School Factory comprises a group of passionate individuals committed to connecting people and their passions with those who share them.

Our Board of Directors

Karen Kolberg
Todd Nilson
Bob Pavlik
Pete Prodoehl
Gabe Wollenburg
David McKinney
Katie Peschel

James S. Carlson

Executive Director, School Factory
Co-Director, Bucketworks Milwaukee
President, Emergency Digital
Development Team Member, TYWIGS
Co-Founder, Milwaukee Spotlight Student Film Festival
414.305.1324 ext 701

James Carlson is Executive Director and founder of the School Factory, a non-profit organization that creates learning centers, schools, venues, and creative spaces for America, such as Bucketworks, a health club for the brain, and the Young Women’s Institute for Global Studies, a small high-school, both in Milwaukee. James has over twenty years experience with information technology in a social context, from implementation through design and architecture. James has worked with the world’s largest corporations and organizations such as Proctor and Gamble, Best Buy, France Telecom, McDonalds, Sony Pictures, the IRS, and the US Army on their online global communications, marketing, and information sharing strategies. He has experience in leading both for-profit and non-profit corporations, and is now developing the general usability of the social enterprise. James also serves on the Advisory Board of the Cardinal Stritch Leadership Center.

Virginia Cassel

Executive Director, The Young Women’s Institute for Global Studies
414.208.0809

Executive Director and founder of The Young Women’s Institute for Global Studies (TYWIGS). Single parent of 4, including 2 teenaged daughters. A founding member and past President of Milwaukee Preservation Alliance, Virginia has much had much experience in community development, with involvement in Neighborhood Strategic Planning (Chair of Economic Redevelopment Subcommittee) as well as founder, chair/co/vice-chair of a local resident council. She has extensive project management experience, with responsibilities including development of scope, budget, profit margin, scheduling, account collections, hiring and management of both employees and subcontractors. She currently partners/manages a property redevelopment company.

Tegan Dowling

Vice President, Emergency Digital

I am proud to have been one of the founding members of the Bay View Neighborhood Association (BVNA). I was charter chair of the public spaces committee, and served as membership coordinator during the formative year of the association. I set up and maintained the original BVNA Wiki website. I grew up on Milwaukee’s East Side (“The Other Bay View”), and have lived in Milwaukee’s Riverwest, as well as in California and Oregon. My husband and I have lived on California St, in the BVNA’s Region #3, since 1997. Before that, I lived on Greeley St, having bought a home there with my first husband in 1983. I have a husband of the very finest quality. We have a dog and a cat. I enjoy gardening a little, reading a lot, and noodling around with computers and online much more than is probably good for me.

Dominic Inouye

Director and Co-Founder, Milwaukee Spotlight Student Film Festival
414.339.9489

Dominic’s philosophy about film and students can be summed up this way: Put a camera in the hands of a kid and great things will happen. He has been an English teacher at Pius XI High School for eight years, where he teaches courses at all levels; his special interests include world mythologies, creative writing, media literacy, and film analysis. As the moderator of the Pius Film Society, Dominic gathers students each week to experiment with the medium. After holding an informal movie contest at Pius a few year ago, he saw interest grow and spread to other schools. And in February 2005, he teamed up with James Carlson of Bucketworks and Milwaukee Spotlight was born, opening in May of that year. Dominic continues to integrate video into his school’s curriculum: last year his students created two original shorts; this year he is introducing PSA and documentary film-making to his students, and he is also working to complete his own full-length documentary, Emancipation, Wisconsin, which examines Milwaukee’s recent wave of violent crime and the individuals and organizations working for peace.

Sharon Lerman

President, Working Innovations
414.228.0525

President of Working Innovations, Sharon Lerman delivers over fifteen years of results-oriented experience as an employee assistance program consultant, organizational development practitioner, trainer/facilitator, business consultant and coach. Her experience benefits organizations through enhanced productivity, morale and employee retention. Sharon works with both profit and non-profit organizations to create an environment that connects people to their potential. She holds a Masters of Science in Business Management from Cardinal Stritch University and a Masters of Arts in Expressive Therapy from Lesley College, Cambridge, MA. Sharon is certified as a Life Coach and is a Licensed Professional Counselor.

Brian Miracle

Operational Director, Bucketworks Milwaukee
414.305.1324 ext 703

Brian is a veteran of the Milwaukee Theater scene. In 2003 he completed studies at The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee in Theatre and Business. Since graduation, credits include; VARIETY 68 (Milwaukee Mask and Puppet), BALM IN GILEAD (Dramatists Theatre), THE TRIAL (Post Romantic Theatre), TWELFTH NIGHT (The Boulevard Theatre), PSYCHO BEACH PARTY (Bialystock & Bloom), BLACK COMEDY (Cornerstone Theatre), and A SOLDIER’S STORY (Hansberry-Sands Theatre), along with many, many others. Brian is also a co-founder of Quasi-Productions, an experimental multi-media and live entertainment production and talent company. Additionally, he operates Miracle Construction and Quasi-Cafe.

Patrick G.H. Schley

Director of Administrative Operations, School Factory
Operations Coordinator/Theatre Program Coordinator, Bucketworks Milwaukee
414.305.1324 ext 704

Patrick Schley is a student in the BFA Theatre Management program at DePaul University. Since 1998, he has had extensive theatrical experience, both on stage and off. Behind the scenes, Patrick is experienced as a stage manager, sound engineer, lighting operator, and administrator. He is on the staff of First Stage Theater Academy, the largest theater training program for young people in the United States. In 2005, he helped to create the Metro Milwaukee Young Playwrights Competition, which ran for two years as a highly successful program, and in 2008 he was involved in the inaugural season of The Lake Geneva Theatre Company, founded by theatre veteran Laura Nicholas DeMoon. Additionally, Patrick has served as a teaching assistant for creative drama programs at the Wisconsin Center for Gifted Learners and was a member of the administrative team of Primary Colours Student Experimental Theatre. Patrick joined School Factory in May of 2007 as Theatre Program Coordinator for Bucketworks. A 2006 graduate of Pius XI High School, Patrick currently resides in Chicago’s Lincoln Park neighborhood during the academic year and Milwaukee’s historic Washington Heights Neighborhood during the summer months.

Jenn Turner

Associate Executive Director, School Factory
Co-Director, Bucketworks Milwaukee
414.305.1324 ext 702

Bio coming soon!