Leadership & Administration

Dr. H. Jeffrey Rafn, President

Dr. Jeff Rafn manages NWTC’s three campuses, five regional learning centers and other locations. The College serves over 30,000 students and more than 1,000 businesses annually. 
 
Under his leadership, enrollment at the 100-year-old college has nearly doubled due to initiatives in student success, economic development, and community partnerships that create new educational pathways and make the most of the region’s resources. The College has also passed two referenda that made space for innovative program offerings and high-tech equipment that make NWTC education a premier educational choice for Wisconsin employers.
 
During his tenure, the College has been recognized as an Achieve the Dream Leader College and been admitted to the Frontier Set for student success initiatives. The College has also received regional and national recognition for enrollment growth (Community College Week), student success (Lumina Foundation, American Association of Community Colleges, Insight into Diversity), and effective resource management (Ethics in Business Award, Bellwether Award, Green Masters Award). 
 
Dr. Rafn has been instrumental in the development of the Northeast Wisconsin Manufacturing Alliance and Northeast Wisconsin Educational Resource Alliance, and he is active in the Green Bay Chamber of Commerce, The New North, Achieve Brown County, Partners in Education, and Community Colleges International Development. He came to NWTC in 1997 from New Hampshire, where he had been state Commissioner of the New Hampshire Community Technical College System. He earned his PhD from Boston University and a bachelor's degree from Mount Union College. He was named Pacesetter of the Year by the National Council for Marketing and Public Relations.


Read Dr. Rafn's welcome message

Dr. Kathryn Rogalski, Vice President of Learning

Dr. Rogalski is responsible for NWTC’s approximately 200 degree, diploma, certificate and apprenticeship programs, plus corporate training and economic development. She came to NWTC with over 18 years of experience supporting student success at community colleges, most recently as the Dean of the Business and Social Sciences at Harper College in Palatine, Illinois. Her areas of achievement and expertise include leadership and management, curriculum development, and fostering collaboration with external partners, including K-12 systems, universities and business partners. 
 
Dr. Rogalski has presented at local and national conferences on online student success, entrepreneurship and non-verbal communication.  She earned her Ed.D. in Adult and Higher Education from Northern Illinois University, Master’s in Social Sciences from the University of Chicago and bachelor’s in psychology from Northeastern Illinois University. 

Lisa Maas, Vice President of Human Resources

Lisa Maas oversees the Talent Management, Benefits and Compensation, and Diversity and Inclusion teams for NWTC’s 1,200 full-time and part-time employees. She strives to create a positive environment for employees from application to retirement.
 
Lisa has over 30 years of human resources leadership experience in non-profit and public organizations, including over 23 years in health care human resources. Among her accomplishments: she led collaboration with Learning to transition faculty to a Faculty Quality Assurance System (FQAS) which has become the Wisconsin Technical College System standard. Lisa earned her Bachelor of Business Administration from UW – Eau Claire and her Master’s in Business Administration from Cardinal Stritch University.

Daniel Mincheff, Chief Information Officer
 
Dan Mincheff has more than 20 years of experience as an IT leader and 10 years as a senior leader in higher education. His division manages instructional technology, enterprise applications, infrastructure services and client services.
 
Mincheff focuses on positioning technology to enable organizations and students to succeed. Under his leadership, IIT is responsible for keeping IT systems working, pushing the boundaries of innovation to support the next generation of learning, and enhancing data used in decision-making to support student success.
 
Before joining NWTC in 2017, Mincheff worked for Ellucian and served 13 different colleges and universities. As a contractor for Ellucian, he served as NWTC’s CIO for five years. Mincheff has a Master’s degree in Organizational Development from Silver Lake College and a bachelor’s degree in computer science and geology from the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh.