board nominee biographies

Jatinder Cheema – President

Dr. Jatinder Cheema has been a PLATO member since 2015 and has served as an At-Large Board member from 2020 until 2022 and as the Treasurer from 2022 until 2024. Cheema currently serves as the PLATO President. She is a retired Senior Foreign Service Officer and has served in multiple countries managing and overseeing USAID programs. After retirement Cheema made Madison, Wisconsin her home and served as a board member in local organizations such as the Madison Development Corporation, the Marquette Neighborhood Association, and the Greater Williamson Area Business Association. She also established a community space called A Place to Be on Williamson Street in Madison for learning and discussions on local issues. She has a PhD in Social Sciences and an Master of Public Health from the University of Michigan, and a master’s in social work from the Delhi School of Social Work. She also has a certificate in creative writing from the University of Wisconsin and has published two books. 

MaryJo MacSwain – Vice-President 

MaryJo MacSwain has been a member of PLATO since 2018, shortly after moving back to Wisconsin. She quickly became an avid course participant, usually taking four courses per semester. She has also served as co-coordinator for two social justice book discussion courses. MaryJo has been Chair of the Diversity Awareness Committee for two years and also participates on the Membership and Communications committee. MaryJo graduated from Ripon College with a BA in Economics and earned an MBA from Kellogg School of Management. She enjoys retirement, staying busy with PLATO, Ripon College and travelling. MaryJo is a Wisconsin native, who grew up in Merrill. 

Rod McKenzie – Treasurer 

Rod McKenzie is currently Treasurer of PLATO. He has been a member of PLATO since 2016. He has served as PLATO President, Vice President, and Chair of the Fund Development Committee. Rod retired from a career in materials research, engineering and operations management at Rayovac, later known as Spectrum Brands, and most recently as Energizer Holdings. Coming to Madison from Southern California for graduate studies in Materials Science, he decided it was a good idea to stay. Not bored in retirement, he previously volunteered with American Red Cross, and currently takes PLATO courses and works on committees. There has been plenty of retirement travel too. Rod, and his wife Paula, keep busy with adult children and grandchildren in Madison and in the Pacific Northwest. 

Edie Urness-Pondillo – Secretary 

Edie Urness-Pondillo is currently PLATO's Secretary. She moved back to Madison in 2018 after 20 years in Tennessee and became PLATO's office administrator and then joined the membership. Within the first year of membership, she joined the creativity art group and continues in that course, as well as writers’ workshop. Edie currently serves as the PLATO Board Secretary. She is also the Managing Editor of The Agora and, as such, is a member of the Membership and Communication Committee. Edie graduated from the UW-Madison with a BS in Secondary Education and earned her Master’s in English literature from Middle Tennessee State University. Before her 30 plus years teaching high school English, she worked for CUNA Mutual Insurance and was a reporter for a local weekly newspaper. She is a Wisconsin native who grew up on a farm in rural Black Earth.

Allen May – At-Large Director 

Since joining PLATO in the fall of 2018, Allen May has been active as a course coordinator and as an At-Large Director on an interim basis. He has held various positions in professional journalism as a clinical professor and as a reporter, anchor, producer, and videographer in radio, newspaper, and television, including WFLD-TV (Fox) in Chicago. He headed an award-winning investigative and legal affairs reporting unit for WTMJ-TV (NBC) in Milwaukee. Prior to that he was the crime/court reporter at WISN-TV (ABC) in Milwaukee and anchored a weekly news segment called “Crimeline Anonymous” for 13 years. He has numerous reporting awards from Associated Press, Northwest Broadcast News Association, Wisconsin Broadcasters Association, Milwaukee Press Club and other organizations. He has degrees in Law (Wisconsin, 1994) and Psychology (Bethany College, 1975). While in law school, he was elected to the Moot Court Board. He also clerked for the Dane County District Attorney’s Office in Madison, WI, and assisted in the prosecution of misdemeanor criminal cases. In 2000, he joined the faculty at Northern Illinois University, where he taught broadcast journalism and media law before retiring in 2016.

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Online voting will take place from Wednesday, April 23 through Wednesday, May 7, for the four Officers who will serve as PLATO's Executive Committee and one At-Large Director for the Board of Directors from July 1, 2025 through June 30, 2026. 

Members may vote with the ballot that was sent via email on April 23, 2025, or click here to access the ballot. Note that to access the ballot, members will need to login with their email address and PLATO password (there will be a "Forgot Password" link if needed). 

Offline members will receive their ballot in the mail.

Contact Stephanie at info@platomadison.org if you need assistance.