Jeff Billings is a shareholder and chair of Godfrey & Kahn’s Estates & Trusts practice, 

practicing in the firm’s Milwaukee and Appleton offices. He regularly works with families, business owners, executives, doctors, and other professionals to grow, 

manage and protect wealth.

Jeff provides clients with comprehensive planning 

solutions covering a range of services, including core estate planning, business 

succession planning, complex gifting strategies, inter-generational wealth planning, 

estate and trust administration, charitable giving, and asset protection planning. He 

strives to provide clients with strategic legal advice and smart, practical solutions to 

real world problems.

Jeff regularly advises trustees and high-net worth families on the most favorable states to administer trusts and the impacts of state income taxation on inter-generational trust wealth. He has significant experience counseling clients on the creation and ongoing management of public/private trust companies and family 

offices, and works closely with families who wish to establish, run and manage sizable 

private foundations designed to create a family legacy and have a significant impact 

in the community. 

Jeff graduated from Lawrence University summa cum laude with a focus in philosophy 

and economics. He graduated from the University of Michigan Law School cum laude 

where he enjoyed teaching undergraduate courses in the University of Michigan’s 

Philosophy Department. Jeff is actively involved as legal counsel and assistant 

secretary of the HAMP Foundation, Inc., a private foundation scholarship program for Milwaukee County high school students. He writes articles for and serves on the 

planned giving advisory council for the Medical College of Wisconsin, and enjoys 

serving on the Board of Directors of the Friends of Boerner Botanical Garden.

Kim LaPoint, CPA and Accounting Supervisor of Cascade CPA.

Kim brings experience in both public accounting and the nonprofit sector, offering a well-rounded perspective and a strong foundation in financial stewardship. She currently serves as Board Treasurer for Dare to Dream Theatre and is an active volunteer with Above and Beyond Children’s Museum and Junior Achievement of Wisconsin. Outside of her professional and volunteer work, Kim is a proud parent to Payton (11) and Connor (8), and enjoys spending her free time exploring her interests in theater, travel, and movies.

Julie Luther is the Director of Operations for CharityEZ and Mars Family Foundation, and is the Founder of One Post at a Time, LLC.

A results-driven professional with deep compassion and presence, Julie is dedicated to meeting individuals and organizations where they are and guiding them toward sustainable growth and well-being.

Her extensive experience across public, private, and nonprofit sectors—spanning schools, churches, correctional facilities, and community sites—has shaped her holistic approach to leadership and service.

Blending mindfulness-based principles with strategic action, Julie empowers others to serve from a place of clarity and care, creating a ripple effect of positive change and resilience within the communities she supports.

Catherine (Draeger) Pederson, Ph.D. is a relational leader, strategic thinker, fiercely compassionate, and strength-based consultant with over 20 years of experience empowering people and organizations to make a meaningful impact in their communities.

She is the CEO of Loving Venti, LLC., a consulting practice that supports small-to-medium sized nonprofits in strengthening their operations and aligning their people to better fulfill their missions.

In addition to her consulting work, Catherine serves as an Adjunct Lecturer at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee’s Helen Bader School of Nonprofit Management and Sustainable Peacebuilding programs. She has held executive roles in nonprofit organizations, including as the Executive Director of the Wisconsin Inmate Education Association, Friedens Community Ministries, and Shielded Hearts, where she led significant initiatives to improve prison education, strengthen food security networks across Milwaukee, and develop a ministry for police families.

Catherine has been recognized with several honors, including the Ten Outstanding Young Americans (TOYA) Award from the United States Junior Chamber (Jaycees) and the Philanthropic 5 Award from United Way of Greater Milwaukee and Waukesha County. She earned her Ph.D. in Leadership, Learning, and Service from Cardinal Stritch University and a Master of Arts in Christian Studies with a focus on leadership from Trinity International University.

She lives in Washington Heights, Milwaukee, WI.

Fiona Yu is the owner of Cascade CPA. Fiona began her career at Ernst & Young and is an accountant by trade with an entrepreneurial spirit at heart. She currently serves on the boards of the Madison Public Library Foundation and Wisconsin Youth Company, and is an active volunteer with Ronald McDonald House and Black Girls Code. Outside of her professional and volunteer commitments, Fiona is the proud mother of an energetic four-and-a-half-year-old daughter and enjoys traveling—especially to her favorite destination, Santiago, Chile.