Secretary's Directors
About
The DNR's secretary's directors serve as the department's eyes, ears and voice throughout the state, ensuring prompt attention to local issues and improved responsiveness to opportunities.
The five secretary's directors act with the full authority of the DNR Department Secretary to build relationships, resolve challenges for DNR customers and integrate citizen feedback to improve service. The secretary's directors have offices in northern, northeastern, west central, south central and southeastern Wisconsin.
In addition to directing staff, managing activities and making decisions on key issues within a geographic area, the secretary's directors work with local legislators, municipal executives and business leaders to advance the department's mission and vision. Through collaboration with appropriate program administrators, they also take the lead on establishing single points of contact on projects with challenges that span multiple division programs.
Northeastern Wisconsin
Connie Antonuk Contact Email
Phone: (715) 401-9624
Workstation: Green Bay Service Center
Counties served: Brown, Calumet, Door, Fond du Lac, Green Lake, Kewaunee, Manitowoc, Marinette, Marquette, Menominee, Oconto, Outagamie, Shawano, Waupaca, Waushara and Winnebago.
Connie Antonuk has been with the DNR for 31 years, most recently serving as the Northern Region Field Integration Leader. Connie started her career as a limited term employee at the Escanaba Lake Research station as a creel clerk measuring walleyes and talking with anglers. She then went on to write preliminary site assessments for the Superfund program. Her first full-time position at the DNR was with the Remediation and Redevelopment program, cleaning up leaking underground storage tank sites. She then moved to the Park Falls DNR office, where she worked with the Forestry, Wildlife, and Parks and Recreation programs. While in Park Falls, Connie also worked with the Hayward tree nursery, Flambeau River State Forest and the fire management program. In 2006, Connie was appointed Air and Waste Leader for the Northern Region, eventually transitioning to the Field Integration Leader position. Before joining the DNR, Connie worked for the US Fish and Wildlife Service raising lake trout at a federal fish hatchery.
South Central Wisconsin
Shelly Allness Contact Email
Phone: (608) 216-3912
Workstation: Fitchburg Service Center
Counties served: Columbia, Dane, Dodge, Green, Grant, Iowa, Jefferson, Lafayette, Richland, Rock and Sauk.
As a 25-year public servant, Shelly Allness has happily been with the DNR for over 20 years. Most recently, Shelly served as the South Central Region Field Integration Leader; before that, she was the Deputy Legislative Director and the Agency Tribal Liaison. Shelly started her DNR career as a DOT Liaison/Environmental Analysis Specialist in the Northeast. She later served as the Division Policy Advisor for the Fish, Wildlife, and Parks predecessor, the Lands Division. Shelly was also a member of the leadership team working within the Secretary's Office at the Department of Tourism for several years, where she worked on various topics and regularly engaged with the outdoor recreation and tourism industry.
Southeastern Wisconsin
Mike Thompson Contact Email
Phone: (414) 303-3408
Workstation: Milwaukee Service Center
Counties served: Kenosha, Milwaukee, Ozaukee, Racine, Sheboygan, Walworth, Washington, Waukesha.
Mike Thompson was appointed southeast director on Jan. 3, 2022. Mike most recently served as the department's waterways program director for statewide dam and floodplain safety, Great Lakes coastal erosion, piers, dredging and other public trust, wetlands and shoreland zoning matters. As a DNR employee since 1992, Mike has worked as a remediation and redevelopment program contaminated soil and groundwater hydrogeologist, spill emergency response coordinator and an environmental analysis field supervisor. He also has experience in complex transportation, utility and environmental impact statement projects in southeast, south-central and northeast Wisconsin.
Mike has a degree in geology and geophysics from UW-Madison and is a Wisconsin Army National Guard commissioned officer veteran.
Western Wisconsin
James Yach Contact Email
Phone: (608) 218-0711
Workstation: Eau Claire Service Center
Counties served: Adams, Buffalo, Chippewa, Clark, Crawford, Dunn, Eau Claire, Jackson, Juneau, La Crosse, Marathon, Monroe, Pepin, Pierce, Portage, St. Croix, Trempealeau, Vernon and Wood.
James Yach comes to the DNR from the Department of Workforce Development where he was a district director before being named the DNR's northern region Secretary's Director in July of 2017. Prior to joining the State of Wisconsin, James retired from the United States Navy after serving on active duty for over 20 years as a Naval Aviator at multiple duty stations across the country and abroad.
A Wisconsin native, James was born and raised in Stevens Point and has a degree in Business Administration from the University of San Diego, and currently resides in Rhinelander. Outside of work, he enjoys spending time with family and friends, enjoying many outdoor activities and spending time at his lakefront property in Presque Isle, though his great passion is musky fishing.
Northern Wisconsin
Ann Kipper Contact Email
Phone: (608) 733-1336
Workstation: Rhinelander Service Center
Counties served: Ashland, Barron, Bayfield, Burnett, Douglas, Iron, Polk, Price, Rusk, Sawyer, Taylor, Washburn, Florence, Forest, Langlade, Lincoln, Oneida, Vilas.
Ann Kipper has over 30 years of varied experience in the environmental and natural resources fields. Her most recent previous DNR roles were in the External Services Division where she served in the Division Administrator (for 3 years) and Deputy Division Administrator (for 5 years) roles for the past eight years. She started her DNR career in what is now the Environmental Management Division in the Waste and Materials Management program where she served as a field supervisor in Northern Region and then as the program director for ten years. Ann worked for the Wisconsin Department of Transportation for six years as an environmental coordinator. She also spent nine years in the private sector as a hydrogeologist working on remediation, water, waste, and industrial projects. Ann started her career sampling lakes at UW Trout Lake Station and updating soil maps for the USDA NRCS. Ann attended UW-Stevens Point and holds a degree in Geography/Geology.
Ann is a lifelong Hodag – she lives in Rhinelander with her husband Buck, and they have three adult children and a spoiled labrador. She enjoys a plethora of outdoor activities, time with family and friends, and mentoring youth in her community and emerging leaders in state government.