Bill Checovich
Bill has spent his career in the biotechnology industry and was most recently VP of Operations at Illumina Corporation, the leader in DNA sequencing technology, coincidentally one of the key tools used in the identification of remains. Before Illumina, Bill was the Director of the Coulter Medical Device Incubator in the UW Department of Biomedical Engineering. He also previously worked for Invitrogen Corporation and BioSentinel, Inc., a company that developed technologies to aid in the protection of service members and the general public from biowarfare agents in collaboration with the Department of Defense. Bill also serves on the Boards of Advisors for the UW Biotechnology Training Program and the UW Global Health Institute. Bill holds a Ph.D. in Biochemistry from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
While not himself a veteran, Bill’s uncles served as infantrymen in the U.S. Army in the Pacific Theater during WWII, and his father served in the Navy during WWII
Kenneth A. Koon
Kenneth A. (Ken) Koon is a retired Brigadier General after more than 39 years of faithful service to the Nation and State. Enlisting in the Army as a private in 1977, his career spanned across five decades and four continents, culminating with his retirement in 2016. He served five years as an enlisted soldier, first as a military policeman on active duty then as an armor crewman in the US Army Reserve before being commissioned as a second lieutenant in May of 1982. Transferring to the Wisconsin National Guard in the fall of ’82, Koon enjoyed multiple assignments of increasing responsibility in the ensuing 34 years. He commanded at every level including twice at the company level, twice at the Colonel level, including a combat command, the Land Component Commander, Wisconsin National Guard, and as the Deputy Commanding General – Operations, First United States Army, Training Support Division, West. He served in South Korea, Niagara, Germany, Iraq and multiple locations across the United States.
BG(r) Koon’s civilian education includes a Bachelor of Science in Sociology from the University of Wisconsin – Oshkosh, a Masters of Science in Management and Organizational Behavior from Silver Lake College, and a Masters of Strategic Studies from United States Army War College. His military education includes the Infantry Officer Basic course, the Armor and Field Artillery Officer Advance courses, Command and General Staff College, War College and Advanced Joint Professional Military Education. Koon is also a trained facilitator, trainer and certified organizational development consultant. His awards and decorations include the Legion of Merit with 1 Bronze Oak Leaf Cluster, the Bronze Star Medal, the Meritorious Service Medal with 3 Bronze Oak Leaf Clusters, the Army Commendation Medal with 3 Bronze Oak Leaf Clusters, the Iraqi Campaign Medal with 1 Bronze Service Star, the Korea Defense Service Medal, the Humanitarian Service Medal, the Parachute Badge, the Ancient Order of Saint Barbara and the Noble Patron of Armor, to name just a few.
Koon is a life member of Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 11244 and holds memberships at American Legion Post 360 and the Harley Owners Group. He enjoys retired life outside Madison, Wisconsin with his wife Lieutenant Colonel (retired) Luanne and twin sons Jacob and Jonah.
Timothy La Sage
First Sergeant Timothy La Sage served in the United States Marine Corps over 22 active-duty years. Tim has earned two Purple Heart medals for wounds received in combat, two medals for valor in combat, and two additional medals for life saving actions.
Tim has served in many units to include an Anti-Terrorism unit, a Marine Raider Special Operations Capable small boat unit which deployed alongside SEAL Team 5 during September 11th, 2001, and also a Joint Task Force deployed as contingency support during Operation Geronimo in 2011 supporting SEAL Team 6. He has been featured in several books such as “Triggermen” and “The Greatest Sniper Stories Ever Told” as well as the History Channel’s “Sniper: Bulletproof”.
