Awake Welcomes New Members to Board of Directors and Leadership Team

Awake Milwaukee continues to grow and recently celebrated the addition of three new volunteers to our team, including two new members of the Board of Directors and one addition to our Leadership Team.

The Board of Directors is the governing body of Awake Milwaukee, focused on high-level strategy, oversight, finances, and accountability of the organization. Our board meets every other month, and new members are elected each April for two-year terms, which can be renewed if desired. The Leadership Team meets monthly and collaborates with the staff to run the day-to-day programs and operations of Awake; most of these volunteers were the original founders of Awake in 2019.

We are delighted to welcome Nadia, Jim, and Elizabeth to these leadership roles with Awake!

Nadia Negrόn

Board of Directors

I am the mother of three wonderful daughters and work at a local corporation. In my free time, I enjoy playing sports with my daughters, taking care of our many pets, and volunteering with animals. I have been exposed to sexual and domestic abuse in my own life and found Awake’s mission of helping victims of abuse extremely patient, effective, and compassionate. I’m still on a journey of healing and have learned so much in living with this trauma for myself and my children. God is bigger than the abuse, bigger than the abusers, bigger than all the crosses we carry. God will never abandon us, and Awake represents that so well to me.

Jim Sponholz

Board of Directors

I am a recent retiree from Milwaukee County, where I worked for 30 years as a contract manager. I grew up in Whitefish Bay, and today live with my wife in a home that was on my paper route back in the ‘70s! I sing in the choir at Saints Peter and Paul Parish in Milwaukee. While growing up, I saw firsthand how the Church failed to protect its flock by moving dangerous priests from parish to parish. I found out many years later that some of my fellow grade school students were victimized by a serial abuser. I was very angry at the Church for years, until Awake showed me how to turn my anger into constructive action. Awake has helped me learn how to best support survivors, to walk with them, to listen, and to acknowledge their trauma. I am grateful for Awake’s presence as a positive, empathetic presence in the Catholic faith community.

Elizabeth Schick

Leadership Team

I’m a cradle Catholic originally from Dearborn, Michigan. While studying German as an undergraduate, I discovered a love for theology which ultimately led me to pursue graduate studies in theology in Europe, where I lived for a total of six years. I’m currently working on my PhD in Theology at Marquette University, and I have a deep personal and academic interest in the intersection between trauma and theology, particularly trauma that has occurred within religious settings. As a theologian, I feel called to wrestle with the hard questions on behalf of those who have been hurt or marginalized in the Church, and it has been an immense privilege as well as a healing opportunity for me to become involved with Awake.

Feeling Called to Volunteer?

Would YOU like to share your gifts with Awake as a volunteer? Check out our current volunteer opportunities here!