““We all can create change. When you see a problem, find out who has the power to fix it and get started. The political times we are living in are horrible. Only people can save the people! Speak up! Get involved! It’s so much better than sitting at home complaining!” ”
LuAnn is a leader with endless energy, compassion for those who do not have a voice, and the ability to bring people together to find common ground on almost any issue!
After making it through Vietnam, her husband Phil was permanently paralyzed in a construction accident in 1990, just eight days before the Americans with Disabilities Act was signed into law.
Phil is her inspiration. He never gave up. When she learned he could not access their kids schools, she got elected to the school board in Oshkosh and today all 22 Schools in the District are wheelchair accessible.
She did the same thing when she moved into the Whitnall School District and was elected to the Board in 2013. She found many ADA issues, asked for a facility study that identified the barriers and worked with the Board to pass referendums that included fixing the schools.
“When Phil was paralyzed, I had no degree - I could not even type. It was tough but I figured it out. We both wanted our family to fully participate in society after his accident. There were so many barriers. So I joined the League of Women Voters and learned how to take action. I went back to school, gained three degrees and worked hard to make sure our family’s needs were met.”
Representative Kalan Haywood during the Bird Campaign in 2024.
As Executive Director and Lobbyist for the League of Women Voters of Wisconsin, LuAnn went toe-to-toe with the NRA to pass gun control legislation. She secured 90% of the donations she asked for to raise money for ADVOCAP, a poverty agency. In her roles as a consultant for the Wisconsin Association of School Boards and Director of Board Development in Montgomery, Alabama she participated in a multi-state research project and developed training programs to teach school boards how lead for student success.
In 2023, a school board member in the Whitnall School District where she lives introduced a policy that would hurt LGBTQ+ students. She organized WREN, Whitnall Resident Engagement Network, and mobilized residents to defeat the policy. The group continues to meet to ensure our public schools serve all students.
In 2022 and 2024 LuAnn ran for the Assembly in the old 84th and new 61 Districts and narrowly lost to Bob Donovan. Using her expanded network of friends and supporters, she founded Birds on a Wire to build a network of people taking action on things we all care about.
LuAnn lives in Hales Corners where she is a caregiver for her husband. Their daughter Elizabeth and her husband Adam are educators and their son Tom is a financial analyst. They also love to spend lots of time with their three grandsons.
Representative Robyn Vining during the Bird Campaign in 2022.
Fun times at the park with her grandkids and their two dogs, Biscuit and Lily.
Married to her soulmate Phil for 40 years.
Each year LuAnn organizes a team — Birds for Fisher House — to run/walk/roll in the 5K Famous Sausage Race to raise money for Fisher House Wisconsin.
LuAnn published a book with all of Phil's pictures from Vietnam and letters that he sent home so their grandsons would know "Grandpa's Story."
LuAnn and Phil took the boys to the traveling Vietnam Wall.
LuAnn and Phil are proud parents of Elizabeth, an educator and Tom, a financial analyst and three wonderful grandsons Ryan, Tyler and Kyle.
She loves spending time with her grandsons!
LuAnn converted a closet into an art room for her grandchildren. Volunteers can bring their kids into her home where there is always fun stuff to do!
LuAnn recorded a Bird on a Wire Podcast Series to have conversations on hope, civility, and action.