Ben Vondra will take on a management position with the Remediation and Redevelopment (RR) Program of the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR).

Beginning June 20, 2022, Vondra will become the new chief of the State and Federal Programs section stationed in Madison. The State and Federal Programs section is responsible for the administration of the RR Program’s budget, including federal grants, intergovernmental funding agreements, and state-funded projects and programs.

Vondra comes to the DNR from the Wisconsin Department of Administration, where he served as the Volkswagen Diesel Emissions Mitigation Program Administrator, developing and implementing grant programs funded by Wisconsin’s $67 million Volkswagen trust fund. In 2020, Ben was tapped to help implement the governor’s COVID-19 pandemic response and relief grant program, totaling over $900 million in federally funded grants.