Inside the
Swiss Center!

Ed Brand

Sales Manager
Unfors Instruments, Inc. of New Milford, CT
Verona, WI

Ed Brand brings strong sales and marketing experience to his board position as well as his passion for his Swiss heritage. Unfors serves a global market and  is a a market leader in measuring the radiation from X-ray medical machines.

Brand supports his Swiss heritage in many ways including singing with  the Jodel Club New Glarus, and New Glarus Maennerchor. Brand is also an alphorn player.

Jean-François de Buren

Design Professional
Novato, California

Jean-François leads a design and branding consultancy in the San Francisco Bay Area.

He is dual Swiss and American national, who is passionate about his own family roots as well as the preservation of Swiss cultural traditions in the United States.

Jean-François is an active writer, blogger, and strategic partner to Swiss cultural organizations in the United States and abroad.

John Etter

Business Consultant
Middleton, WI

Of Swiss descent, John Etter has 20 years experience in the financial services industry.  He also owned a distribution company servicing in excess of 2,500 locations in Wisconsin and Illinois. he has been a Vice President of a large Eastern financial services company, North American General Manager for an international firm, and owner/entrepreneur involved in distribution.

Etter has served on various Boards including Madison Metropolitan YMCA. the Boy Scout Council serving south central Wisconsin and currently serves on the Board as Treasurer of the University Club on the UW Madison Campus. He
is involved in several startup companies formed out of research at the University of Wisconsin

Jennifer Higgins

Resource Specialist, Modesto City Schools
Modesto, CA

Jennifer is an active Swiss American with a Masters Degree in Special Education. She designed, published, and maintain websites for the San Joaquin Valley and Stanislaus Swiss Clubs in California.

Her goals as a member of the Board are to help the Swiss Center of North America connect with individuals of Swiss heritage in the West, build a network connection between the Swiss Center and Swiss Clubs in the West, and to assist in the decision making to benefit those of Swiss heritage in the United States.

Tom Kuhne

CEO/Owner, WSI
Madison, WI

Tom Kuhne is the CEO and owner of WSI, an internet marketing consulting company located in Madison, WI. Kuhne's business background includes over 15 years in the retail industry including positions at Lands End, Famous Footwear and Champs Sports.

Kuhne spent a year in, Switzerland working for Migros GMZ where he gained valuable business experience and took advantage of spending time with immediate family that lives in Switzerland. Kuhne is a dual national with United States and Swiss citizenships. 

Faun Phillipson

Managing Partner
New York, NY

A partner and founding member of Phillipson & Uretsky, LLP, a law firm specializing in securities and commercial, Phillipson is responsible for client development, as well as handling all aspects of litigation from inception through resolution.

Phillipson also brings experience serving on community organizational boards in New York and Wisconsin. as well as her love of her Swiss heritage.

A graduate of Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law of Yeshiva University in New York, Phillipson is pleased to serve an organization that promotes “the songs, the art, the recipes and the traditions” of her Swiss heritage.

Martin Bienz

Consul General of Switzerland
Chicago, IL

As Consul General of Switzerland, Bienz is responsible for 12 states in the Midwest including Wisconsin.Mr. Bienz’ last posting was in Karachi, Pakistan,where he served as Consul General from 2006 to 2010. He was born and raised in Lostorf, in the canton of Solothurn.

After his studies and professional activities in the banking sector, he joined the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs in 1981. He was subsequently assigned to the Swiss Consular and Diplomatic Missions in Marseille, Addis Ababa and Bogotá.

Donald Tritt

Honorary Director
Professor Emeritus of Psychology at Denison University
Granville, OH

Born in Columbus, Ohio of Swiss ancestry, Donald G. Tritt is Professor Emeritus of Psychology at Denison University in Granville, Ohio. He has a B.S. degree from The Ohio State University and a Ph.D. from the University of Chicago.

In Columbus he is a member of the Swiss Beneficial Society, a trustee of the Grütli Verein and a life trustee of the Swiss Home Association. He has served the Swiss American Historical Society as a First Vice President and currently serves as a member of the Advisory Board. In 1999 he published Swiss Festivals of North America and in 2006 published a biography of the Swiss natural scientist Leo Lesquereux (1806-1889) for which he was awarded the Gonzenbach prize.

As President of Tritt Family Research he co-edited Volumes I and II of Tritt Family History: 1562-1750. Don was the catalyst for the idea of creating a national Swiss cultural center and instrumental in establishing its initial planning committees and Board in 1999. He has served as a dedicated member of the Board since its founding.
 managing the integrated marketing campaigns for the United States, Mexico, Canada and Europe, Whitacre was also responsible for building a new fleet of eight Wienermobiles from design to completion. Whitacre holds a Bachelor of Science in Communications from the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater.

Rene Walti

Advertising and Design
Toronto, Canada

When Walti immigrated to Canada in 1972, he planned to gain experience abroad and improve his English. But like so many other Swiss immigrants with the same idea, he ended up staying. Walti is the past president of the Toronto Swiss Club and is retired from a career in advertising and design.

His heritage brought him to the Toronto Yodeling Choir. Later he became a member of the Canadysli Carnival Group and he is regularly performing with the Theatre Group.

From 2005 to 2009 Walti was a Delegate for the Council of the Swiss Abroad and at the same time was sitting on the Finance Committee of the Toronto Swiss Club.

Beth Zurbuchen

President/CEO
Madison, WI

Zurbuchen spent 23 years as a television news journalist in three Wisconsin markets, before working in corporate/media relations as well as nonprofit management.

It is Zurbuchen's goal to ensure the contributions made by the Swiss in North America become widely known. She invites all to learn more about the Swiss Center as well as help the organization tell the  historical and contemporary story of the Swiss people through our Swiss roots.