February 2023).

Dustin Godsey is in his eleventh season with the Milwaukee Bucks and Fiserv Forum and seventh as Chief Marketing Officer, where he is responsible for the development and expansion of the Bucks brand. During his tenure, he has built an award-winning team that has overseen several high-profile projects, including the team’s acclaimed rebrand in 2015 and was named to Business Insider’s 2022 list of most innovative CMOs. He is a 2002 graduate of the University of Iowa with degrees in marketing and journalism.

Melanie Maddux is Regional Vice President, Manpower Great Lakes, at ManpowerGroup in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. In addition to her P&L leadership, Melanie leads Manpower’s Specialization and Innovation Transformation Team and serves as Executive Sponsor of Elevate, ManpowerGroup’s Business Resource Group for LGBT and allied employees. Melanie holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Carleton College and a Master of Business Administration from Harvard Business School. She has served on the boards of Interchange Food Pantry, the Harvard Business School Alumni Club of Wisconsin, and the Better Business Bureau of Wisconsin.

Tim Stewart is the President & Managing Partner of DeWitt Law Firm. In addition to guiding DeWitt, he also has an active practice helping clients to establish employee stock ownership plans (ESOPS), as well as helping employers with employee benefits issues. In addition, he is the coauthor of the DeWitt ESOP News Feed. Tim has been involved with UPAF for several years, including as Co-Chair of Next Generation UPAF and a 2019 Campaign Co-Chair. He received both his law and bachelor’s degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

The 2023 United Performing Arts Fund (UPAF) Board of Directors includes:

Executive Committee:
Scott Beightol, Chair (Michael Best), Steve Johnson, Secretary (BMO Harris), Brent Tischler, Treasurer (Old National Bank), Chris Goller (PNC Bank), Heather Ramirez (Community Volunteer), Joe Rock (KPMG) and Tim Mattke (MGIC).

Directors:
Steve Booth (Baird), Jim Borris (Zilber Ltd.), Jeff Cady (US Bank), David Caruso (Dynamic Events), Heather Dunn (West Bend Mutual), Dustin Godsey (Milwaukee Bucks), Bill Guc (We Energies), Katy Hook (PricewaterhouseCoopers), Juliet Kersten (Community Volunteer), Dr. Phyllis King (University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee), David Lubar (Lubar & Co.), Stephanie Lyons (Northwestern Mutual), Melanie Maddux (ManpowerGroup), Greg Marcus (Marcus Corporation), George Meyer (Kahler Slater – Retired), Rebecca Mitich (Husch Blackwell), Tim Stewart (DeWitt LLP) and Anne Zizzo (Zizzo Group)

About UPAF
The United Performing Arts Fund (UPAF) has been setting the stage since 1967 by providing critical investment in our region’s vibrant performing arts scene. UPAF’s mission is to secure community resources, promote the performing arts as a regional asset and improve the quality of life through responsible investment in and financial support of the performing arts in Eastern Wisconsin. UPAF proudly bears Charity Navigator’s highest distinction for nonprofits – a four-star rating – and is the No. 1 united performing arts fund in the country in terms of dollars raised.

With generous community support, UPAF funds 47 diverse local performing arts organizations that provide our community with the best of music, dance, song and theater. In addition to entertainment excellence, these organizations provide transformative educational programs for local children, ensure that individuals from marginalized neighborhoods have opportunities to participate in the arts and expand arts access for people with disabilities.

NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. While it is believed to be reliable, Urban Milwaukee does not guarantee its accuracy or completeness.