By Jalen Maki

Tomahawk Leader Editor

MERRILL – The Lincoln County Board of Supervisors during its Wednesday, Dec. 2 special meeting at the Lincoln County Service Center in Merrill voted unanimously to approve the appointment of Catherine Wylie as the county’s Human Resources Director and Administrative Coordinator.

Wylie replaces former Administrative Coordinator Jason Hake, who accepted a position in Marathon County this fall after holding his Lincoln County post since March of 2018.

Wylie holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Ripon College in Ripon, Wis., as well as a Master of Business Administration from Lakeland University in Plymouth, Wis., according to a resume provided by the county.  She was previously employed by Goodwill Industries of North Central Wisconsin as a Lean Implementation Specialist and Ashley Furniture Global Industries as a Corporate Human Resource Lean Six Sigma Manager, as well being contracted by multiple companies and organizations as an HR and CI Project Management Independent Consultant. From 2019 to present, she has worked as a Human Resources Business Partner with the Forest County Potawatomi Community.

Her professional certifications include Lean Enterprise Project Series Certification, FVTC, Appleton, 2012; Lean Standardization Training Within Industry, NWTC, Green Bay, 2012; Six Sigma Green Belt Certification, Aveta Business Institute, 2013; Project Management Certification, NWTC, Green Bay, 2013; SHRM- SCP: Senior Human Resource Profession Certification, SHRM, 2018; and Professional Project Management (PMP), Lakeland University, 2019.

Board Chair Kevin Koth noted that the board chose to hold a special meeting to approve Wylie’s appointment rather than wait for the Dec. 15 regular board meeting to “get the HR person hired and in place” due to Corporation Counsel Nancy Bergstrom’s upcoming retirement on Jan. 12. Wylie will begin working in her position with the county on Dec. 14, which will provide nearly a month for her to work alongside Bergstrom before Bergstrom’s retirement, Koth explained.

Koth said 12 people applied for the position, and five applicants were interviewed on Nov. 19.

“All seven on the committee actually came back with Catherine as the number one candidate,” Koth stated.

Wylie, who attended the meeting virtually, told the board that she is “excited for the opportunity to be with Lincoln County.”

“I look forward to working with everybody, and getting to know you all and your needs, and serving the whole county,” Wylie said.