Meet the Wisconsin State Leadership Council

Colleen Coyle

Colleen Coyle began her career at the Republican Party of Wisconsin, where she managed the Party’s fundraising, financial, and special events efforts as Finance Director. She planned, produced, and executed two conventions on behalf of the Party, and directed the Wisconsin delegation at the Republican National Convention in Tampa, Florida during the 2012 presidential election. 

Colleen also served as Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker’s finance director during his 2014 gubernatorial campaign,as well as his national finance director for his 2016 presidential campaign. In 2016 Coyle began her own consulting firm, Coyle Consulting.  Her clients have included, Justice Daniel Kelly, Lt. Governor Rebecca Kleefisch, Judge Shelley Grogan, Congressman Tom Tiffany and WI Next PAC.

Christine Czernejewski

As director of communications and outreach for The Lynde & Harry Bradley Foundation, Christine is responsible for developing and implementing activities that advance the Foundation’s mission and impact. Prior to her role at Bradley, she started Firefly PR, which focused on media relations and engagement strategies. Previously, she handled media relations at the Charles Koch Institute and before that, oversaw strategic communications on government affairs issues for Anheuser-Busch. Additionally, Christine spent a decade in Washington, DC where she served in press secretary roles on Capitol Hill and at the U.S. Small Business Administration. She started her career as a producer, reporter, and anchor at WEAU-TV in Eau Claire, WI. Christine received a bachelor’s degree in journalism at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She serves on The Policy Circle’s Wisconsin Leadership Council; the Advisory Committee of Christ King School; and is on the Wisconsin marathon honor roll. She lives in Wauwatosa with her husband and two young daughters.

Julie Grace

Julie Grace is a policy analyst in the Badger Institute’s Center for Opportunity, where she researches and writes on criminal justice and occupational licensing policies in Wisconsin. She previously served as a policy and communications advisor to Lt. Gov. Rebecca Kleefisch and prior to that earned her master’s degree at Marquette University. In addition to her work with the Policy Circle, she also serves on the boards of the 1848 Project and on the Milwaukee chapter of America’s Future.

Ola Lisowski

Ola Lisowski is Research Director at the MacIver Institute, a free market think tank based in Madison, Wisconsin. She is also a second-year law student at the University of Wisconsin Law School and has maintained her research duties with MacIver through the formation of her small business, Lisowski Consulting, LLC. Her research focuses primarily on K-12 education in Wisconsin, but she has also published dozens of articles on higher education, taxes, and Wisconsin’s state budget. She volunteers her time with the Policy Circle, serving as the Wisconsin Leadership Council’s Experience Committee Chair. In her abundant spare time, she loves baking bread, playing cooperative video games, and snuggling her rescue dog, Ella.

Laurie McCallum

Laurie attended college as a National Merit Scholar, was a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of the University of Arizona, and received her law degree from Southern Methodist University.  She was appointed a state commissioner by Governors Dreyfus, Earl, Thompson, and Walker, first of the Personnel Commission, and then of the Labor and Industry Review Commission.  She and her husband, former Governor Scott McCallum, have three adult children and three grandchildren. Laurie has served on the boards of numerous nonprofit organizations and is currently a director of the John K. MacIver Institute for Public Policy and a member of the advisory board of the University of Wisconsin Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences.  

Robin Moore

Robin is a wine consultant for PRP wines. Her motto is: Life is too short to drink bad wine! She has always loved helping people find wine to enjoy and at PRP wines that is exactly what she gets to do. She even put on a wine-tasting for The Policy Circle’s State Leadership Council members. She has been active in local politics for years and served as President of the Republican Women of Waukesha County and even ran for Congress.

Leah Vukmir

Leah Vukmir is the Vice President of State Affairs for National Taxpayers Union – the oldest nonpartisan taxpayer advocacy group in the United States. In March 2019, she joined NTU where she educates and lobbies state lawmakers to adopt policies that lower taxes, streamline government inefficiencies, and promote private markets.

Leah is a Registered Nurse with over 30 years of experience working as a pediatric nurse practitioner and educator. Drawing on her background in health care, she became a leader on free-market healthcare reform policy.

Elected to serve as assistant majority leader for the Wisconsin State Senate, Leah also served as chairman of the Health and Human Services Committee. She was also a member of the powerful budget-writing Joint Finance Committee, the Education Committee and the Judiciary and Public Safety Committee.