Our History
Internationally, the Junior League has almost 300 Leagues in four countries with more than 155,000 members. Eleanor Roosevelt played an important role as a member in the early years. Many other well known community leaders have been members of the Junior League over the years including former First Ladies Laura Bush and Betty Ford, Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, Shirley Temple-Black, and Katherine Hepburn.
The Junior League of Madison (JLM) began in the spring of 1988. Mary Pat Berry, a Junior League member from Milwaukee who had relocated to the Madison area, took the initiative to establish a Junior League in Madison. The Association of Junior Leagues International, Inc. (AJLI) had provided a list of non-resident active members from other cities who were living in the area. By August of that year, eleven women, most with former Junior League experience and all with a vision, formed the first JLM steering committee.
The new organization became known and was incorporated as the Junior Service League of Greater Madison (JSLGM). The first membership meeting was held in October 19, 1988 at the Governor’s Mansion.
Sixty new members were in attendance. The first speakers included a panel of civic leaders: Chamber of Commerce President, Robert Brennan; Dane County Executive, Rick Phelps; and David Mollenhoff, Downtown Madison, Inc. They welcomed the League into a long range partnership to work for the future of Madison.
In 1992, the JSLGM began the formal application process to become an official Junior League by completing and submitting a detailed application to AJLI.
Finally, on July 1, 1993, the Junior Service League of Greater Madison was voted into the Association of Junior Leagues International, becoming the 283rd League.
JLM Year JLM President
1988-1989 Laurel Rice
1989-1990 Laurel Rice
1990-1991 Carmen Skilton
1991-1992 Carmen Skilton
1992-1993 Ginger Gant
1993-1994 Ginger Gant
1994-1995 Mary Pat Berry
1995-1996 Cynthia Rogerson
1996-1997 Gail Docken
1997-1998 Suzanne WIlkinson
1998-1999 Melinda Pellino
2000-2001 Laurel Rice
2001-2002 Mary Bartzen
2003-2004 Susan Stone
2005-2006 Lynn Wood
2006-2007 Sara DeTienne
2007-2008 Peggy Angevine
2008-2009 Kari Fisher
2009-2010 Elizabeth Kluesner
2010-2011 Vicki Ballweg
2011-2012 Alissa Oleck
2012-2013 Elizabeth Greer
2013-2014 Laura Gmeinder
2014-2015 Gretchen Lins
2015-2016 Nicole Donny
2016-2017 Cammie Sorensen
2017-2018 Dena Gullickson
2018-2019 Kirsten Reader
2019-2020 Kristy Reed
2020-2021 Jocelyn Braun
2021-2022 Jen Brydges