About
WINN Inc. lovingly cares for our un-sheltered neighbors in the Coulee Region with empathy, compassion and understanding and accepts individuals as they are, where they are.
Susan (Sue) Rieple Graf, Executive Director
Every human being deserves acceptance, love, respect and dignity. I have personally experienced childhood trauma and poverty and many friends and family members cared for me. I believe the sum of my life experiences has prepared me for this mission.
I have lived in the Coulee Region for most of my life. I attended local schools and am a Viterbo University alumnus. My professional work experience includes banking, church office/ministry and special education. I have volunteered in my church and community in many roles. I am a Christian and try to live out my faith.
I began to volunteer with the homeless community 10 years ago and eventually made a career change to serve as Coordinator of the Franciscan Hospitality House, a daytime drop-in center for homeless and other marginalized individuals. The Center closed in March, 2020, just prior to Covid. Members of the homeless community were left outside and were hungry and needed help. I began to care for them daily, building positive relationships, providing supplies to meet immediate needs, serving with compassion and without judgement. WINN, inc. was formed and established in 2021 to continue this mission into the future.
WINN, inc. gives hope to people who are struggling, helps them meet basic needs and connects them with housing, jobs and other needed resources. WINN, inc. depends on financial support to continue to provide for our unsheltered and marginalized neighbors.
Brian Holliday, Operations Manager
Brian has been a WINN staff member since August 2024, although he has served with WINN almost daily from the beginning. He and Sue loaded up her car with needed items and began serving our unsheltered neighbors in March, 2020. Brian, a former guest of the Hospitality House, worked through the SER program for 5 years.
Brian grew up in Star Lake, New York in the Adirondack mountains but has called La Crosse home for 20+ years. Brian is a humble, kind, generous man who is always willing to help people. Brian is a hard worker and worked on many construction jobs throughout his career and he can fix almost anything. Brian knows many of the people we serve and is proud to be in recovery himself. He has lived experience with homelessness and is familiar with the struggles many of our guests face. Brian is a servant leader in our community and a voice for our unsheltered community.
WINN, Inc. Board of Directors
The board of directors for WINN is a group of individuals from varying walks of life. We have all had our boots on the ground serving the homeless community. We seek to positively impact our community and its most vulnerable members.
KEN FORD
I worked at a local pharmacy that served a diverse community in downtown La Crosse for nearly 30 years. During this time I was able to get to know many of our marginalized and homeless neighbors. Their story is a shared human story of hope, hardship, loss and a desire for connection and belonging. I am involved with WINN to serve others whose life and story is my story too.
Chad nelson
I’ve experienced homelessness at multiple points in my life, several years between 2017 and 2022, and again in early 2025. I stayed in warming centers, slept on floors, lived in hotel rooms, and camped in a tent at Houska Park. In those years, I learned firsthand how much consistency, dignity, and compassion matter when you’re trying to survive without stable housing. My recovery began in 2025, after I nearly lost my left hand for a second time because of an abscess related to drug use. People in this community, especially WINN, saw a future in me at a time when I struggled to see one myself. Because of them, I’m now the Campus Events Coordinator and a Democracy Fellow at Western Technical College. I’m on track to graduate in 2027, with plans to attend UW–L’s Public Communication and Advocacy program with a minor in Social Justice. What I value most about WINN is that it’s built on community. I know what it means to be seen at your lowest and still treated like you have a future. That kind of steady human connection is often the first thing that helps people come back to themselves.
Pat Carpenter, TrEasurer
As Treasurer I bring my knowledge of accounting to provide financial record keeping for the non-profit, WINN, Inc. But more than that, I have found a place to make new friends in board members and those we serve. I am blessed to help others through WINN and experience first hand the kindness between human beings to love and care for each other. I believe this is our true mission as earthly beings.
Jim PAgE
10 years ago I retired from a career in law enforcement. Since that time my faith has grown a lot and my view on our unsheltered community has changed drastically. I volunteer as a police chaplain and am involved in La Crosse Co jail ministry. My deep hope is that, through WINN, ALL of God's children will understand their worth in our community. I thank WINN for giving me the opportunity to serve.
Tom hencH
In my senior year of college, I was introduced to an idea that would shape my whole life: the idea of “management" as a promise to be kept and as a commitment to live and work effectively in relation with others, for the betterment of all. Now, a little more than fifty-five years later, I trust and hope that I have kept that promise—first, as a practicing manager for nearly twenty years and then as a Professor of Management for nearly twenty years thereafter. And now, as a member of the WINN Board, I hope to continue to keep that promise at least for a little while longer. For there is good work being done here, for sure. And I am thankful and humbled to be even a small part of that work. Thank you.
Chelsey vix
My background is in management and operations, including owning and operating a coffee shop and managing in the grocery industry. Today I am a small business owner and co owner of Broken Wrist Records, where I work in booking, events, business operations, and creative projects. I am excited to bring my experience as a business owner and manager to WINN and be part of an organization focused on making a difference in our community.
Andy hughes
I spent more than 15 years working in marketing, much of that focused on community colleges and nonprofit organizations. Today I am a full time musician, small business owner, and co owner of Broken Wrist Records, performing more than 170 shows each year. I am excited to bring my creative, marketing, and community experience to WINN and help support the people and organizations doing important work in our community.