Biographies

Chuck Englebert | Jim Geissner | Mary Hericks | Bill Leonard | Lyell Montgomery | Jeff Scheel | JoAnn Steffes

Jim Geissner

Jim Geissner brings more than 30 years’ experience in municipal government human resources to serve the unique needs of small cities, villages, townships, school districts, and nonprofit agencies.

Jim’s executive-level successes with the cities of Detroit, La Crosse, Wis; Milwaukee, Wis.; and Tampa, Fla. were highlighted by public sector labor relations and the negotiation of more than 300 collective bargaining agreements. He has received national recognition from the National Public Employer Labor Relations Association (NPELRA) for his work in grievance and interest arbitration. 

In 17 years as director of human resources for the La Crosse, Wis., Jim conducted successful national searches for the city’s chief of police, fire chief, library director, city planner plus engineers, attorneys, and assessors. He developed training programs to address team building, succession planning, and performance evaluation needs. Jim was responsible for the design and implementation of health care cost containment initiatives that resulted in significant savings for city taxpayers.

Jim took the lead in helping to establish Wisconsin’s Public Employer Labor Relations Association and incorporate it into NEPLRA. He currently teaches business law at Viterbo University in La Crosse, Wis., and is an active member of United Way and UW-La Crosse’s L-Club, which supports the university’s athletic programs. Jim also champions La Crosse Area Day at Miller Park. The outing buses the largest number of fans of any event of its kind to a Milwaukee Brewers game every year. Nearly 2,500 La Crosse area residents participated in 2007.

Jim holds a Master of Arts degree from Wayne State University in Detroit.