Katie Scott, Executive Director
Katie brings a wealth of education policy and state government experience to WCRIS. An accomplished public servant, she worked for several Wisconsin legislators. Katie served as the Chief of Staff for the Assembly Education Committee Chair and as the Committee Clerk for the Assembly Education Committee. While at the State Capitol, Katie worked successfully on many education policy matters. She has strong working relationships with and is well-respected by education stakeholders at the state, local and national levels.
Among many successful legislative initiatives, Katie was instrumental as one of the innovators for the successful Office of School Safety in the Department of Justice. The Office of School Safety continues to help all Wisconsin schools, including WCRIS members, keep their students and staff safe. Having a heart for children, Katie also worked successfully on a number of initiatives to help stop human trafficking and helped bring awareness to the issue at an pivotal time. She was key on a number of other important pieces of legislation, some of which have been a model for other states and at the federal level.
A private school graduate herself, Katie received a bachelor’s degree in political science and a bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Abigail Pavela, Wisconsin Private School Ombudsman
Before becoming Associate Director, Abbie served as WCRIS Communications and Outreach Coordinator and later Project Manager when she first began her Ombudsman duties. She ran the WCRIS annual administrator and teacher professional development conferences, helped update the Legal Handbook, ran the WCRIS website and provided outreach to schools on federal Title programs, among many other things.
Abbie is a graduate of K-12 private schools and Indiana University in Bloomington, where she earned her bachelor’s degree in journalism and studied education policy.
That led her to join the team at Bishop Chatard Catholic High School in Indianapolis, a voucher school, where she worked as a substitute teacher and then Assistant to the Principals. Her work included organizing professional development days; coordinating Title II-A funding; managing the school’s compliance with new state teacher licensure standards; and completing various school reports to comply with the Indiana Department of Education.
Congress requires every state to have an Ombudsman to help facilitate access to federal ESEA programs. Abbie was the nation’s first state ombudsman employed by a religious and independent schools association (WCRIS). She does this work under a public-private partnership with the state education agency, the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction. This partnership was approved by then-DPI Superintendent Tony Evers with the support of Gov. Scott Walker.
Michelle Murphy, Communications and Outreach Director
Working for WCRIS in this role fulfills Michelle’s passion for Wisconsin’s K-12 private schools, education and writing.
She is a graduate of K-12 private schools and Wisconsin Lutheran College, where she majored in both English – Writing and Psychology. As a student of private schools for all of her educational career, Michelle is humbled to use her time and talents to serve Wisconsin’s private schools at WCRIS.
She has experience in event planning, publication writing, editing and design, as well as website management for non-profit associations. With a keen attention to detail, Michelle has served various non-profit organizations in her professional career.
Michelle especially recognizes the important work of WCRIS since she is married to a Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod (WELS) middle school teacher, who also graduated from Milwaukee-area private schools. Together, she and her husband enjoy watching Wisconsin sports, cooking and spending time with family.
