Written by Brad Karger
Marathon County puts a lot of emphasis on professional growth as a strategy to attract and retain employees and to constantly develop new leaders with the capacity to take control of uncertainty and successfully steer through frequent bends in the road.
Consistent with our commitment to professional growth and leadership development, Marathon County is proud to announce that it has 2 graduates of the Wisconsin Local Government Leadership Academy:
- Katie Rosenberg, County Board Supervisor
- Boly Vang, HR Analyst

The Wisconsin Local Government Leadership Academy (download a PDF brochure here) is designed for individuals who want to increase their impact and lead the way to greater results. The program runs from January through August and includes 4 two-day workshops, group conference calls, and self-study modules.
Here is what our graduates report learning:
“The session I enjoyed the most was the lecture and discussion on systems thinking. The goal was to improve our understanding and ability to work through complex issues. Many of the problems we deal with on county board are multivariate — meaning we usually can’t just go in, fix and isolated concern, and expect our problem to be solved.”
— Katie Rosenberg
District 1 County Board Supervisor
“Although the curriculum covered a wide variety of important topics, what I enjoyed the most was our discussion on The Next Generation of Government Workforce. As we are seeing more and more retirements, we need to develop a new employer value proposition to attract, recruit, and retain new talent, so we can best serve the residents of Marathon County.”
— Boly Vang
Marathon County Human Resources Analyst
Congratulations to our graduates!
We look forward to seeing these new insights and skills put into action.
NOTE: The WI Local Government Leadership Academy is a partnership of the Wisconsin Counties Association, UW Extension, and Leadership Wisconsin.
A new class is currently being recruited for 2020 and we are hopeful that Marathon County will again be well represented.
I invite you learn more in the video below.
Brad Karger
Marathon County Administrator
In his Administrator role, Brad Karger leads an organization with 700+ employees and an annual budget of more than $162 million. Brad has been in leadership positions with Marathon County for the past 30 years. He is known statewide for generating innovative ideas and solutions to problems, openness and transparency, and a commitment to community service that extends well beyond the normal workday. Email Brad Karger.
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