Christie Pitzer

Christie was appointed to the Board of Directors in November of 2023. She has a Bachelor’s Degree in marketing from Illinois State University and a Master of Science in Management Information Systems from Northern Illinois University. Christie currently works for UW Stout's School of Management, and has taught Business Information Systems and Marketing courses since August of 2020. The majority of her career was spent in Sales and Marketing operations and Business Intelligence, with 10 years at 3M company. She resigned from 3M in 2015 to spend more time with her family, and to work with a local non-profit student organization near Woodbury, Minnesota.

During her time at the non-profit, the organization took hundreds of students ages 13-19 on mission trips all over the country. Christie says she learned so much and saw many students, including her own kids, mature and realized the world is so much bigger than Hudson, Wisconsin.

Since she was a young adult, Christie has volunteered in youth-oriented organizations. As a teen and college young adult, she experienced some very trying times at home. She says others investing and believing in her helped her to make better decisions and find an awesome path and career. Contrary to popular sayings, Christie believes there are no "bad kids," just bad decisions that can be used for good if you learn from them. It's only a failure if you don't learn and apply.

When she took over the Marketing class at UW Stout, Christie searched for a reputable, Menomonie based non-profit that was seeking marketing insights. After reaching out to Kelli, the CEO of Positive Alternatives, they worked together for two semesters with the students providing tremendous insights, in exchange for hands on learning with a real client. After launching the new website and logo, Kelli invited her to join the board. She’s extremely excited to begin her journey with Positive Alternatives!

Christie has been happily married to her husband, Layne, for many years. Their daughter, Tori, is a nurse who is currently pursuing her Doctor of Nursing Practice at Creighton University. Their son, Ethan, is a resident assistant, teaching assistant, and double major in Data Science and Astro Physics at Arizona State University. They love to travel and are very active in their Church. A fun fact about Christie is that she LOVES pickleball and spicy foods!