Christopher Reber and Veronique Tran (Bottom Row)
KENOSHA, Wis. — Somebody who sits on a board making multi-million-dollar decisions should probably have a clean track record, right? What if one of those board members was found to have allegedly falsified travel reimbursement records for personal financial gain? What if that person was actually the treasurer of said board?
Those questions are again being raised as Gateway Technical College moves forward with its search for a permanent president.
Gateway recently announced four finalists for the position after former President Ritu Raju left the college following widespread criticism from faculty and staff. In March 2024, Kenosha County Eye reported on internal survey results showing abysmal morale and deep dissatisfaction with Raju’s leadership.
Now, some community members are questioning whether the Gateway College Board itself is part of the problem.
At the center of the controversy is Gateway Board Treasurer Nicole Oberlin, formerly Nicole Russo, whose prior employment with the Wisconsin Department of Health Services ended in 2019 after an internal investigation concluded she submitted false travel reimbursement claims and falsified records.
According to records obtained by Kenosha County Eye from DHS through a public records request, Oberlin was accused of submitting false reimbursement requests on five separate dates between June and December 2018. State investigators concluded the questionable reimbursements totaled approximately $451.12.
The records show DHS accused Oberlin of falsifying records, violating attendance policies, and receiving reimbursement funds to which she was not entitled. DHS prepared a termination letter dated Aug. 6, 2019, but Oberlin resigned effective the same day before the termination could take effect.
Kenosha County Eye obtained Oberlin’s personnel file, investigative summaries, reimbursement documentation, emails, and termination paperwork from DHS. Her entire personnel file is published below this story so board members and defenders cannot later claim they never saw the records.
Despite those findings, Oberlin now serves as treasurer of the Gateway College Board, helping oversee the finances of a publicly funded technical college supported by taxpayers in Kenosha, Racine, and Walworth counties.
Gateway Board President Jason Tadlock defended Oberlin when contacted by Kenosha County Eye, even though the records show her state employment ended amid allegations that she defrauded taxpayers through false reimbursement claims.
“I do not know anything of the circumstances to which you are referring,” Tadlock wrote in an email. “I will say that technical college board governance works differently than K-12 school boards.”
Tadlock said trustees do not appoint, supervise, or terminate one another and noted that county leadership appoints board members.
“While I do not know of the circumstances you are referring to, I can say that I have worked with Nichole for several years as a volunteer trustee,” Tadlock wrote, misspelling Oberlin’s first name. “I have seen her volunteer countless hours to the role which she takes seriously and has served honorably for no personal benefit from what I can tell.”
In other words, despite saying he did not know the details of the allegations, Tadlock still vouched for Oberlin’s character and defended her continued service on the board.
More alarming to some critics is the fact that Tadlock is also the superintendent of the Elkhorn Area School District, meaning a sitting school district leader publicly defended a Gateway trustee whose state employment ended amid allegations of falsified records and improper reimbursements.
Racine County officials said Oberlin was not directly appointed by any one county official. Instead, Gateway trustee candidates are reviewed by a multi-county appointment committee made up of representatives from Kenosha, Racine, and Walworth counties. Racine County officials said Racine County Board Vice-Chair Scott Maier participated in the process that selected Oberlin, though all trustee appointments are ultimately reviewed and confirmed by the Wisconsin Technical College System Board.
In response to questions from Kenosha County Eye, Racine County Communications Manager Casey Morgenson said Oberlin “was selected by the appointment committee … based on an interview and review of application materials provided by Gateway Technical College.” Morgenson also said questions about background checks and screening policies would be better addressed by Gateway and the Wisconsin Technical College System Board.
Questions are also being raised about the ideological direction of the finalists themselves. Several community members who reviewed the finalists’ biographies described the candidates as highly focused on diversity, equity, inclusion, workforce equity, and “economic mobility” language rather than traditional educational priorities. Hudson County Community College President Christopher Reber, for example, has publicly emphasized diversity, equity, and inclusion as one of his institution’s “overarching priorities” and has served multiple terms on the American Association of Community Colleges’ Commission on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. Reber has also highlighted “upward social and economic mobility” and diversity initiatives as key parts of his leadership philosophy. In a June 2023 post highlighted by the National Council for Marketing & Public Relations, Reber said he “vividly” remembered seeing “a large gay pride flag” when he interviewed for his current position and said he “instantly knew that I was home.” In the same post, Reber was quoted as saying, “I firmly believe that education is the greatest antidote to hatred and bigotry.”
