Dr. James C. Rahn was elected chairman of the Milwaukee School of Engineering Board of Regents and Matthew Burow ’99, founder, chairman and CEO of Catalyst Construction, and Susan Kaufmann Nash, senior counsel with Chrysalis International Legal Partners, were elected to the board at the board’s annual meeting in October.  

Rahn has been the president of the Kern Family Foundation in Waukesha, Wis. since 2008 and became an MSOE Regent in 2013. In his role at the Kern Family Foundation, Rahn provides direction for expanding existing programs and establishing new programs in support of the foundation’s mission to build the future through values, education and innovation. He joined the foundation in September 2007 as the education reform program director. Before that, he spent six years as director of the Center for Urban Teaching and assistant professor of education at Wisconsin Lutheran College. Prior to his work in higher education, he served in K-12 Lutheran schools as teacher, principal and regional school coordinator. Rahn is also a member of the Project Lead The Way board of directors. He holds a bachelor’s degree from Dr. Martin Luther College in New Ulm, Minn., and a master’s degree from Concordia University in River Forest, Ill.   

Burow is responsible for creating, communicating and implementing Catalyst’s vision, mission and overall direction. His leadership experience with a variety of organizations gives him tremendous insight into how clients, specifically non-profits, view projects. He earned his B.S. in Construction Management from MSOE in 1999 and founded Catalyst Construction just five years later in 2004. He is also a board member for the Lutheran Home Association, WLCFS-Christian Family Solutions and Journeys Lutheran School.  

Kaufmann Nash has 20 years of experience in legal and government matter in the United States and the United Arab Emirates. Her recent cases include construction and real estate arbitration and disputes involving issues of employment, real estate leases and intellectual property. Prior to Chrysalis, Kaufmann Nash worked in the disputes resolution group of the UAE office of a large U.S. firm, and prior to then as a litigator for the D.C. office of a large New York law firm where she worked primarily on intellectual property and securities litigation cases.  

Since it was founded in 1903, MSOE has benefitted from the advice and support of volunteer leaders. Meaningful involvement is the most accurate way to describe the manner in which MSOE’s Board of Regents and Corporation members assume their responsibilities. Comprised of representatives of business, industry, government and education, the Board of Regents governs the operations and the future planning of the university.