Board of Trustees | Gateway Technical College

The Gateway Technical College District is governed by a nine-member board of trustees representing the communities served by the three-county district. The board comprises two employer members, two employee members, one elected official, one school district administrator, and three additional members. Members are appointed by the chairpersons of the Kenosha, Racine and Walworth County Boards of Supervisors and serve staggered three-year terms.

Contact the board at 262-564-3018 or by email (below).

Rebecca Matoska-Mentink
Chairperson
matoskamentinkr@gtc.edu

Rebecca Matoska-Mentink is the Kenosha County clerk of circuit court. She joined Kenosha County in 1998 and held various positions in the Child Support Agency before becoming office manager of the district attorney’s office. She has held her current elected position since 2007. She earned a BA in History from UW-Parkside, her paralegal certification from Carthage College and her Master of Science in Management from Cardinal Stritch University. She also serves on various local non-profit boards in Kenosha. Rebecca serves as an Elected Official member for Kenosha County.

Jason Tadlock
Vice Chairperson
tadlockj@gtc.edu

Jason Tadlock's career in public education spans more than 20 years, during which time he has taught Spanish in the classroom and taken leadership roles as a K-12 and 6-12 principal and for the past 10 years as a superintendent. A graduate of Utah State University (BA, Spanish) and UW-Superior (EdS, Educational Leadership), Jason serves as superintendent of Elkhorn Area School District and holds the School District Administrator Member position on Gateway's Board of Trustees.

D. Benjamin DeSmidt
Secretary
desmidtd@gtc.edu

D. Ben DeSmidt is co-owner of the Union Park Tavern and associate professor emeritus of classics and great ideas at Carthage College. He co-founded and continues to co-direct the Humanities Citizenship Initiative, a grant-funded college bridge program for underserved high school students. DeSmidt holds a B.A. degree in classics from the University of Chicago and M.A., M.Phil. and Ph.D. degrees in classics from Columbia University. DeSmidt serves in the Employer Member category for Kenosha County on Gateway’s Board.

Zaida Lange-Irisson
Treasurer
hernandezirissonz@gtc.edu

Zaida Lange-Irisson started at Gateway in the ESL program before earning a Barber/Cosmetology technical diploma and Electrical Engineering Technology associate degree with a Biomedical emphasis. She served as district ambassador for the Wisconsin Technical College System and earned a bachelor’s degree from the Milwaukee School of Engineering. She is currently a project manager for hybrid engineering at Twin Disc Inc. Zaida serves as the Additional Member for Racine County.

Jesse Adams
adamsjd@gtc.edu

Jesse Adams is the president of Adams Power in Walworth County. Prior to running Adams, Jesse worked several years in Washington, D.C., for one of the top nationally recognized political committees, RSLC. Jesse worked daily with the nation’s republican lieutenant governors, attorneys general, secretaries of state and legislative leaders in all 50 states. Jesse currently serves as board president of Safe Families for Children of Wisconsin, a preventative, alternative solution for foster care in America. A graduate of Gordon College in the Boston area, Jesse lives with his wife and two sons in Fontana, Wisconsin, and serves as the Employer Member for Walworth County.

Ram Bhatia
bhatiar@gtc.edu

Ram Bhatia retired as a senior executive with over 35 years in the electrical engineering industry. In both Fortune 500 global companies and small, local outfits, he managed departments and turnkey projects. With two master’s degrees in engineering and an MBA from UW-Parkside, he is a Life Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers and director for the Milwaukee Section of IEEE. He has served on the Gateway District Board since 2005 as the Additional Member for Racine County.

William Duncan
duncanw@gtc.edu

William B. Duncan is president of Duncan Mediation & Consulting Services, LLC. He retired as senior vice president of Aurora University after serving as administrator at George Williams College. He earned a BA from the University of California-Davis, an MS from George Williams College, and a Doctor of Education in Adult Continuing Education from Northern Illinois University. Duncan has represented the Additional Member category on the Gateway Technical District Board since 2013 for Walworth County.

R. Scott Pierce
pierces@gtc.edu

R. Scott Pierce retired as district administrator for Central High School District of Westosha from 2008-2018. He began his career in education in 1983 as an assistant principal in Platteville, Wisconsin. With a BA from Carthage College, a master’s from UW-Whitewater, an Education Specialist in Educational Administration from UW-Milwaukee and a Doctorate of Education from Cardinal Stritch University, Pierce has served on the Gateway Board since 2009.

Pamela Zenner-Richards
richardsp@gtc.edu

Pamela Zenner-Richards worked on economic development initiatives at Downtown Racine Development Corp., including the county marina and city Festival Hall. As owner-operator of a short-run, precision machine shop that was among the first to use CNC machines, she helped spark the idea for the CNC Boot Camp, a short-term training model for producing work-ready machinists, which has been duplicated nationally. Pamela has served as the Additional Member for Racine County since 2000.

Nicole Oberlin
Student Trustee
oberlinn1@mail.gtc.edu

Nicole Oberlin serves as the Gateway District Ambassador and Elkhorn Campus Ambassador. She is a member of Phi Theta Kappa and the National Society of Leadership and Success, serves as a United Student Government officer and works with the DEI Student Advisory Committee. Nicole enjoys community involvement, public speaking engagements and helping other students succeed through education. Nicole worked for the Department of Health Services in varying roles for more than 10 years prior to a career change and enrolling at Gateway. She is enrolled in Gateway’s Liberal Arts associate degree program.

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