Carroll University Appoints Five Alumni as Newest Members to Board of Trustees

Author: Kelly Gehringer

Published Date: 10/25/2022

Categories: Alumni University News


Carroll University is proud to announce the election of five dedicated alumni to its Board of Trustees. The newly appointed trustees include Mary Wendt Moase ’80, Blane Dexheimer ’86, Ann Laatsch ’88, Bart Williams ’91 and Latoya Conners Gray ’99. 

Each new member brings valuable life experience and professional expertise that will be an asset to the Board of Trustees.  

“We are delighted to have these committed Carroll alumni join the Board of Trustees,” said President Cindy Gnadinger. “The Board looks forward to their leadership as our institution stays rooted in its enduring tradition while planning for future growth.” 

Moase is an experienced Chief Financial Officer with a demonstrated history of working in various manufacturing industries. Throughout her career, Moase has exhibited strong professional skills in budgeting, cash flow, accounting, human resources, employee benefits and internal controls. Moase has shared her financial expertise with companies like Alligator Holdings, LLC, Motive Equipment Company, Kempsmith Machine Company and PwC.  

Moase graduated from Carroll in 1980, with a Bachelor of Science in accounting. She was also a member of the women’s basketball team and Alpha Gamma Delta sorority while at Carroll. 

Dexheimer has spent his career in financial services, most recently retiring from Milwaukee-based Northwestern Mutual. There, he served as director of corporate bonds for 12 years. Prior to his work with Northwestern Mutual, Dexheimer was an analyst for other reputable financial institutions, including M&I Investment Corporation, M&I Bank and Marshall & Ilsley.  

Dexheimer graduated from Carroll in 1986 (Summa Cum Laude) (Delta Sigma Nu) with a Bachelor of Science in Economics and Business Administration. He has previously served as a representative to Carroll’s Board of Trustees and as chair of the Alumni Council for three years. Under Dexheimer’s leadership, Carroll became more involved with community-based projects, such as the annual National Service Project and the Pioneers Serve Carroll Volunteer Day (formerly known as Day of Caring), to further engage alumni and students. In 2016, Dexheimer was honored with the P.E. Macallister Distinguished Alumnus Award for Service to Carroll. 

Serving as the current president of the Alumni Council, Laatsch brings decades of experience in the judicial system. She is responsible for nationwide leadership within the criminal and civil justice systems on enhancing safety and the quality of life of older victims and survivors. Prior to serving as director of legal services at JusticePoint, where she helped low-income individuals navigate the health care system, Laatsch served as the managing attorney for disability services at Community Advocates, Inc. There, she practiced in the areas of social security disability, public benefits and health care. 

Laatsch received a Bachelor of Arts in French from Carroll in 1988 and comes from a Carroll legacy family. She went on to obtain a Juris Doctor from University of Wisconsin Law School in 2005.  

Dr. Williams is considered a world leader in the study of bone biology and the Wnt signaling pathway, a molecular communication channel that can play a role in cancer and other diseases such as osteoporosis, cardiovascular disease and diabetes. For more than 20 years, Williams has been leading a laboratory at Van Andel Institute (VAI), an independent research and educational organization. VAI studies the genetic, cellular and molecular origins of cancer, Parkinson’s and other diseases and works to translate those findings into effective therapies to improve the health of current and future generations. He is also the Chair of the Department of Cell Biology at VAI and has been a member of the VAI senior research leadership team since 2009. 

Williams received his Bachelor of Science degree from Carroll in 1991, majoring in biology and chemistry. He subsequently received his Ph.D. in biology from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in 1996, working with Tyler Jacks, who pioneered the use of gene-targeting technology. His postdoctoral fellowship at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) occurred in the laboratory of Harold Varmus, a Nobel Laureate and former NIH Director. He joined the Van Andel Institute as a scientific investigator in July 1999, and he is now a professor and the chair of the Department of Cell Biology. Williams was honored with Carroll’s Distinguished Alumnus Award for Professional Achievement in 2021. 

Conners Gray has had a successful career in management consulting, holding senior positions at companies like Sears Holdings Corporation, MarketSphere LLC and IBM. Most recently, she was named global director of customer financial services - credit/fraud for W. W. Grainger. A passionate and motivational leader, Conners Gray has served on several boards and as a mentor for young professionals. 

Conners Gray graduated from Carroll in 1999 with a Bachelor of Science, with honors in biology and public administration. In In the spring of 2001, Latoya graduated from Carnegie Mellon University, H. John Heinz III School of Public Policy with her Master of Science in Public Policy and Management. While at Carnegie Mellon she earned scholarships, fellowships and several awards. When she was a student at Carroll, Conners Gray was involved in Intervarsity Christian Fellowship, Student Senate, CAB and the Black Student Union. She was also a Homecoming queen. 

Carroll’s Board of Trustees also recently elected its second-ever female chair, The Rev. Dr. Deborah Block, Class of 1974. Block is a past recipient of the P.E. Macallister Distinguished Alumna Award for Service to Carroll.  

 

Carroll University   
Carroll University was incorporated in 1846, making it Wisconsin’s first four-year institution of higher learning. Situated in Waukesha, the independent, co-educational comprehensive university is grounded in the liberal arts tradition, and offers more than 95 areas of study, multiple graduate programs and a clinical doctorate in physical therapy. For more information, visit www.carrollu.edu, and follow us on Twitter and Facebook

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