Accelerate Faculty

Alverno College, ranked first in the Midwest for doing “the best job of educating undergrads” by U.S. News & World Report, announced the election of Don Layden to chair of the board of trustees.He joined the Alverno College board of trustees in 1997, and most recently served as co-chair of the college's Promise & Power capital campaign which raised more than $30 million.

Layden is a partner in the Milwaukee office of Quarles & Brady LLC, a law firm serving clients around the world. He also serves as operating partner for Baird Venture Partners and Baird Capital Partners, advising the funds oninvestments in payments and transaction processing, business services, and health care IT. Layden began his career as a partner at Quarles & Brady before he went on to hold senior management positions at Metavante, Marshall & Ilsley Corporation and Fiserv. From there he served as president of NuEdge Systems before an acquisition returned him to Metavante in 2004. He currently serves on the boards of Firstsource Solutions Ltd., SafetyPay, SnowShoe, Catalyzt and other companies. His nonprofit involvement includes Summerfest, Milwaukee Art Museum, Milwaukee Area Workforce Investment Board, Alliance for Strong Families and Communities, Consuelo Foundation, Three Harbors Council Boy Scouts and the advisory board of United Way of Greater Milwaukee.

“Don has demonstrated great leadership on the board over the years,” said Mary J. Meehan, Ph.D., president of Alverno College. “He understands the value of an Alverno education, and his dedication to our mission is second to none. He has worked tirelessly to ensure that we can continue to serve our students for years to come.”

Layden follows the successful three-year tenure of Mary Beth Berkes, who served as chair of the board from 2012 to 2015. Berkes will remain on the board of trustees.

In addition to electing Layden chair of the board of trustees, Alverno College named Jean Maier vice chair. Maier joined the board in 2009, and has chaired Alverno's Advocacy Task Force. After 34 years in various leadership roles, she retired from her role as executive vice president of enterprise operations and technology at Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance and Financial Services in 2014. Following retirement, Maier served the Northwestern Mutual Foundation in its support of educational efforts in Milwaukee. In addition to her work with Alverno, she serves on the boards of City Year Milwaukee and Milwaukee Excellence, a proposed charter school. Her daughter is a 2012 graduate of Alverno College.

Alverno College also named Allen Leverett, president of Wisconsin Energy Corporation, treasurer of the board of trustees. Leverett was appointed to the board in 2011.