Who we are

WDBC is a nonpartisan 501(c)(6) business league for the people building Wisconsin’s digital economy — and for the consumers who depend on getting the rules right. We are a small, working team backed by a board drawn from across the state.

Leadership

Ian McCullough

Executive Director

Ian leads WDBC’s policy, research, and membership strategy, and represents Wisconsin’s digital economy before state legislators, agencies, and institutional partners in Madison. He directs the organization’s two-pillar agenda — advancing a Wisconsin digital-dollar framework while pressing for AI consumer protections that work.

MJ Sterling

Director of Policy

MJ leads WDBC’s policy work in Madison and represents the council in state and national forums — including GBBC Blockchain Central DC 2025 and the Wisconsin Digital Policy Forum — and in coalition advocacy such as the Stand With Crypto Wisconsin chapter. Their focus is digital policy that includes the artists, builders, and small operators too often left out.

Board of Directors

WDBC is governed by a volunteer board seated for the 2027 term. Directors serve without compensation.

Ian McCullough

Director · Executive Director

MJ Sterling

Director · Director of Policy

Russell From

Director

Matthew Friedel

Director

We are still seating directors

We are recruiting directors who strengthen both pillars of our work: leaders from Wisconsin banking and finance, software and AI, gaming and creative media, cybersecurity and data protection, higher education, and law — along with people who bring nonprofit governance or statehouse experience. Directors are expected to be active: opening doors, reviewing research, and showing up in Madison.

Ambassadors

Community

Policy that reaches past the largest firms in the room

Ambassadors carry WDBC into the communities furthest from where the rules get written — creators, small operators, and technologists across Wisconsin.

WDBC ambassadors carry the council’s work into the communities we serve — creators, small operators, and technologists across Wisconsin who are building in the digital economy and are often furthest from the rooms where its rules get written. Ambassadors represent WDBC at events, bring their communities’ concerns into our policy process, and help make sure our agenda reflects more than the largest firms in the room.

Our first ambassador cohort is being confirmed now. Get in touch if you want to be part of it.

Governance

WDBC is governed by its board of directors under adopted bylaws, with day-to-day operations led by the Executive Director. As a 501(c)(6) business league we are organized to advance the common business interests of our members — not to benefit any individual member — and we operate on a strictly nonpartisan basis. Our legislative research and bill scoring are published openly, with sources cited to the official record of the Wisconsin State Legislature.

Wisconsin Digital Business Council is a registered DBA of Wisconsin Blockchain Business Council, Inc., a Wisconsin nonprofit corporation and 501(c)(6) business league.

Interested in serving?

If you want to help shape how Wisconsin writes the rules for its digital economy, we would like to talk.

Get in touch