Some Gateway residents and taxpayers now say the college’s search for a new president is being conducted by a board whose own judgment should first be scrutinized. They argue it is difficult to trust a board to make sound decisions about the future of the college when it has continued to support a treasurer with a documented history of alleged dishonesty involving public funds.
Kenosha County Eye contacted Gateway trustees and administrators seeking comment about Oberlin’s continued role on the board and whether anyone intends to ask her to resign. No trustees responded to requests for comment, including Kenosha County Clerk of Court Rebecca Matoska-Mentink.
Jason Tadlock, Board Chairperson — [email protected]
Zaida Lange-Irisson, Vice Chairperson — [email protected]
Nicole Oberlin, Treasurer — [email protected]
Preston Gardner, Secretary — [email protected]
Ram Bhatia, Trustee — [email protected]
Tamarra Coleman, Trustee — [email protected]
Rebecca Matoska-Mentink, Trustee — [email protected]
Michael P. Reader, Trustee — [email protected]
Caio Lisboa, Student Trustee — [email protected]
10 Responses
Another DEI hire coming soon!
GTC management consists of many DEI & neoptism hires. They are running GTC into the ground, i wouldn’t be surprised if GTC closed the doors in the future if the DEI VPs aren’t removed. Another problem is GTC stands by the Peter Principle.
The GTC board is appointed by the county board chairmen of Racine, Kenosha, and Walworth Counties, or their designee.
Considering Walworth and Racine County chairmen are supposed to be Conservative, one would think they wouldn’t appoint liberals to the GTC board, but they do. If one goes to the meeting where the appointments are made, one can tell who is picked is arranged ahead of time, violating walking quorum rules.
For years GTC has pushed DEI and liberal/socialist policies because the public isn’t paying attention. It will continue until citizens demand accountability for GTC’s excessive spending and demand the chairmen of the conservative counties appoint conservatives to the GTC board.
In 2025, the chairmen appointed a certain liberal non-profit leader from Kenosha to the board in a position she didn’t apply for. They don’t follow the mandated rules for appointment, just to get who they want on the board. There were good conservatives that applied and none of them got appointed.
Raju resigned right after more liberals were appointed to the GTC board and she knew she would get no support. The staff at GTC didn’t like her because she wasn’t a liberal and was fighting GTC’s liberal policies, etc behind the scenes. That’s why the staff didn’t like her.
Ritu was a horrible president. They need someone to come in and get rid of DEI hires starting with at least VPs. Then they can get rid of the incompetent employees hired by DEI & neoptism. GTC is a gross misuse of taxpayers dollars. Many top management were given the positions when Bryan & Bill Whyte left after robbing taxpayers money.
Feels great writing a check for property taxes. Can’t wait until Act 10 is done away with.
What does that’s stupid statement mean? You want to bankrupt the college? More layoff of employees? Idiot.
Seems like the liberal democrats are willing to do the work as sketchy as it may be to get their people in power. Violating quorum rules and making the overall culture be un attractive to other viewpoints.
Nobody on our side can get a fair shake.
GTC is train-wreck. i’ve attended board meetings in the past and its a joke. They have run GTC into the ground. They have created GTC to be a money making venture offering courses only that are popular, and bloating programs with degree required extra courses where students are looking to get needed requirements for jobs in the community. There does not seem to be any over-sight
The community needs to make their voice heard. Email the board and tell them no more DEI nonsense and to hire someone with a commitment to traditional liberal (not woke) education. Come to the forums and ask tough questions. Email the candidates to tell them your concerns. They all currently work and have public ally available email addresses.
Elkhorn needs to wake up! Tadlock is dangerous in his positions and takes away from school funds to fund his special projects that his family has interests in. Oh he seems friendly but can turn on a dime when confronted or asked a question.