Formed in 2017, the UWPD Police Advisory Council (PAC) is comprised of stakeholders from across the UW–Madison community. The purpose of the group, which meets on a monthly basis, is to share community concerns, share relevant feedback with UWPD staff, and offer perspectives about various aspects of the department’s operations (practices, policies).
We are always open to reevaluating the PAC’s membership to ensure appropriate representation from around campus. If you are interested in attending a future PAC meeting or would like to learn more about joining the soon-to-be-formed UWPD Review Committee outlined in the department’s Racial Equity Initiative, please contact us.
Asst. Chief Brian Austin
Brian is the Assistant Chief (AC) of the Investigative & Specialized Services Section of the City of Madison Police Department, overseeing the operation of the Violent Crimes, Special Victims, Burglary, Gang, Narcotics, and Criminal Intelligence units. AC Austin is also the Deputy Commander of the MPD SWAT team. During his 24 years with MPD, AC Austin has served as a patrol officer, a training officer, a detective, a SWAT operator, and an operations lieutenant. AC Austin received a BA in History and Psychology from UW–Madison, and a Juris Doctor from the University of Wisconsin Law School. Prior to joining MPD, AC Austin served as an Assistant District Attorney for Milwaukee and Kenosha counties.
Stephanie Díaz de León
Stephanie Díaz de León is a proven professional in outreach, engagement, and workplace diversity. She is currently the Diversity Coordinator for the UW-Madison Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs’ Leadership and Engagement Division and the Signature Events Coordinator for the Wisconsin Union. She has also served on the Engagement, Inclusion and Diversity Committee at the Wisconsin Union and the Engagement, Inclusion and Diversity Council for the Vice Chancellor for Finance and Administration Division. She has overseen and executed many of the Wisconsin Union’s major events, including the Memorial Union’s reopening, the grand opening of the new Union South, and many more. She also works as 365 Media Foundation’s Director of Outreach and Engagement and is the lead planner and designer of the Wisconsin Leadership Summit, the state’s premier professional development and community-building event for leaders of color throughout Wisconsin.
James Garvey
James Garvey currently serves as a Residence Life Coordinator for Witte Residence Hall within the Department of Residence Life and University Housing at UW–Madison. Witte Hall is the largest residence hall on the UW–Madison campus and is home to the Center for Cultural Enrichment and the Multicultural Learning Community. This year will mark James’ third year working for University Housing. Prior to working at UW–Madison, he graduated from UW–Oshkosh in 2017 with a master’s degree in Higher Education and also worked for their Department of Residence Life for one year.
Rosalia Gittens
Rosalia Gittens is the Community Development Manager at the College of Agricultural & Life Sciences (CALS) new Office of Diversity, Equity,and Inclusion. In this role, Rosalia is responsible for the creation, delivery, and ongoing refinement of timely, practical, and impactful DEI programming designed for key stakeholders. She also helps to develop meaningful relationships with students, staff, and faculty to maintain a keen sense of existing opportunities, challenges ,and needs throughout CALS.
Prior to joining UW-Madison, Rosalia worked in the K-12 educational system as a Bilingual Teacher and as Community School Coordinator. She has more than 16 years of experience leading inclusive and equitable initiatives to help remove barriers to access for under-served populations. Rosalia holds a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration and a master’s in Education.
Brenda González
As Director of Community Relations, Brenda González serves as UW–Madison’s primary point of contact with local community and nonprofit organizations. She is responsible for developing strategies to ensure the university is engaged with these organizations and the broader community.
Prior to joining UW–Madison, Brenda worked as the Diversity Manager for Agrace Hospice & Palliative Care and as a Community Marketing and Health Equity Manager for Group Health Cooperative of South-Central Wisconsin. On campus, she served as the Health Equity Career Development Program Manager with the Collaborative Center for Health Equity at the School of Medicine and Public Health.
Lisa Imhoff
Lisa Imhoff currently serves as Associate Dean for Diversity and Inclusion at the School of Pharmacy at UW–Madison. Before this role, she worked for over sixteen years as a mental health counselor and has held various leadership positions. Lisa has experience working with incarcerated adults and adolescents. Through her years of social work practice, she noticed the unequal legal and mental health care treatment for individuals involved with the legal system. While employed at UW Health, these glaring inequities propelled Lisa to advocate and champion a new mental health treatment delivery model. Instead of only delivering office-based services, this treatment model served adolescents and families in their homes and their communities and allowed for more advocacy within the juvenile justice system.
