Kristen Slack for District 19 Alder

Thank you for taking the time to learn more about me.

I have been a professor at UW-Madison for over 22 years. I teach and conduct research on social welfare issues like child maltreatment prevention, reducing poverty, and the effects of government programs and policy choices on individual, family, and community well-being. I am also the founder of an educational technology company that offers a platform for higher education professionals to share their teaching and research resources. 

Personally, I am married to an amazing man and am the mother of two boys who are the products of Madison public schools (Go Spartans!), as well as the stepmother of young man about to graduate from UW-La Crosse and a stepdaughter who lives and works in sunny south Florida. I grew up and went to college at the University of Michigan, attended graduate school at the University of Chicago, and have lived and worked in the Madison area for 23 years, so a Midwest individual through and through.

I care a lot about the health of the local lakes and waterways, the safety of our drinking water, protecting our local natural resources and environment, and reversing climate change.

I have dedicated my entire career to finding structural and systemic solutions to poverty and calling out government practices and policies that create or exacerbate inequities in income, health, family stability, community safety, housing, education, and legal justice.

I also care deeply about democracy and representative government. I don’t believe these things end with an election. Process matters. I will work to improve transparency in City government, create an inclusive, accessible, and proactive community engagement infrastructure, and make it easier to find accurate and honest information on the pros and cons of different policy solutions that the City leadership considers—BEFORE decisions are made.

My priorities for District 19 and the City of Madison are listed on the Home page and more detail on each is provided on the Issues page of this website. I also want to listen and keep expanding my understanding of how to create a better Madison for all, as well as ensure that I fairly, honestly, and respectfully represent those who live in District 19.

Be sure to sign up for my mailing list and consider taking the optional survey. This will help to give me a sense of your needs, concerns and identified strengths related to the City of Madison and District 19.

Kristen Slack