Mission Statement

I am currently a job developer for adults with special needs, an entrepreneur and an activist for social and environmental justice. I am a Madison native, graduated with a degree in elementary education from Western Michigan and then lived in Colorado for 10 years, where I taught fourth and fifth grade, and my oldest son, Mason, was born. Shortly after that, we boomeranged back to the Madison area, settling in Waunakee where we had our second son, Miles. I never felt at home there with the heavily concentrated upper class demographic, the lack of natural areas, and the sprawling developments swallowing the farmlands as it grew. I fell in love with the Deforest area after reading the comprehensive development plan and watching the Discover Wisconsin piece, so we decided to move to Lake Windsor in 2014. After my divorce, I bought my forever home in Deforest, where in January I will have lived for four years. I rent an apartment and one room in my house on Airbnb, which has provided me with supplementary income for the last 2 1/2 years and my guests continue to support many local businesses. They continue to love it as much as I do for all of the same reasons: the natural areas, the peace and quiet, the bike paths, the local businesses, the parks, the activities and seeing the stars while hanging in my backyard. I want to help preserve our way of life because that is why I chose to call Deforest home and that is what my business depends on. 

I have lived next to Vienna Township for nearly 40 years.  I grew up on a small farm near Arlington, and have always felt connected to rural communities.  I studied history at the UW Madison where I learned writing and research skills, and later earned a Bachelors of Education.  I spent my 30 year career teaching history in the Madison School District, primarily at West High.  

I was drawn back to rural living because this is where I wanted to raise my sons and live into old age.  Now I am retired and saddened to think that this beautiful, productive farmland might be blighted by an enormous data center.  Keeping this high quality land available for our children and future farmers is what motivates me to be on this board.  If we lose this land, it will be gone forever.  

I have lived in the Town of Vienna for 38 years, directly across the road from where this project will be located. I was on the Vienna Town Board from 2005-2009 and was the clerk from 2011-2016. My goal is to keep the Data Center from being built here. In addition to the huge draw on power that will increase everyone's rates, it will create storm water issues, noise, air quality, and possibly water issues. This is not the place for a data center.

I have lived in Wisconsin for the last 14 years, the last 5 in Deforest. I am from Uzbekistan - a former Soviet Republic. I came to the United States for the first time over 20 years ago as a high school exchange student and instantly fell in love with Wisconsin.

One of the things I have always admired about this country is the appreciation for and the preservation of natural environments, be it a national park or a tree. We have the most beautiful state with our lakes, rivers, forests, wildlife and parks - it has been a labor of love, and probably lots of sweat and tears, for the generations that came before us. Now, it is our turn to stand up for what is right and preserve Wisconsin for our children and their children. We have to take action and protect the environment from those who want to harm it, and hurt our children by extension. 

Hyper-scale data centers pollute the air beyond county lines and their operation will contaminate waterways and underground water. Our children deserve to live in a world where they can breath fresh air, drink safe water, and enjoy healthy sleep without noise pollution. Our wildlife deserves a chance to inhabit a safe place in an increasingly shrinking world. Our farms deserve to be preserved for the future generations.

We owe all of this to our children. This data center does not belong in our rural community. 

This group is only possible with the support of the many wonderful people in the DeForest and surrounding communities. 

We are strong together and each of us brings a needed piece to this wonderful team.

Winona Storms is a community advocate and grassroots leader focused on transparency, accountability, and ethical governance. With a background in public policy and leadership, her work is driven by a deep concern for inconsistencies between stated policy, legislative intent, and real-world outcomes. Particularly when real world decisions impact communities without any meaningful public input. 

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Winona approaches advocacy through research, critical analysis, and community engagement, with a focus on exposing gaps in process, oversight, and accountability within government and regulatory systems. She is motivated by the belief that ethical decision-making requires openness, consistency, and genuine public participation. 

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As a local organizer and mother, Winona is deeply invested in protecting her community and ensuring that development and policy decisions are made transparently, responsibly, and in the best interest of the people they affect. She believes meaningful change begins when communities are informed, engaged, and empowered to hold decision-makers accountable.