Meet the 2025 Spark Award Judges

Corporate Counsel and Compliance & Ethics Advisor
Fons Law Group

Being the leader of the Fons Law Group, John is always working with a strong business-first approach, offering straightforward and practical legal advice to protect clients while driving greater productivity.  He was an in-house lawyer for 20+ years, including more than 15 years as a General Counsel of large, multi-national, publicly-traded companies and 9 years as Director of Global Compliance & Ethics. He has been a judge for the Better Business Bureau’s Torch Awards for Ethics since 2003.

Director, Service Operations
Harley-Davidson Motor Company

Lori Oelhafen is the Director of Service Operations at Harley-Davidson Motor Company, where she oversees the Field Technical Service team and leads the technicians who provide expert technical support to dealer technicians. With over 30 years at Harley-Davidson, Lori has built strong relationships with more than 600 U.S. dealers. Her teams deliver diagnostic, consultative, and service business assistance, as well as customer-facing service teams that address and resolve complex product and customer issues.

Professor, Organizations & Strategic Management
Director, M&I Center for Business Ethics
Sheldon B. Lubar College of Business, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee

Maria Goranova is Professor of Organizations and Strategic Management at the Lubar College of Business, University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee. Her research examines corporate governance, ownership, and shareholder activism issues in the context of strategic management. She serves as Director for the M&I Center for Business Ethics and teaches courses in strategic management, corporate governance, and organization theory at the undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral level.

College of Business & Economics Distinguished Professor
UW-Whitewater

Professor Parboteeah is the inaugural COBE Distinguished Professor, interim chair of the Department of Management, and Director of the Doctorate of Business Administration program at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater. In the College of Business and Economics, Parboteeah co-created a business ethics course that is now a mandatory requirement for undergraduate business ethics students. Finally, Parboteeah is the author of Business Ethics, one of the leading textbooks that takes a balanced theoretical and practical perspective on business ethics issues. 

Founder
Opportunity Knocks of Wisconsin LLC

Wendy Terwelp is the Founder of Opportunity Knocks of Wisconsin LLC, a boutique career development firm launched in 1998. She writes, speaks, consults, and coaches on personal and employer branding, networking, and career development. Winner of the 2022 BBB Torch Award for Ethics, Terwelp’s work was also recognized in Inc. Magazine’s “Top 10 Helps for Your Career,” Association for Talent Development’s (ATD) “Best on Career Development,” and she was named in the Top 15 Career Masterminds in the U.S. Dubbed a “LinkedIn Guru” by The Washington Post among others. Wendy was a 2023 Sparks Awards Judge and a 2024 Torch Awards Judge.