Lisa also worked at University Health Services as a mental health counselor and substance use coordinator. There, she also advocated for culturally responsive and equitable services for underrepresented and underserved students and took a central role in raising awareness and educating staff and peers about inequities in the mental health care system.
Lisa grew up on the northside of Madison and is a proud, lifelong resident. She’s a Badger through and through and graduated from UW-Madison with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism and Women’s Studies and a Master of Science in Social Work degree.
Moira Kelley
Moira Kelley has been with the Division of Continuing Studies since 1997, holding various roles within Adult Career and Special Student Services. As a counselor and advisor, and in her current role as communications manager, much of her work has been with returning adult students and community members who often find UW–Madison intimidating and seemingly impenetrable. Her passion has been to help these students and prospective students navigate our very traditional campus to successfully reach their academic and career goals. She finds advocating for and supporting these students necessary as often they are overlooked when policies and procedures are put into place. She hopes to bring their diverse voices into the dialog on the PAC and the equity work being done by campus. Moira holds a master’s degree in guidance and counseling from UW-Whitewater and a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Carroll University (formerly Carroll College). She is the solo parent to a 16-year-old son, two standard poodles, two cats, and a guinea pig, and loves observing both flora and fauna while walking through her beloved, nearby Warner Park.
Josie Montañez-Tyler
Josie Montañez-Tyler has more than 20 years of activism experience with a focus on civil rights and rights for the queer community. She has spent the last 15 years passionately working in social services to assist with access to housing, food, clothing, medication, and mental health services. She received a BA in English and a BA in Women’s Studies from UW-Whitewater and a Master’s in Marriage and Family Therapy from Edgewood College. She is currently working as a psychotherapist at University Health Services as a crisis specialist for the UW-Madison campus.
Kate Moran
Kate Moran has a background in specialized transportation and a B.A. in Women’s Studies from the University of Nebraska. She has coordinated the SAFE Nighttime Services program through Transportation Services since 2012. In her spare time, Kate chairs the board of Disability Pride Madison and recently received the “Relentless Badger Award” from the Wisconsin Independent Living Council. Kate and the crew of SAFEwalkers are proud of the work they do to ensure every Badger can move safely around campus at night.
Carmen Romero González
Carmen Romero González is the Director of Cultural Linguistic Services (CLS) in the Office of Human Resources at UW–Madison. CLS provides translation and interpretation services in six different languages, inclusive communication training, and a comprehensive workplace English program for campus employees. Under Carmen’s leadership, CLS has received several recognitions at the national and international levels for being a model program in the areas of diversity, inclusion, and language access.
Carmen holds a master’s degree in Business Administration, a master’s degree in English-Spanish Translation, and a bachelor’s degree in Labor Relations. She is also a certified professional and executive coach credentialed by the International Coach Federation.
Dave Schroeder
Dave Schroeder is a senior technologist in the UW-Madison Division of Information Technology (DoIT) and a national security research strategist in the UW-Madison School of Computer, Data & Information Sciences (CDIS). He also currently serves as an Army Cyber Warfare Officer in the Wisconsin National Guard, and previously served as a Navy Information Warfare Officer. He holds graduate degrees in Cybersecurity Policy and Information Warfare, and is graduate of the Naval Postgraduate School, Naval War College, and Joint Forces Staff College. He also serves as research director for the Wisconsin Security Research Consortium (WSRC).
Eli Verdun
Eli Verdun is a current junior at the University of Wisconsin-Madison studying Finance, Investment, & Banking and Computer Science. He is an active member in the Greek Life community and served on his chapter’s executive board over the 2019-2020 school year overseeing chapter finance, the chapter’s leasing schedule, and held various other responsibilities. Currently, Eli works closely with the Department’s Downtown Liaison Community Officer, Officer Lema Hernandez, to help build the relationship between students in the downtown Madison area and UWPD.
Dennis Yandow
Dennis Yandow is a sophomore at the University of Wisconsin-Madison studying Finance, Investment, and Banking and Real Estate. Originally from Boston, Massachusetts, Dennis has had an interest in policing and law enforcement since the 2013 Boston Marathon Bombings. He is an active member in the Greek life community where he serves as the External Vice President where he keeps relations between his fraternity, the university, and the Madison community. Recently, Dennis worked with the UWPD’s Downtown Liaison Community Officer, Officer Diego Lema Hernandez, to build a stronger relationship between students and the law enforcement within the area.