Jeff Filipiak is a Milwaukee-area native happy to still be living in and contributing to his native place. As an undergraduate, he attended the University of Wisconsin, receiving Bachelor's Degree in History, English, and the History of Culture: he earned his Ph.D. in American History from the University of Michigan. He has been teaching at MIAD since January 2004.

His dissertation, "Wendell Berry and Wes Jackson on Knowledge and Nature," applied an intellectual history perspective to the history of environmentalism, focusing on the work of two leading proponents of sustainable agriculture. Environmental Studies is a favorite topic of his, which he has also explored in research on organic growers, and in the development of courses at MIAD on "Using Nature Sustainably" and "Food and Power: Why am I eating this?" His first academic article, "'I've Seen It Raining Fire in the Sky': John Denver's Popular Songs and Environmentalist Memory," will be published in Dragoslav Momcilovic, ed., Resounding Pasts: Essays on Literature, Music, and Cultural Memory. He has taught over 50 classes, at seven different institutions, and has presented at eleven conferences. Dr. Filipiak's research also engages topics including Environmental Philosophy and Ethics, representations of nature in Art, and Popular Music / Cultural Studies, and he occasionally writes reviews for Susceptible to Images.

He hopes people keep enjoying all Milwaukee has to offer — including the art scene, the lake, and the snow!