Biography coming soon!

Michael Caruso has been in banking for fifteen years, ten in San Francisco and five in Madison and Mt. Horeb. He spent two years as the CFO of NetVersant, a telecom company in San Francisco in the late 1990’s. Prior to coming to AMCORE Bank, he created and ran his previous employer’s Emerging Market Group, doing work with Biotech clients and is a frequent speaker at Biotech industry seminars. He now head’s up AMCORE’s Verona, Belleville and Mt. Horeb business banking group. Michael works heavily with growing businesses including manufacturers, wholesalers and distributors, and still maintains a practice with emerging technology companies.

He is currently the President of the Madison Exchange Club, a board member of the Business and Education Partnership, and was recently elected to the Mt Horeb Chamber Board where he heads up their Business Retention and Development Committee. He is currently a member of the Mt Horeb Rotary. He volunteers during the school year at Sugar Creek Elementary School with the Verona Schools of Hope project. He also teaches First Aid and CPR for the American Red Cross for Green County. Michael and his wife Jessica have a three and half year old son, Nicholas and are in the process of selling their small farm in Monroe and moving to Mt. Horeb.

Erin is a manager with over 14 years of public accounting experience. She is a member of Smith & Gesteland’s Family Business and construction/real estate, and manufacturing groups and works primarily with closely held and family businesses focusing on assurance, S corporation and partnership taxation.

Erin works with owners and controllers for companies in service, manufacturing, real estate and construction industries. She plans, supervises, and reviews financial statement and income tax engagements.

She received a B.S. in Accounting and Management from Upper Iowa University and is a member of Family Business Services Group, Smith & Gesteland, LLP, American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and Wisconsin Institute of Certified Public Accountants.

Denise is the Controller for Mad City Roofing Inc. after spending over 17 years in the banking industry focusing on commercial and consumer lending. Her passion for the welfare of children also led her to an Interim Executive Director position with a local not-for-profit.

Denise is a volunteer for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF), as well as a past board member. Denise has served on several campaign cabinets including United Way.

Curt Chester, originally from New Jersey, graduated from Wheaton College in Illinois and then worked as a foster care social worker in Philadelphia for four years. During that time, Curt obtained a Masters in Social Work degree from Rutgers University. Ready for a complete change of pace, Curt then entered a career in finance, first working as a trader on the floor of the Philadelphia Stock Exchange and then as an investment portfolio manager for Unger Capital Management in Madison, Wisconsin.

While working for Unger Capital Management, Curt realized he enjoyed the technology aspect of the job more than the finance, so he eventually took a position with Epic Systems Corporation, a medical software company. He has worked at Epic for over five years in a variety of roles and is currently a manager of employee education. Curt is married to Bonnie and has two young children, Elise and Owen. In his spare time, Curt enjoys kiteboarding and traveling.

A financial advisor and owner of The Dillett Company, Diane’s mission is to help individuals and small business owners grow their wealth and protect it.

With over 25 years of experience, Diane started The Dillett Company in 2000. She earned the LUTCF designation (Life Underwriter Training Council Fellow) and recently completed studies and became licensed as an Investment Advisor through Cambridge Investment Research to expand her skills and abilities to work with client portfolios.

Prior to founding The Dillett Company, Diane was associated with Vista Benefits, formerly, Allord Reed & Associates LLC, working with small businesses to develop employee benefit programs including life and health insurance as well as retirement plans. Diane was affiliated with AnchorBank, SSB, for 14 years and served as President of Anchor Insurance Services, a subsidiary of the bank.

Diane also serves on the Board of the Financial Service Professionals, is past president of Madison NAWBO, Wisconsin NAWBO, Capitol Square Optimists and The Exchange Center for Prevention of Child Abuse. During the school year, Diane is a volunteer tutor with Schools of Hope in Fitchburg.

Diane enjoys spending time with her family and enjoys running, fitness, crafts ,cooking and reading.

Dr. Norman Fost is a graduate of Princeton (AB 1960), Yale (MD 1964) and Harvard (MPH 1973). Since 1973 he has been at the University of Wisconsin where he is Professor of Pediatrics and Bioethics, Director of the Program in Medical Ethics which he founded in 1973, and works as a general pediatrician. He is Chairman of the Hospital Ethics Committee and the Health Sciences Institutional Review Board. He formed UW Hospital’s first child protection team and served as medical director from 1973-2006.

He has served on numerous national committees, including President Clinton’s Health Care Task Force. He currently serves on the FDA’s Advisory Committee on Children’s Drugs and is chair of the FDA Pediatric Ethics Subcommittee. In 2005 he served on the National Academy of Sciences Committee on Guidelines for Stem Cell Research.

