The UW Now in Los Angeles

Driving UW Entrepreneurship through Technology

The UW is coming to you! Join UW leaders and fellow UW alumni in San Francisco to discover how the university is using cutting-edge technology to fuel smarter, more strategic business ventures. Alisa Robertson ’94, MBA’03, the Wisconsin Foundation and Alumni Association’s new president and CEO, will share news about campus and how WFAA will be involved with supporting the university’s priorities. Then, you’ll enjoy a presentation and Q & A session with Jon Eckhardt, Pyle Bascom Professor of Business Leadership and the Special Advisor to the Chancellor for Entrepreneurship. Eckhardt remarks will include an update on UW–Madison’s new strategy for entrepreneurship and how it will benefit innovators, communities, and the university alike.

As a Badger parent, you don’t want to miss this chance to learn about exciting things happening on campus — and to meet some of the amazing leaders who are part of your student’s education. You’ll get to meet Eric Wilcots, the Mary C. Jacoby Professor of Astronomy and dean of the College of Letters & Science. This is a great opportunity to meet with other local parents for delicious hors d’oeuvres and exciting conversations about the UW.

Please register by May 13.

Speakers

Alisa Robertson ’94, MBA’03 is president and CEO of the Wisconsin Foundation and Alumni Association, a role she assumed on January 1, 2025. Previously, she served as the organization’s president and chief advancement officer, and she has more than 20 years of experience in nonprofit leadership, fundraising, and stakeholder engagement. She joined WFAA as chief of staff in 2011 and became president in 2022. During her tenure, Robertson led the University of Wisconsin–Madison’s $4.2 billion All Ways Forward comprehensive campaign and has been instrumental in advancing key initiatives that elevate donor engagement and support for the university. She holds a bachelor’s degree in English and an MBA from the University of Wisconsin–Madison. Robertson has also served as associate dean for external relations at the Wisconsin School of Business, where she led marketing, alumni relations, and annual giving.

Jon Eckhardt is the Pyle Bascom Professor in Business Leadership in the Wisconsin School of Business. He is also the special adviser to the chancellor for entrepreneurship as part of the Wisconsin Research, Innovation, and Scholarly Excellence initiative and a Discovery Fellow at the Wisconsin Institute for Discovery. He is the cofounder of the Entrepreneurship Science Lab, combining data science with world-class entrepreneurs to improve university-driven entrepreneurship. He also cofounded gener8tor, one of the top business accelerators in the United States with 1,263 companies supported, more than 10,000 jobs created, and more than $2 billion in follow-on funding. His experiences prior to becoming a professor included analyzing fixed-income securities at Legg Mason Capital Management and Legg Mason Funds Advisor (now Franklin Templeton), and economic consulting. Eckhardt’s technical positions included working as a system administrator supporting a lab of Digital VAX machines running 4.2BSD UNIX and providing sales support for UREP, a program that allowed UNIX machines to communicate on IBM’s BITNET.

Schedule of Events

Additional Information

When you register, please inform us of any dietary needs, accommodations (such as captions or interpreting services), or other needs.