Alondra García - WIABE President

Alondra is a 1st generation former DACA recipient, a current U-visa holder, the proud daughter of immigrant workers and an MPS Bilingual Teacher at Allen-Field Elementary. Being raised in the heart of the Southside of Milwaukee for the past 25 years after leaving her hometown, Morelia, in Mexico as a young 2-year-old, she has learned to love the place she now calls home. She has had the honor to serve the community she proudly identifies with and advocates for in and out of the classroom. She strongly believes in the power of community, resilience and truth. 

Being a first generation DACAmented educator and a proud daughter of immigrants, Alondra, has taken upon the opportunities of being bilingual. However, she has come across many challenges due to her identity such as having limited access to public resources that are easily attainable to others because of a difference in “status”. Nevertheless, she has learned to embrace her identity and use it to empower herself in her journey to educate others about the immigrant community and their contribution to society. Within her time in the MPS district as a proud MPS graduate and now as a 2nd grade bilingual teacher, she has come to understand the countless inequities the bilingual program encounters. Thus, as President, she plans to network, educate, and collaborate with other neighboring districts about their implementation of bilingual programs in order to bring a more equitable bilingual education to her district and across the state.

Lori Menning -WIABE President

Lori currently serves as WIABE President. Prior, she was WIABE board member-at-large since 2019 where she had the opportunity to collaborate with a dedicated team of bilingual leaders passionate to move our organization forward even through the most challenging times of the pandemic. Being able to represent our affiliate and collaborate with other NABE affiliate leaders from throughout the country has been an empowering experience for Lori which she looks forward to building upon to enhance our organization. She brings over 20 years experience in education including 16 years as a secondary bilingual-bicultural teacher and district bilingual coordinator. This is her fourth year as EL and bilingual-bicultural consultant at CESA 6. She earned both her Bachelor’s degree and Master’s degree from the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh and Director of Curriculum and Principal licenses from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.