Community Advisory Board

Morgan Lekander, Chair

Morgan is a Minnesota native who spent her childhood near the shores of Lake Superior. She is an early childhood education and trauma advocate and she is currently pursuing a degree through UW-Whitewater. When Morgan is not working with children experiencing grief or trauma or working toward her degree, she enjoys exploring creative outlets such as painting or going ‘off grid’ on long camping trips in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area. Morgan brings a complementary early childhood health perspective to the AoU Community Advisory Board (CAB) activities, and she has worked with neighbors in the Bayview Community for some time. She also has extensive experience with healthcare delivery in rural settings in Wisconsin and Minnesota. As Chair, Morgan works closely with all CAB members and AoU @ UW staff to ensure the Board is kept apprised of AoU @ UW activities.

Brenda González

As director of community relations at UW-Madison, Brenda González works to ensure strong engagement 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 the health equity career development program manager with the Collaborative Center for Health Equity at the School of Medicine and Public Health.

Stephen Hoffenberg

Mr. Hoffenberg spent 50 years working with young children both as a teacher and volunteer.  He is a graduate of Oberlin College and received a k-8 teaching degree from UW-Madison.  In addition to 4 years of teaching in day care centers, he taught kindergarten in Evansville, Wisconsin for 30 years before his retirement in 2009.  Since then, he’s volunteered in Head Start, Play and Learn, and in the After-School Program at the Bayview Community Center with an especially diverse population. He brings, to the Board, a dedication to the well-being of all people.  He understands that the education of our most vulnerable populations are a responsibility that we all share. Access to quality education and health care are intertwined.  The All of Us Research Program can help to bring about better health outcomes for the underserved.

Aaron Perry

Aaron Gabriel Perry is the Founder and President of the nationally recognized Rebalanced-Life Wellness Association, whose mission is ensuring that Black men and boys living in under-represented conununities, who bear the heaviest burden of disease and poor health status, have the opportunity to live fuller, healthier lives.He is also a former Police Officer and currently works for Dane County Juvenile Justice Gang Response Intervention Team. On September I I, 2005, Aaron became the world’s first African American diabetic to complete the Ironman Triathlon, which is considered the world’s most grueling endurance event. Today he is recognized as an expert presenter by the CDC Centers for Disease Control & Prevention. As a Community Organizer and Health Innovator, Aaron opened the nation’s first Men’s Health & Education Center inside the largest Black barbershop in Madison, Wisconsin. The Barbershop Health Initiative has successfully provided thousands of Black male’s access to daily preventative health screenings, health consultations, and insurance enrollment from a location that they trust, respect and always feel welcome. Aaron is a past Jefferson Award Winner and received the Influencer 50 nomination. Aaron was also named TIME Magazine’s 50 Most Influential People in Healthcare Globally for “Thinking Outside the Hospital”. and he’s featured in the May 2020 issue of Men’s Health Magazine as I of 5 men globally that’s Changing the World of Health. Aaron is the volunteer National Director of Health, Wellness and Disease Prevention for Black Men Run which has 52 chapters across 30 States. He also serves on the Board of Directors with the American Heart Association and was selected to serve on the Advisory Council for the Office of the Commissioner of Insurance. He’s also a graduate of Madison College Police Academy and Marycrest University.

Tyler Schueffner

For the past 15 years, Tyler Schueffner (Briarpatch Youth Services Street Outreach Coordinator), has worked with runaway and homeless teens and young adults.  Tyler has been actively involved with a variety of matters related to youth wellness,  advocating for more accessible and affordable shelter/housing for young adults, creating resources for survivors of sexual exploitation/human trafficking, and promoting positive outlets for teens and young adults through art and performance.  Tyler became involved with All of Us through ongoing conversations and collaboration with members of the All of Us at UW-Madison Community Engagement team.  Tyler credits the All of Us Research Program for the unique opportunity to be educated and involved in the effort to improve the health outcomes for all.

Terri Strong

Terri Strong has worked in early childhood education for 36 years, and, most recently, for 24 years as a childcare specialist for the City of Madison. She is a graduate of UW-Milwaukee, earning a B.A. in Psychology with a concentration in counselling. She started working with preschool age children as a bridge to other employment in her field of study, but it became evident that working in early childhood education as a classroom teacher was her calling. As a Child Care Specialist, she works with child care programs/preschools in the City of Madison providing training, consultation, technical support to child care providers/teachers and afterschool program in areas such as supervision, financial management, grant-writing program development and inter-agency team development. She guides programs through an accreditation process that, in the end, recognizes programs for achieving a higher level of quality in the care and education provided for children and families. Her job affords the opportunity to also participate in and provide leadership in community collaborative efforts to improve the quality of life for children and youth, especially children from low income and disenfranchised populations. She is a proud member and past president of the Madison Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. and is a member of S.S. Morris A.M.E. Church in Madison. Ms. Strong is most interested in bringing the All of Us message to the African American Community.  The ability to advance health and medical breakthroughs by creating individualized prevention and medical management plans is an innovative way to advance the treatment of diseases. Ms. Strong hopes to be a part of helping to establish trust, because in order for medications and treatments to work for African Americans, the community has to be a part of the science and research.

Annie Weatherby-Flowers

Annie Weatherby-Flowers has worked for the City of Madison for 20 years initially with the Equal Opportunities Division and currently the Madison Public Library as Community Engagement Coordinator. She possesses a BS in Psychology with a Concentration in Organizational Development and Behavioral Leadership and an MA in Education with a Concentration in Adult Learning. She is also a Licensed Clinical Substance Abuse Counselor. As Community Engagement Coordinator, Annie oversees the development and implementation of MPL community engagement and impact strategies. She collaborates with local stakeholders, community and private organizations and leaders to facilitate community conversations and identify local concerns to create and maintain valuable partnerships utilizing the Library’s people, places, and platforms to engage, collaborate, and build capacity for sustainable connections to its community, strategic planning and service delivery. Annie is a very creative out-of-the-box thinker, community leader and educator. Annie has been a change agent for more than thirty plus years leading community initiatives and providing training around the issues of poverty, mental health, economic development, crime prevention, civil rights and affirmative action, diversity and inclusion, equity and social justice, substance abuse and HIV awareness and education. Committed to racial equity and social justice, Annie is involved in many initiatives in the City of Madison such as the Annual Juneteenth Day Celebration, the Martin Luther King Coalition, The City of Madison’s Neighborhood Resource and Equity Community Connection Team, and the Madison Jazz Collective. She is also the Chair of the Dane County Equal Opportunities Commission and a member of the Advisory Board of UW Madison All of Us Research Project. In addition, Annie is passionate about church ministry, economic, social and racial justice issues, Black history and resilience, community engagement and education. Her hobbies include genealogy, traveling, reading and doing Nana stuff.