Staff

As the Government Affairs Manager, Peter works with the legislature, governor’s office, state agencies, partner organizations, and Wisconsin Conservation Voters’ members to advance conservation priorities in the state budget, legislature, and rule-making process. He identifies key opportunities for members and partners to engage in the policy-making process on priority issues in timely and strategic ways. Peter also organizes Conservation Lobby Day, which brings together a broad coalition of organizations representing each legislative district to lobby for priority issues.

I grew up in Sister Bay near multiple gorgeous state parks and natural areas. As a kid, I spent my time getting lost on my cross country skis in Newport State Park, kayaking a bit too far onto the Bay of Green Bay, and biking throughout the village with my brothers. My parents were both very involved in the community, which meant my brothers and I couldn’t get away with anything. My mom worked as a youth minister and my dad worked in emergency services. If we were seen biking without a helmet, my parents got a call from someone in the congregation – and we heard about it at dinner. And while that was frustrating as a kid, I’m grateful to know so many neighbors were looking out for us.

Those experiences made me think about what it means to be a good neighbor and shaped my interest in the social sciences. Through college, I spent more and more time in different advocacy spaces, and began to explore my own privilege – thinking about how my childhood compared to others, the implications of those differences, and what to do about them. I think about my neighbors’ response to my brothers and I not wearing helmets, and wonder whether there was equal concern for other young people. I also wonder what our village would look like if neighbors focused less attention on specific people wearing helmets, and more attention on fighting for sidewalks and protected bike lanes.

In a perfect world, I think an elected official is just a really good neighbor; one we pay to understand the challenges we face, and who looks out for all of us by fighting for structural changes. It’s no secret Wisconsin faces a lot of challenges. Those challenges disproportionately impact Black, First Nations, and Latino communities. As the Government Affairs Manager, I get to ask legislators questions about how they’re confronting those challenges and looking out for the people they represent – particularly as it relates to ensuring we have safe drinking water, fighting climate change, and protecting our freedom to vote.

• Former Wisconsin Campaign Manager with All Voting is Local & The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights
• University of Edinburgh: Master of Science in International Relations
• University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee: Master of Science in Urban Studies
• Carroll University: Bachelor of Science in Psychology and Organizational Leadership

Meals with family and friends, a good book, a new hike, a quiet paddle, a freshly groomed cross country ski trail.

I’m a conservation voter because fires, floods, and famines are scary. We need to take climate change much more seriously.

Favorite Place in Wisconsin: The Hotz Trail in Newport State Park