Board of Directors 
Wisconsin Justice Initiative
​Wisconsin Justice Initiative Action

WJI and WJIA - Attorney Jacqueline Boynton has more than 30 years experience. Her practice concentrates on nonprofit corporate legal issues. Boynton is a community activist interested in progressive political organizing and women’s issues. 
WJIA - ​Joseph J. Czarnezki served as Milwaukee County Clerk from 2008 to 2016. Joe was elected to the Wisconsin Assembly in 1980 and re-elected in 1982, where he served as co-chair of the Joint Audit Committee. In a 1983 special election, Joe was elected to the Wisconsin Senate.  He was re-elected in 1984 and 1988. ​Joe worked for the City of Milwaukee in a number of capacities --deputy director of the   Department of Administration, health commissioner, intergovernmental relations director, executive director of the Fire and Police Commission, and budget director. 
WJI and WJIA – James Gramling is a retired Milwaukee Municipal Court judge long active in local and state justice issues. Before he was elected to the bench, he worked at the Legal Aid Society in Kansas City, MO, and then Milwaukee Legal Services (later Legal Action of Wisconsin). He has served as the president of the Wisconsin Access to Justice Commission and as a volunteer with the Center for Driver's License Recovery and Employability.
WJI - Craig Johnson, an attorney with the Milwaukee law firm of Sweet and Associates, has been practicing criminal law for 20 years. He also handles employment and labor law. Johnson is a frequent presenter at continuing legal education seminars.
WJI - Robert Lerner is a retired attorney who specialized in criminal law for 35 years after being a federal prosecutor in the 1960s. He was listed in the Best Lawyers in America for his work.
WJI - Edgar Lin is an attorney at the Public Defenders Office--Milwaukee Trial Division. In 2014, he was named an Up and Coming Lawyer by the Wisconsin Law Journal. In 2016, he ran (and came in second in a four-way race) for the Wisconsin Assembly. Prior to attending the University of Wisconsin Law School, he worked in the financial sector in Hong Kong and Tokyo.
WJIA - Terrence M. Polich is a shareholder of Clifford & Raihala. He specializes in civil litigation, motor vehicle collisions, personal injury, and consumer warranty cases (Lemon Law). Terry’s experience includes cases involving pharmacy errors, nursing home negligence and medical malpractice claims.
WJI - Dean Strang is a shareholder with the Madison law firm of StrangBradley LLC.  He previously spent five years as Wisconsin's first federal defender and was a shareholder in two of the state's top criminal defense law firms. Strang has published many articles about the law and is the author of the book, Worse than the Devil: Anarchists, Clarence Darrow, and Justice in a Time of Terror. 
Gretchen Schuldt, executive director of WJI and WJIA, worked for 20 years as a reporter and editor for the Milwaukee Sentinel and Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, where she covered a wide variety of beats, including federal courts and Milwaukee County civil courts.. She also worked for 13 years for Milwaukee Public Schools as a fiscal policy analyst and grants development coordinator. 
Margo Kirchner, development director and general counsel for WJI and WJIA, previously was a career law clerk for federal judges Charles Clevert, William Griesbach, Lynn Adelman, Robert Warren and Terence Evans. She is a volunteer mediator with the Milwaukee Foreclosure Mediation Program, and is a past president of the Association for Women Lawyers and sits on the AWL Foundation board.
Kirchner recently was inducted into the Fellows of the Wisconsin Law Foundation. The Fellows recognize members of the Wisconsin bar who are known by their peers for high achievements in their profession and outstanding contributions for the advancement and improvement of the administration of justice in the state.