Thomas M. Nelson has been County Executive of Outagamie County, Wisconsin since 2011. He served three terms in the state assembly, including one as majority leader, one of the youngest in state history. He developed his passion for public service from his parents, who founded a Lutheran mission church in Combined Locks, in the shadow of Appleton Coated. Nelson holds degrees from Carleton College (BA) and the Princeton School of Public and International Affairs (MPA). He lives in Appleton, Wisconsin, with his wife, Maria, and their two children, Mary and George, and Lucy, a Yorkshire Terrier.