Brian Fohey

From the class of 1979, which was the first graduating class to spend all four years on the North Campus, our first honoree is Brian Fohey. The son of North’s longtime Principal’s secretary, Judy Fohey, Brian, is an award-winning process development chemist at Abbott Laboratories who is responsible for the development and maintenance of the commercial processes of active pharmaceutical ingredients. Brian is being honored in the field of Science and Technology.

While at North, Brian participated in swimming and the water polo team, earning three varsity letters. He was also a member of the freshmen football team and the National Honor Society and graduated in the top 20 of his class. He graduated from Carroll College in 1983 with degrees in biology and chemistry.

Brian first worked as a chemist with Patrick Cudahy, and then at Aldrich Chemical, and since 1988 has been at Abbott Laboratories, where he is currently a Technical Section Manager of Global Pharmaceutical Operations. His two most notable technical projects are Biaxin, an oral antibiotic used for treating respiratory tract infections and skin infections, and Kaletra/Aluvia, one of the most utilized drugs for the treatment of HIV/Aids, with more than one million patients worldwide using it daily.

Brian has received nine President’s Awards, three Scientist of the Year honors (1996, 2002, 2003), and in 2002, he and his co-workers were recognized by the American Chemical Society with an Industrial Innovation Award for their work on the primary active ingredient in the HIV/Aids drug.

It’s hard to track Brian down because he travels for work between Puerto Rico and Italy frequently, He works for a company that employs 83,000 people worldwide in 100 different countries, but Brian Fohey clearly stands out over them all.

Class of 1979

Joel Kleefisch

State Representative Joel Kleefisch of the Class of 1989 is the next nominee. While at North, he may have simply been known as Joel, but in 2004 he was elected to the State Assembly and since that year he has held the title of State Representative, with all the responsibilities that come with that title. We are honoring Representative Kleefisch for his achievements in Government.

After Joel graduated from North High in 1989, he got his B.A. degree from Pepperdine University in 1993. Chuck Malone, executive director of the Wisconsin High School Forensic Association said of Joel, “I am pleased to say that I had a lot of opportunities to work with Joel Kleefisch when he was in high school and none of his accomplishments are a surprise to me or anyone else who was lucky enough to work with him.”

Before entering politics, Joel started out his career as a TV reporter in Los Angeles and Illinois. In 1994 he became an investigative television news reporter for WISN-TV, doing an award-winning investigation in 1999 on date rape drugs. Since being elected to the State Assembly in 2004, he has had several bills signed into law in the area of criminal justice, and protecting children and families. He was re-elected in 2006 and became Minority Caucus Vice Chairperson in 2009.

Joel is the Ranking Member of the Criminal Justice Committee and was named 2008 Legislator of the Year by the American Academy of Pediatrics. Joel’s committee assignments in 2009-2010 alone include: Committee for Consumer Protection, State Affairs and Homeland Security, Joint Review on Criminal Penalties, and Rules just to name a few. His initiatives include having special license plates for violent child sex offenders, protecting Wisconsin retailers from organized crime rings, and allowing landlords to evict convicted drug dealers at a moment’s notice.

Joel’s wife, Rebecca, is also a journalist and is involved in politics. In his spare personal time, Joel is a member of the Watertown Elks Club and Moose Club, Okauchee Lion’s Club, Musky Mike’s fishing pro-staff, and the founder of the Lakewatch Volunteer Organization.

Representative Joel Kleefisch represents some of the best of North High School graduates, and we are pleased to induct him to the 2010 Wall of Stars for his achievements in Government.

Class of 1989

Doug Russell

Our third and final inductee is Doug Russell who graduated from North in 1990. Doug is Sports Director and co-host of “The Doug and Mike Show” on Milwaukee’s Sportsradio 1250. He has appeared in a PBS documentary, been the voice of a baseball documentary, and written articles for various magazines. This is just a hint of his many achievements, so we are honoring him for his work in the field of Entertainment.

A veteran of nearly 20 years of sports-talk radio, print and television, Doug Russell was born in Jackson, Mississippi in 1972 but moved to Waukesha as a child. After graduating from North in 1990, Doug first broke into radio while attending UW-Oshkosh and graduating in 1995. He then worked at several stations in the area before becoming a sports talk show host and reporter for WTMJ-AM in Milwaukee. While there, he earned numerous journalistic awards, including the prestigious Edward R. Murrow Award for his coverage of the Miller Park construction crane collapse in 1999. His coverage also helped WTMJ earn a Marconi Award for Best News-Talk Station in 2000. Additionally, Doug has earned an Achievement in Radio Award for his interview with Hank Aaron, covered the Packers in Super Bowls XXXI and XXXII, the Badgers in the Rose Bowl, and hosted “Brewer’s Tonight”, Milwaukee’s first baseball call-in postgame radio show.

In 2000, Doug became a nationally-syndicated anchor, host, columnist, and reporter at Sporting News Radio. In addition to football and major league baseball, he has covered The Masters, PGA and US Open Golf Championships, Kentucky Derby and the Final Four. He has also filled in as a sports anchor in Los Angeles and New York.

Today, Doug is SNR’s Wisconsin correspondent and a frequent contributor on the “Todd Wright Tonight” program. He is a contributing writer for Inside Wisconsin Sports, Milwaukee Magazine, and Brewers GameDay. He is also regularly seen on WITI-TV’s “Fox 6 Blitz!” and the “Sports 32 Roundtable” on Time Warner Cable. Doug is an excellent example of why it pays to learn public speaking in English courses here at North.

When he is not speaking to the public or writing articles, he lives a quiet life in Pewaukee with his wife, Erica.

We are very proud to induct Doug Russell into the 2010 Wall of Stars here at Waukesha North for his achievements in the field of Entertainment.

Class of 1990

Waukesha North High School