Our Team
Tia Nelson
Managing Director, Climate
Tia is internationally recognized as a tireless champion for environmental stewardship and climate change education. She spent 17 years with The Nature Conservancy as a policy advisor for Latin America and then, the first director of the Global Climate Change Initiative. For this work, she received the EPA’s Climate Protection Award in 2000.
Tia later returned home to Wisconsin to serve as Executive Secretary to the Wisconsin Board of Commissioners of Public Lands, which included a gubernatorial appointment as co‐chair of Wisconsin’s Task Force on Global Warming.
Tara Drozdenko
Acting Executive Director
Tara has over a decade of experience in the National Security field, managing complex government programs and supervising teams of talented researchers at both the U.S. State and Treasury departments.
She earned a Ph.D. in plasma physics and has worked for the U.S. Navy on issues related to Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMDs) and for the U.S. State Department on Nonproliferation and Arms Control issues. Living in Madison, Wisconsin, with her husband and son, she enjoys the outdoors, summertime, and time with family and friends.
Andy Adams
Digital Director
Andy is a seasoned producer with a passion for visual media and digital culture. Since 2004, he has consulted institutions that use the Internet to engage with and educate their audiences. Adams is a pioneer in the field of online arts exhibition and has collaborated with the RISD Museum of Art, Australian Centre for Photography, the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art and numerous other cultural organizations. In his spare time, he directs at FlakPhoto Projects, a digital/arts lab that celebrates photography in all its forms. Find him on Instagram @FlakPhoto.
David Vitse
Legal Counsel and Management Associate
David is an experienced attorney who brings a knowledge of nonprofit organizations and climate change issues to Outrider. Prior to joining our team, he worked at Clean Wisconsin, a statewide environmental nonprofit protecting the state’s unique natural resources and heritage. In addition to his work at Outrider, David teaches writing courses at Lakeland University and enjoys spending time on Lake Michigan.
Frank Burgess
Founder
Frank is Chairman of Madison Investment Holdings, Inc., a Wisconsin based money management firm that he founded over 40 years ago, with offices in Madison, Toronto, and Scottsdale. He is a Director of Capitol Bank of Madison, Wisconsin, American Riviera Bank of Santa Barbara, California and the Madison family of mutual funds. From his home in Madison, Frank is devoting his time and talent to the focus issues and projects of the Outrider Foundation. He also lives in Jackson, WY where he enjoys golf and skiing.
Tia Nelson
Managing Director, Climate
Tia is internationally recognized as a tireless champion for environmental stewardship and climate change education. She spent 17 years with The Nature Conservancy as a policy advisor for Latin America and then, the first director of the Global Climate Change Initiative. For this work, she received the EPA’s Climate Protection Award in 2000.
Tia later returned home to Wisconsin to serve as Executive Secretary to the Wisconsin Board of Commissioners of Public Lands, which included a gubernatorial appointment as co‐chair of Wisconsin’s Task Force on Global Warming.
Tara Drozdenko
Acting Executive Director
Tara has over a decade of experience in the National Security field, managing complex government programs and supervising teams of talented researchers at both the U.S. State and Treasury departments.
She earned a Ph.D. in plasma physics and has worked for the U.S. Navy on issues related to Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMDs) and for the U.S. State Department on Nonproliferation and Arms Control issues. Living in Madison, Wisconsin, with her husband and son, she enjoys the outdoors, summertime, and time with family and friends.
Andy Adams
Digital Director
Andy is a seasoned producer with a passion for visual media and digital culture. Since 2004, he has consulted institutions that use the Internet to engage with and educate their audiences. Adams is a pioneer in the field of online arts exhibition and has collaborated with the RISD Museum of Art, Australian Centre for Photography, the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art and numerous other cultural organizations. In his spare time, he directs at FlakPhoto Projects, a digital/arts lab that celebrates photography in all its forms. Find him on Instagram @FlakPhoto.
David Vitse
Legal Counsel and Management Associate
David is an experienced attorney who brings a knowledge of nonprofit organizations and climate change issues to Outrider. Prior to joining our team, he worked at Clean Wisconsin, a statewide environmental nonprofit protecting the state’s unique natural resources and heritage. In addition to his work at Outrider, David teaches writing courses at Lakeland University and enjoys spending time on Lake Michigan.
Frank Burgess
Founder
Frank is Chairman of Madison Investment Holdings, Inc., a Wisconsin based money management firm that he founded over 40 years ago, with offices in Madison, Toronto, and Scottsdale. He is a Director of Capitol Bank of Madison, Wisconsin, American Riviera Bank of Santa Barbara, California and the Madison family of mutual funds. From his home in Madison, Frank is devoting his time and talent to the focus issues and projects of the Outrider Foundation. He also lives in Jackson, WY where he enjoys golf and skiing.