Wisconsin Sen. Mary Felzkowski and Rep. Shelia Stubbs, on behalf of members of the Wisconsin State Legislature, honored long-time La Follette School Senior Outreach Specialist Bridget Carr Pirsch during the Wisconsin Women in Government (WWIG) Scholarship and Recognition Gala in April.
“Bridget worked tirelessly to provide high quality programming, to recruit engaging and knowledgeable speakers, to continuously innovate and improve curriculum, to plan and flawlessly execute all of the logistical details, and to inspire and support women in their pursuit of careers in public service over the course of 17 Wisconsin Women in Government seminars,” Felzkowski and Stubbs wrote about Pirsch, who retired in 2020.
As a friend of WWIG, Pirsch also supported the organization by helping plan and promote other events, where she demonstrated her outstanding talent, knowledge, hosting sills, creativity, and work ethic, they added.
More than 375 women who work in or interact with local, state, and federal government have participated in the leadership seminar, which provides 20-plus hours of training for early and mid-career women seeking to advance their careers and increase their leadership and management skills.
Felzkowski and Stubbs serve on WWIG’s Board of Directors with Hilary Shager (MPA, PhD ’04) and 22 other leaders from across Wisconsin.
“When I entered the La Follette School of Public Affairs as an apprehensive nontraditional student returning to school as a pregnant woman in my 30s, Bridget Pirsch was the kind and smiling person who greeted me at the door and welcomed me into an incredibly fulfilling career in government and public service,” said Shager, who served as the School’s associate director from 2014 to 2018 and now is associate director, programs and management, for UW–Madison’s Institute for Research on Poverty.