Since retirement, La Sage has been called upon by the White House and Secret Service to drive presidential motorcade details for both the President and Vice President of the United States, members of congress, and does personal security detail work for VIP’s when available. Tim also works for WPS Health Solutions as the Military Affairs Manager as well as a board member for the Navy Marine Corps Retiree Council, Fisher House Wisconsin, Wisconsin Veterans Museum Foundation, and the University of Wisconsin’s Missing in Action Recovery and Identification Project
Andrew Wentworth
Andrew is a former Marine infantryman. From 2000 to 2005 he served in Madison’s own Golf Company, part of the ‘Mad Ghost’ 2nd Battalion, 24th Marine Regiment. During this time, he attended School of Infantry at Camp Pendleton, California, Airborne training at Fort Benning, Georgia, and became a Basic Urban Survival Trainer and Non-Lethal Weapons Instructor at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. In 2002, Andrew deployed to South America for five months to train and conduct bilateral exercises with counterparts in Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Chile, Argentina, and Brazil. He deployed to Iraq from September 2004 to April 2005, where his platoon lived under a bridge on the Main Supply route 15 miles south of Baghdad, acting as a Quick Reaction Force and conducting counter-ambush patrols.
Working in the private military contracting industry, Andrew spent an additional three years working in Iraq between 2006 and 2011. Working from the US Embassy in Baghdad, he served as a Protective Security Specialist and later a Tactical Commander (2IC) for an Advance team as part of the State Department’s High Threat Protection program.
Andrew received his MBA from UW-Whitewater, a Graduate Certificate in Geographical Information Systems from UW-Madison, and a Bachelor of Science in Geography from Middle Tennessee State University. He is currently a financial analyst for Bell Laboratories, Inc., a Madison-area manufacturer.
Timothy M. Zadalis
Maj Gen Timothy M. Zadalis, USAF, Ret., has participated in a successful recovery effort of a World War II aviator at a crash site near Bastogne, Belgium with the UW MIA Project.
General Zadalis retired from the Air Force in 2017 after nearly 34 years of distinguished service. He is a graduate of the University of Alaska with a Bachelor of Science in the Biological Sciences. He holds a Master’s degrees in Management and Airpower Arts and Sciences, and was a National Security Fellow at the JFK School, Harvard University. His diverse career includes a wide variety of high-level joint assignments including U.S. Transportation Command, Central Command in support of Operations Enduring and Iraqi Freedom, Southern Command in support of Haiti earthquake relief operations, he is a Northern Command Plank Holder, an Airborne Emergency Action Officer for Strategic Command, and served as ISAF Joint Command Director of Air Plans/Programs in Kabul, Afghanistan during the 2010-2011 operational surge. His Air Force career includes numerous executive staff and command positions culminating as the Vice Commander (now DCOM) of U.S. Air Forces Europe and Air Forces Africa directly supporting operations in U.S. European and Africa Command. General Zadalis has vast expertise in all aspects of air mobility operations, nuclear operations, world-wide airpower command and control, contingency and humanitarian relief operations, human resource, leadership development, and training and education. He is a Command Pilot with over 4,400 flight hours and qualified in 10 training and operational aircraft. He is a decorated combat veteran earning two Bronze Stars, an Air Medal, and the U.S. Army Combat Action Badge.
In retirement, General Zadalis divides his time between his consulting business and volunteering. He serves as an Adjunct Contract Professor (ACP) with the United States Air Force and Space Force supporting Department of Defense post-secondary educational institutions as a highly experienced subject matter expert in civil/military operations and leadership development. In addition to the ACP program, his consulting portfolio includes support for Air Force Research Laboratory advanced research and concept development programs. He also represents MDS Coatings Technologies as an Air Force Program Advisor. As a volunteer, he serves as the Senior Vice President for the Airlift/Tanker Association and on the Board of the Aviation Heritage Center of Wisconsin. He serves as Dean of the National Veterans Leadership Foundation Fellowship Program supporting Veteran Advocates at numerous universities and colleges. He’s a Strategic Advisor for BaseConnect/CityConnect—a software startup with multiple SBIR Phase III DoD contracts and serves as a student research mentor for The Ohio State’s Hacking for Defense program. And finally, he is the Military Ambassador and a Pace Car driver for Road America–“one of the world’s finest and most challenging road courses.” General Zadalis’ active duty biography is available on the Air Force website.