Who’s Who at the Museum

      • Carrie Ronnander | executive Director

        c.ronnander@cvmuseum.com

        Carrie has long looked to the past to help understand the present. Her early exposure to history included trips to historic sites, visits with her great-great aunt who was born in 1878 in the Dakota Territory, and many grade school books about Abraham Lincoln and the U.S. Civil War. Carrie began working at the Chippewa Valley Museum in 2000 as Curator. She came with a BA in History from Marquette University and a MA in History from the University of Minnesota. As the Executive Director, Carrie works to make the Chippewa Valley Museum a welcome place for all, where many stories are told and remembered.

      • Angela Allred | Program Manager

        a.allred@cvmuseum.com

        Angela actively nurtures a life-long love of education and community service. Some of her past efforts have included volunteering for the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City and fulfilling two terms as an AmeriCorps Tutor in Dubuque, IA. Her involvement in Eau Claire has included substituting in Eau Claire and Altoona schools and performing with the Chippewa Valley Theater Guild. Angela holds a BA in Anthropology from the University of Utah and has been the Program Manager at the Chippewa Valley Museum since February 2018.

      • Frank Barby | director of operations

        f.barby@cvmuseum.com

        Frank comes to us from a 58-bed hospital in Madison, where he was the Director of Plant Operations. Before that he worked as the Facilities Engineer at a local 85-room hotel. With a generous amount of experience in the trades, most of Frank’s professional career was in the Medical Industry. He worked as an Executive Director of Radiology for three separate hospital corporations, purchasing and installing CTs, MRIs, and radiographic machines. Lastly, as a 23-year veteran of the US Navy, Frank spent 10 years in the Submarine Service. Among his many duties, he served as an Independent Duty Hospital Corpsman, Medical Service Corps Officer (specializing in radiation physics), and a submarine repair and docking officer.

      • Dustyn Dubuque | Development Manager

        d.dubuque@cvmuseum.com

        This old timey base ball player, host of metal concerts, and fan of fantasy horror films came to Chippewa Valley Museum from the Greater Menomonie Area Boys and Girls Club. With an MA in Public History from UWEC, Dustyn has been the Education & Programming Coordinator for Dunn County Historical Society as well as the Executive Director of Downtown Menomonie, Inc.

      • Jodi Kiffmeyer | Archivist

        j.kiffmeyer@cvmuseum.com

        Among Jodi’s earliest memories are hours spent sitting on her grandmother’s lap begging to hear stories from her family’s past. That interest in family history naturally expanded to include the Chippewa Valley, where her family has lived for six generations. Jodi holds an MA in Library and Information Studies from UW-Madison’s iSchool and comes to the Chippewa Valley Museum with a background in public libraries. Her experience also includes work in the archives of Barron County’s Pioneer Village Museum. She loves to ask and answer questions, which means it’s her pleasure to help researchers access the stories and images of the Chippewa Valley.

      • Karen Jacobson | Educator

        k.jacobson@cvmuseum.com

        Karen was an elementary school teacher in Chippewa Falls for six years prior to filling the Museum Educator position in 2003. She jokes that her classroom has changed sizes from an average of 20 students to now over 4,000! Karen relies upon the talents of many volunteer Docents and other museum ambassadors to provide a wide variety of learning experiences for visitors, ages PreK-Adult.

      • Jarrod Showalter | Education Assistant

        j.showalter@cvmuseum.com

        Jarrod has an undergraduate degree in history from Knox College and a master's degree in public history from UW-Milwaukee. He has a background in history education in both the classroom and museum settings, previously working as a history lecturer at UW-Stout, teaching assistant at UW-Milwaukee, museum assistant at the Pabst Mansion, and education volunteer at other museums. Jarrod brings additional experience in collections and exhibit design, and his area of academic research is the Civil War era in the North. Jarrod originally hails from Iowa.

      • Rachel Lange | Curator

        r.lange@cvmuseum.com

        Once the Executive Director of the Wisconsin Logging Museum (2021-2022), Rachel came to Chippewa Valley Museum when we merged with the logging museum at the end of 2022. She has an MA in Public History with a Graduate Certificate in Museum Studies from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Prior to joining the Wisconsin Logging Museum, Rachel worked at the Pabst Mansion and Guardian Fine Arts Services in Milwaukee. In her spare time, she coaches the UWEC Women’s Rugby team, giving back to the university where she earned her BA.