He has been a frequent guest on national television shows including Nightline, Frontline, Crossfire, Donahue, The News Hour, Good Morning America, ESPN Sports Center, HBO, Larry King Live and Oprah.

Dr. Fost is, with Lee Dalton and Bronson LaFollette, a founding member of the Exchange Program and has served on the Board of Directors since its inception in 1985.

Dr. Barbara L. Knox is the Medical Director of the Child Protection Program at the University of Wisconsin Children's Hospital. She is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin Medical School, Madison, WI. She completed her residency program at the Mayo School of Graduate Medical Education in Rochester, Minnesota in Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine in 2005. In 2006, she completed her fellowship at the Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center in Child Abuse and Neglect.

Dr. Knox's mission for the University of Wisconsin Child Protection Program is to ensure the safety and well-being of infants, children, and adolescents in the state of Wisconsin as well as the surrounding tri-state region.

In her spare time Barbara likes to spend time with her family, read, and scrapbook.

Rochelle has more than 29 years of experience working in the public utility operations environment. She is a member of the Gas and Electric Operations management team overseeing the clerical support staff for this active area as well as acting as administrative assistant to the vice president of the gas operations division.

In addition to her board duties for the Exchange Center for the Prevention of Child Abuse, she is an active member of Executive Women International.

Biography coming soon!

Biography coming soon!

Biography coming soon!

Jay Ranney maintains a litigation practice that focuses on a wide range of commercial, insurance, personal injury, and intellectual property disputes that have included genetic technology, liquid filling machines, and guitar design features. Additional litigation has focused on statutory and constitutional issues, as well as family law matters.

An adjunct professor at Marquette Law School, Mr. Ranney is the author of the books, In the Wake of Slavery: Civil War, Civil Rights, and the Reconstruction of Southern Law (2006), and Trusting Nothing to Providence: A History of Wisconsin's Legal System (1999) as well as several law review articles. He has served as an officer in several professional associations, and is a former member of the Dane County Bar Association board of directors, and former president and board member of Legal Services of Northeastern Wisconsin. In 2003, Mr. Ranney was presented with the President's Award for Meritorious Achievement by the State Bar of Wisconsin.

Craig Robida is the External Relations Manager for the UW Paul P. Carbone Comprehensive Cancer Center. Prior to joining the Cancer Center, he was the Marketing Director for the Madison Symphony Orchestra and Public Relations Director of HospiceCare, Inc. He has been involved with the Exchange Center for 10+ years focusing on fundraising/marketing initiatives.

Mike currently lives in Sun Prairie, Wisconsin with his wife Cathy, a son Mike, in Sun Prairie High School, and a daughter Molly  attending the University of Minnesota. He has been a member of the Sun Prairie Exchange Club for the past 17 years, including a position as past president and current board member.

Mike has owned and operated Profoma Technigraphics for the past 18 years, offering business printing and promotional products to business in and around Madison.

Favorite Quote: "The best inheritance parents can give to their children is a few minutes of their time each day." – M. Grandler

Primary Areas of Practice: Estate Planning, Wills, Trusts, Probate, Public Inland Waters, Business, Real Estate

In addition to practicing law in Wisconsin, Paul has also been admitted to practice in the State of Florida. With his Florida license, Paul is able to assist clients and their family members who spend time in Florida and need legal assistance in that state. He will continue to base his practice in Wisconsin and serve Wisconsin clients.

• Member, American Bar Association, State Bar of Wisconsin, Florida Bar Association, and Dane County Bar Association
• Author of several articles and presentations on trusts and estate law
• Lecturer at the University of Wisconsin Law School on "The Use of Trusts in Estate Planning"
• Former law clerk to Justice William Callow of the Wisconsin Supreme Court
• Previously held positions at the Social Security Administration, including Operations Supervisor, Management Analyst and Claims Representative
• Earned his law degree from the University of Kansas, Order of the Coif, Moot Court Council, Kansas Law Review
• Earned an M.S. with distinction in Counseling and Personnel Services from Drake University in Iowa
• Holds a B.A. in Psychology/Sociology from Valparaiso University in Indiana

More about Paul:

Paul is active in the community. Paul is also Chairman of the City of Verona (Wisconsin) Parks Commission and a member of the City of Verona Plan Commission. Other voluntary posts Paul has held for the City of Verona include former Chairman of the Zoning Board of Appeals and member of the Americans with Disabilities Act Committee.