Chelsea Budde, Founder
Chelsea Budde has lived in Waukesha, Wis., since 2001 with her husband of 16 years, Pete, and their two children, Justus (age 12) and Noelle (age 9). She graduated from St. Norbert College in De Pere, Wis., in 1995 with a B.A., and worked in public relations for several years before leaving to care for her family. Justus’ and Noelle’s special needs have kept her engaged in the community as an advocate and a resource for other parents and professionals.
“Parenting children with autism, mood issues, and medical challenges is nothing I would have hoped for, but has turned out to be greatest blessing of my life,” she says. Her faith in and reliance upon God have sustained her these years, as have the prayers and support of her many friends and family, both in southeast Wisconsin and throughout the country.
Chelsea serves with Heyer Elementary’s PTA (Waukesha), sits on the Southeast Regional Core Autism Team, and is an active member of and Missionary Team captain at Grace Bible Church (West Allis). She has been attending continuing education seminars in addition to state and national autism and children's mental health conferences since 2004. She has presented at the Autism Society of Wisconsin Conference (2008 & 2009), the Autism Society of America Convention (2009), the OCALI Conference (2009), the Wisconsin Child Care Administrators Association (2010), and the Minnesota Autism Conference (2011). She has delivered Good Friend's awareness-acceptance-empathy® message to more than 12,000 people since 2007
As President of Good Friend, Inc., Chelsea is a de facto member of the Board of Directors and serves as its Chairperson.
Denise Schamens, Founder
Denise Schamens has been married for 18 years to husband Mike and has three children. Her eldest son Jacob is 14 and has ADHD. Sam, who is 12, has been diagnosed with PDD-NOS, an ASD. And the Schamens have a 8-year-old daughter, Anna. Since Sam’s diagnosis in 2001, Denise and her family have worked with the public school system to develop his educational plan, in addition to coordinating intensive in-home therapy programs, various natural forms of therapy, and some special massage and chiropractic therapies to help Sam progress.
Prior to staying home with her children, Denise’s career background has been in the networking and employment placement fields. Before that, architecture and retail sales. Her work experiences have developed her people skills as well as her ability to network and communicate with all kinds of people.
She has attended many Wisconsin conferences and trainings, including Circles of Life, IEP Process, Communication, Alternative Assessment, and Statewide Transition as well as continuing education courses on ASDs. As the Special Education Parent Liaison for the Waukesha School District, she started a support group for families of children with all disabilities and helped coordinate two in-service autism training agendas.
“I am committed to assisting parents and educators in working together to promote effective partnerships through positive communication, collaboration, and training for the purpose of improving education for children with disabilities,” she says.
Denise is Good Friend’s Vice President and Treasurer, and a de facto Board member.
Ken Genin, Director
Ken Genin is the Development Director for The Women’s Center, located in Waukesha, Wis. He is married to Linda Rounseville. Linda is a psychotherapist and co-owner of Systemic Perspectives, an outpatient mental health clinic. They have two adult children, Renee, who is a child therapist, and Rachel, who does interior design, and two grandchildren Desmond (soon to be 5) and Lucy (soon to be 2). Ken has lived in Waukesha since 1985.
Born in Madison, Wis., Ken is the eldest of eight children. He graduated from the University of Wisconsin in 1972 with a B.A. in Business Administration. After graduation, he spent 33 years as an executive, focused primarily on marketing and sales, in the food and feed ingredient business. He worked for 24 years with a large food ingredient company based in Denmark. He has traveled extensively nationally and internationally while involved in this business. He has been employed with The Women’s Center for the past four years.
Ken has twice served on the Board of Directors of the American Feed Ingredient Industry Association. He was a Board member of Pro-Ag Services and Fermented Products. He is also a member of the Waukesha Noon Rotary.
Gail Kolvenbach, Director
Gail Kolvenbach resides in St. Francis, Wis., with Paul, her husband of 29 years, along with children Paul III (age 23), Heather (age 22), Deric (age 21), and Bobby (age 18). Upon the birth of her son Paul, who was initially diagnosed with cerebral palsy due to developmental delays and a seizure disorder (later diagnosed with autism), she immediately began her role as advocate. Struggling with the responsibilities of a first-time mom and a child with special needs, she knew she needed further assistance. This task became frustrating due to limited information, training, and resources in the community. Her journey and experiences along the way motivated her to assist families to help shorten their journey by providing them with information, training and resources on a volunteer basis. She also continues to be involved at the local and state level serving on several disability related councils and boards. Her attendance at workshops and conferences keeps her up to date on disability related issues, reveals new resources, and gives her the opportunity to connect with families
Jeff Schill, Director
Jeff Schill, who lives in Milwaukee with wife Candy, brings a wealth of program experience with him to the Good Friend board. A Professional Staff Instructor with Crisis Prevention Institute (CPI, Brookfield, Wis.) since 2007, Jeff has traveled the country offering trainings on Nonviolent Crisis Intervention, Autism Spectrum Disorders, and Autism Matters at Work. Prior to his current position, he spent more than a decade with Huntington Learning Centers in Illinois and Wisconsin, earning an award for his program development initiatives.
Jeff received his Masters in Teaching from National Louis University (Milwaukee) and his B.A. from St. Norbert College (DePere, Wis.).
Nicole Bessert, Director
Biography coming soon
Michelle Bougie, Director
Biography coming soon
Jennifer Townsend, Director
Biography coming soon
Joe Ulm, Director
Biography coming soon