Sylvie Rising

Operations Assistant

Contact at: SRising@ThePrairieEnthusiasts.org

Raised in Viroqua, WI, Sylvie has always loved the Driftless Area. She graduated from UW-Madison with a degree in Personal Finance and went on to work in the financial planning industry. After this, she had experiences working at The University of Texas Law School as a Program Coordinator and with children in a Children’s Shelter and at a Montessori Preschool. She was always interested in nonprofit work and hoped she would find her way there, so she is so excited to be a part of The Prairie Enthusiasts! When she is not at work you can find her spending time with family and friends and enjoying the outdoors.

Reid Bartholomew

Advancement Coordinator

Contact at: RBartholomew@ThePrairieEnthusiasts.org

Growing up in the hills and hollers of Arkansas instilled Reid with a love for the outdoors early on, one which eventually matured into a deep passion for native ecology in his adulthood. Reid joined The Prairie Enthusiasts in 2025 to put his professional background in marketing and publicity in service of the protection and restoration of the prairies that have so captured his imagination since moving to Southern Wisconsin. An avid outdoorsman, he spends much of his time out on the land backpacking or fishing, but he always makes time for a good book and writing fiction.

Cassidy Coulson

Advancement Assistant

Contact at: CCoulson@ThePrairieEnthusiasts.org

A lover of beauty and the Driftless area, Cassidy joined The Prairie Enthusiasts in 2024. Her professional background is in English education and child development, and most recently gained hands-on experience in coffee production. She was drawn to The Prairie Enthusiasts for their reverence of natural ecosystems and wanted to be a part of the tangible work they do. When she’s not a busy bee at work, she can most likely be found at the dog park soaking up some pupply love. 

Dan Carter

Ecologist

Contact at: DCarter@ThePrairieEnthusiasts.org

Dan joined The Prairie Enthusiasts’ Chapter Support staff in 2020. He has experience in fire-dependent community assessment, restoration, reconstruction, management, and protection as an educator, researcher, planner, consultant, and volunteer. He holds a bachelor’s degree in biology from Grinnell College and Ph.D. in biology from Kansas State. Dan is available to make visits to properties to discuss and assess potential or ongoing efforts related to fire-dependent communities. He lives between Madison and Milwaukee, but his personal project is a pine barrens restoration on property in Bayfield County. Dan also volunteers with the Glacial Prairie Chapter. Feel free to contact him with property visit requests or other technical questions.

Kelly Billig

Leadership Coordinator

Contact at: KBillig@ThePrairieEnthusiasts.org

Kelly has over 20 years of nonprofit experience in fundraising, operational management, and event coordination. She’s excited to help The Prairie Enthusiasts preserve and restore the biodiversity of the Upper Midwest. She resides in West St. Paul, MN with her husband and two sons where they enjoy hiking and playing board games. She also spends her free time snuggling her very active beagle-mix dog.

Becky Bradish

Operations Manager

Contact at: BBradish@ThePrairieEnthusiasts.org

Becky has worked at a variety of non-profit organizations, mostly focused on providing services to people experiencing homelessness and/or mental illness, but has always loved any time she could spend outdoors. After attending law school in Minnesota and working at the Public Defender’s Office she and her husband jumped at the opportunity to move to the Driftless and take care of a family property. When she is not at the Prairie Enthusiasts office she can normally be found with her husband and dog on some corner of their property reading a book or weeding.