Katie Scott, Executive Director
Katie brings a wealth of education policy and state government experience to WCRIS. An accomplished public servant, she worked for several Wisconsin legislators. Katie served as the Chief of Staff for the Assembly Education Committee Chair and as the Committee Clerk for the Assembly Education Committee. While at the State Capitol, Katie worked successfully with WCRIS on many education policy matters. She has strong working relationships with and is well-respected by education stakeholders at the state, local and national levels.
Among many successful legislative initiatives, Katie was instrumental as one of the innovators for the successful Office of School Safety in the Department of Justice. The Office of School Safety continues to help all Wisconsin schools, including WCRIS members, keep their students and staff safe. Having a heart for children, Katie also worked successfully on a number of initiatives to help stop human trafficking and helped bring awareness to the issue at an pivotal time. She was key on a number of other important pieces of legislation, some of which have been a model for other states and at the federal level.
A private school graduate herself, Katie received a bachelor’s degree in political science and a bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Abigail Pavela, WCRIS Associate Director / Wisconsin Private School Ombudsman
Before becoming Associate Director, Abbie served as WCRIS Communications and Outreach Coordinator and later Project Manager when she first began her Ombudsman duties. She ran the WCRIS annual administrator and teacher professional development conferences, helped update the Legal Handbook, ran the WCRIS website and provided outreach to schools on federal Title programs, among many other things.
Abbie is a graduate of K-12 private schools and Indiana University in Bloomington, where she earned her bachelor’s degree in journalism and studied education policy.
That led her to join the team at Bishop Chatard Catholic High School in Indianapolis, a voucher school, where she worked as a substitute teacher and then Assistant to the Principals. Her work included organizing professional development days; coordinating Title II-A funding; managing the school’s compliance with new state teacher licensure standards; and completing various school reports to comply with the Indiana Department of Education.
Congress requires every state to have an Ombudsman to help facilitate access to federal ESEA programs. Abbie was the nation’s first state ombudsman employed by a religious and independent schools association (WCRIS). She does this work under a public-private partnership with the state education agency, the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction. This partnership was approved by then-DPI Superintendent Tony Evers with the support of Gov. Scott Walker.
Daniel Henderson, Project Manager
An interest in innovative school programs and a passion for private school sovereignty underscores Daniel’s approach to serving WCRIS schools.
A native of Texas, he attended a private K-8 school in Austin that provided privately funded vouchers for Hurricane Katrina victims. He saw firsthand the transformation of students’ lives through parental choice.
Daniel first joined WCRIS as Communications and Outreach Coordinator and then School Programs Coordinator. He now serves WCRIS as Project Manager with a diverse background, having worked in a traditional advertising agency where he served a non-profit client, and as a communications director for Marquette University’s Campus Ministry retreats.
As Project Manager, Daniel is now hard at work representing WCRIS members on various advisory groups and advocating for them at the State Capitol. Daniel’s expertise includes working with school safety programs, school choice programs, busing and legislative matters impacting private K-12 schools.
He graduated from Marquette University with a degree in Public Relations and a minor in Advertising with a deep curiosity about public policy and political science.
Daniel enjoys working on his small farmette and spending time with his family.
Michelle Murphy, Communications and Outreach Director
Working for WCRIS in this role fulfills Michelle’s passion for Wisconsin’s K-12 private schools, education and writing.
She is a graduate of K-12 private schools and Wisconsin Lutheran College, where she majored in both English – Writing and Psychology. As a student of private schools for all of her educational career, Michelle is humbled to use her time and talents to serve Wisconsin’s private schools at WCRIS.
She has experience in event planning, publication writing, editing and design, as well as website management for non-profit associations. With a keen attention to detail, Michelle has served various non-profit organizations in her professional career.
Michelle especially recognizes the important work of WCRIS since she is married to a Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod (WELS) middle school teacher, who also graduated from Milwaukee-area private schools. Together, she and her husband enjoy watching Wisconsin sports, cooking and spending time with family.