      • diana Peterson | Assistant Curator & Editor

        d.peterson@cvmuseum.com

        Diana grew up surrounded by history in central Pennsylvania. Her children and grandchildren also developed a love of the past, and museums are part of every vacation itinerary. Graduating from UW-Eau Claire with a BA in English, most of her career was spent as a free-lance editor. She is honored to help care for the artifacts and present the joy-filled and heart-rending stories of the Chippewa Valley that they represent

      • Olaf Lind | Creative director

        o.lind@cvmuseum.com

        Trained as a classical musician, Olaf has spent most of his professional life in communications and marketing for small to mid-size corporations and nonprofits. With a BA in Philosophy from University of Wisconsin - Eau Claire, Olaf often entertains questions like “What is history” while walking through the museum. Working to connect people with the stories of the Chippewa Valley gives him a chance to be a part of sharing the ideas and events that have shaped our region.

      • Jill York | Operations Manager

        j.york@cvmuseum.com

        Jill came to the Chippewa Valley Museum in 2009 as the Operations Assistant. She has a BA in History from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a MA in History with a focus on Public History from University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire. In 2011 she became the Volunteer Coordinator and currently is the Operations Manager. Jill has always enjoyed history and loves to be able to work in an environment where she can be a part of the community and local history of the Chippewa Valley.

      • Tim Hirsch | Program Assistant & Public Health AmeriCorps member

        t.hirsch@cvmuseum.com

        Tim is an AmeriCorps member in Marshfield Clinic's Public Health Community Corps. While studying to earn a BA in Biology from Gustavus Adolphus College, Tim volunteered at the Chippewa Valley Museum in Visitor Services and the Schlegelmilch gardens. After graduating in 2022, he joined AmeriCorps and began serving at the museum in support of its volunteer program.

      • Jeanne Nyre | Contract Exhibit Designer

        J.Nyre@cvmuseum.com

        From small cases to displays that cover thousands of square feet, Jeanne loves the challenge of exhibit design. After receiving a BFA in Advertising and Design from University of Wisconsin - Eau Claire in 1984 she spent time working in design in Minneapolis. In 1986 she became Exhibit Designer at Chippewa Valley Museum. Jeanne tries to see things through the visitor’s eyes and take them on a journey to provoke memories or to experience something new.

Chippewa Valley Museum Board

Benny Anderson
Director
Visit Eau Claire

Samuel Bach-Hanson, Treasurer
Attorney
Weld Riley, S.C.

Kevin Dague, 
Attorney
Herrick & Hart, S.C.

Kevin Dallas
Project Manager
Market & Johnson

Maxwell Kaiser
Owner
Banbury Place/ Cigan Properties

Rachel Meyer 
Vice President
Proposal Specialist
Badger Meter

Tom Mihajlov
Retired

Rhonda Noonan-Muehe
US Talent Advisor
Cascades

Melissa Peterson,
President
Market President
Frandsen Bank

Phil Rechek
Project Manager
Menard Center for Constitutional Studies, UW-Eau Claire

Travis Schroeder

Project Architect
Wendel Companies

Casey Schumacher
Outreach Program Manager
Wisconsin Small Business Development Center, UW-Eau Claire

Madison Stauffer
Student
UW-Eau Claire

Jeff Stevens

Independent Consultant

Julie Thoney
Community Services and Economic Development Manager
Xcel Energy

Curt Van Auken

Regional President
Security Financial Bank

Chippewa Valley Museum Foundation Board

Ryan Balts, Royal Credit Union, President
Cassie Fisher, Wings Financial Credit Union, Treasurer 
Kelly France, LPL Financial
Debbie Gough, Retired, UW-Eau Claire, Secretary
Nicholas Pedersen, Nicolet Bank
Dustin Olson
, UW-Stout, Vice President
David Schian, CLA Eau Claire, 
Melissa Seyffer, M3 Insurance
Brenda Trump, Prevail Bank