Biography
Dave Cieslewicz served as mayor of Madison from 2003 until 2011. Before serving as mayor, he was cofounder and first executive director of 1000 Friends of Wisconsin, the state’s leading land use and transportation policy advocacy organization. Earlier in his career he worked for State Rep. Spencer Black, who now also teaches in DPLA, and for the Wisconsin Chapter of The Nature Conservancy. Dave has taught a number of courses on the UW campus, including “Introduction to the City”, “The Politics & Policy of Green Urbanism” and “Advanced Public Management.” He taught two short courses in the former Department of Urban and Regional Planning when he was mayor. He’s a 1981 graduate of the UW where he was a political science major. Dave and his wife Dianne live in the Regent neighborhood with their dog Calvin. Twice a month you’ll find him playing the venerable German card game Sheepshead at the Memorial Union.