The Wisconsin Conference is pleased to announce Tola Ewers as Administrative Assistant to the President, Secretary-Treasurer, and Ministerial Director following the retirement of Kim Haas.
With multiple years of administrative responsibilities in a variety of settings, Tola has a well-developed toolkit that will facilitate her success in this position. While she admits that her professional journey looks a little unusual on paper, God has been involved all along the way.
When uncertainty over federal funding led to Tola’s unplanned retirement from being a health services researcher at UW-Madison last September, she realized she needed to trust that God would make His plans clear. She certainly was not planning on retiring early and expected to remain on the UW-Madison staff for another five to seven years. But retirement happened, and soon Tola found herself gaining substitute teaching experience in Adventist education in the Minnesota Conference and in Madison at Three Angels Christian School.
As a firm embracer of a servant leadership mindset, Tola Ewers, MS, PhD, is not new to serving the members of the Wisconsin Conference. Just weeks after being baptized in the 1980s, she volunteered to type the bulletin for the Madison East Church and used the school’s steno machine to make the weekly copies. A few years later, former Superintendent of Education Ken Kirkham invited Tola to organize judge orientation for the Conference science fair. Then when Elder Don and Phyllis Corkum retired, Phyllis tapped Tola to become the new “Phyllis” point person for Campmeeting music in the Pavilion; Tola’s responsibilities in the Pavilion have expanded over the past 15 years and now include tasks related to livestreaming in addition to facilitating musical experiences.
Tola has been married to Wayne for almost 45 years. They have three adult children: Jenni (Bryan) Mueller; Heidi (Davin) Nicholas; and Daniel (Taryn) Ewers. Heidi and Davin are parents to Seeley, age 12, and Brielle, age 9. Daniel and Taryn are parents to Yanis, who will be 2 in May. The family is deeply committed to Adventist education, with all members graduating from Three Angels Christian School, Wisconsin Academy, and Union Adventist University. Jenni is the principal and Grades 7–9 teacher at Capital Center Adventist Christian School in St. Paul, MN, and Heidi teaches Grades 2–4 at the Des Moines Adventist School in Iowa.
From 1982 to 2003, Tola worked in the printing, broadcast, and journalism industry. She joined the staff at UW-Madison in 1997, initially serving as the administrative manager for an academic medical division in the School of Medicine and Public Health. She completed her B.A. degree in history at UW-Madison as a full-time student while working full-time in this position. The UW-Madison School of Education later granted her an M.S. degree (2008) and Ph.D. (2014).
In her spare time, Tola lives for visits with her children and grandchildren, although seeing them all requires intentional planning as they are spread out around the Midwest. She also enjoys serving the Madison Community Church as an elder, praise team leader, and livestreaming coordinator. She is a member of the Madison Symphony Orchestra Chorus and has previously served as its president. Until a serious injury during a softball game sidelined her, Tola was the starting pitcher for her slowpitch softball team for nearly 20 years and now serves as their scorekeeper and statistician.
As she has done for as long as she can remember, Tola strives to be a resource for anyone who needs help. It is her belief that God wired her this way, and stepping into this important role at the Conference office allows her to continue living out God’s mission.
Anna Foll,
Communication Coordinator