Board & Staff
Olivia Williams
Executive Director
Olivia Williams
Executive Director
Dr. Olivia R. Williams joined the MACLT board in the summer of 2019 and made the transition from MACLT board to a staff position as Coordinator in January 2020. On September 28, 2020, she began working as Executive Director of MACLT. Olivia studied CLTs for her PhD work, and is committed to advocacy, research, and incubation of community-owned land strategies, including housing cooperatives, CLTs, and permanent real estate cooperatives.
Jody Knauss
Finance and Operations Director
Jody Knauss
Finance and Operations Director
Jody Knauss joined MACLT as Finance and Operations Director in March 2024. He is a former union financial analyst, economic policy researcher, university lecturer, and youth recreation specialist with extensive non-profit staff and board experience. He is also an old home lover deep into a long-term renovation/restoration project on Madison’s near east side. In his remaining spare time, he enjoys hiking, biking, and most other outdoor activities.
Deaken Boggs
Housing Director
Deaken Boggs
Housing Director
Deaken Boggs Joined MACLT as the Homeowner Service Project Coordinator in September of 2021, and since has moved into the more permanent role of Housing Director. Deaken has previously worked in the field of property management and is excited to put those skills to use to help our homeowners maintain their homes. Deaken is passionate advocate for affordable, safe, and sustainable housing and hopes to build more though his work with MACLT. Deaken moved to Madison in 2017 and lives in the community with his partner and their Dog (Katana).
Amber Kolner
Communications and Stewardship Manager
Amber Kolner
Communications & Stewardship Manager
Amber Kolner joined MACLT as Engagement Coordinator in July 2023 and moved to the Communications & Stewardship Manager in January 2024. Amber has previously worked as a licensed Real Estate Agent and has 10 years of experience in education in Madison Schools. Amber is excited to use her previous experience in Real Estate and Education to support individuals in the Madison area with affordable housing opportunities. Amber enjoys spending time hiking with her husband and dog, discovering all that Wisconsin has to offer. Amber also enjoys photography, biking, kayaking, working on her home and garden, and spending time with family and friends.
Board of Directors
Karen von Huene, President
Karen joined the MACLT Board of Directors in the summer of 2019, but has a relationship with MACLT dating back over a decade due to her role as the former Executive Director of Community GroundWorks (now Rooted), which stewards Troy Gardens, a 26-acre open space land trust project.
A social worker with many years of experience working for community-based nonprofits, Karen has experience with issues related to housing, health and mental health, youth services, and food equity. She is now retired and spends her time knitting, gardening, spinning wool, camping, and keeping up with volunteer commitments.
Beth Welch, Vice President
Beth has worked as a Community Support Coordinator at Options in Community Living for nineteen years. She is passionate about volunteering for organizations that advocate for equitable access to essential resources like food security, transportation, education, and employment, but especially housing. Beth loves living on the northside of Madison. She has served on her co-housing community’s Board of Directors for eight years, was heavily involved in the Mendota Elementary PTO, co-founded their Green Schoolyard Committee, and was on the Mendota Community School Committee. Beth received a North Star Award for her commitment to community building in 2019. Currently, she serves on the Troy Gardens Condo Association Board, the Wispact Retained Fund Committee, the Common Wealth Development Board, the Friends of Lakeview Library Board, and is the Vice President of the Madison Area Community Land Trust Board of Directors.
Evan Bonsall, Secretary
Evan Bonsall is a Madison resident, and is passionate about housing, education, city planning, and economic justice. Evan previously lived in Marquette, Michigan, where he worked as a planner and educator and served as the youngest-ever Marquette City Commissioner from 2019-2023. As a City Commissioner, Evan created and chaired the city’s Housing Committee, spearheaded zoning reforms and Marquette’s first new low-income housing developments in nearly a decade, and won an award for advocacy for homelessness solutions. He earned a B.A. in Government from Harvard University in 2019, and an M.A. in Education from Northern Michigan University in 2022. He joined the MACLT Board of Directors in 2023. He teaches social studies at Oregon High School, and lives in south Madison with his wife, Aubrie.
Shaya Shreiber, Treasurer
Shaya is a land trust home owner who has served on the Board of Directors since 2015. Shaya says she did not see herself owning a home until she learned she could afford it through the Madison Area Community Land Trust. She is a school social worker who sees the need for affordable housing on a daily basis. Shaya is proud to serve on the MACLT board and help other families and the community by supporting affordable housing efforts.
Eva Wingren
Eva Wingren (she/her) works as a Donor Relations Officer at Second Harvest Foodbank. She has a decade of professional experience in affordable housing and community development, where she first encountered the permanently affordable model of shared equity homeownership used by MACLT. She is passionate about helping everyday people feel like they can have a philanthropic impact. Outside of work, she enjoys social dancing and is an active member of James Reeb Unitarian Universalist Congregation.
Andy Heidt
Andy has been an Ombudsman, Executive Director of a Family Housing/Supportive Service Non-profit, grant manager/policy analyst and elected official. He is focused on permanent affordable housing for people at the lowest incomes and has a long history in social justice issues. He is an avid lover of nature and the outdoors.
Bob Paolino
When Bob Paolino isn’t at the office doing legal research, you might find him playing hockey, swimming, photographing nature, bicycling, or judging beer. (Yes, judging beer; he is a National-rank beer judge and in the top 10% of the Beer Judge Certification Program. He has judged in competitions ranging from local to international.) One of his graduate degrees is in public policy, with a concentration in community and economic development. In addition to serving on the MACLT board, he is also a member of the Board of Directors for Common Wealth Development, along with a variety of other volunteer activity in the community.
DaMontae January
DaMontae (he/him) joined the board for Madison CLT in June 2023. He currently serves at OutReach LGBTQ+Communuty Center as System Navigator for their Youth & Young Adult Homelessness program. He previously worked in student housing for three years and worked for Madison Community Co-op for three years.
He also currently serves as President of the Board for the Social Justice Center and is on the Housing Advisory Committee for the Dane County Regional Housing Strategy. He was awarded the 2022 Live Forward award from Sustain Dane.
Grace Coleman
Grace grew up in Madison, Wisconsin, as a multiracial kid in the 90s. She recently earned her Bachelor of Arts in Conservation Biology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2021. She is working on her Masters in Resilient and Sustainable Communities from Prescott College. She works as a Resource Specialist for Operation Fresh Start, a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing employment training and mentorship to achieve a high school diploma and ensure successful placement in employment through bond theory and trauma-informed care. As a woman of color with a tumultuous history of homelessness, social and racial identity crisis, poverty, and different forms of abuse, she understands the institutions of the United States use systemic oppression and inequitable power dynamics as embedded practice. However, she also acknowledges that certain aspects of her identity afford her higher levels of privilege. She has committed to being open and honest about her identity to hold herself accountable and be a co-conspirator for others. Guided by her identity and beliefs, she works toward learning perspectives different from hers to improve access to resources for disadvantaged communities.