Bernard Schaber's career in healthcare brought her to Wisconsin, where she started working in hospitals in Milwaukee and moved to the Fox Valley in 1984.[1]
Before entering politics, Bernard Schaber worked as a physical therapist in local hospitals, community nursing homes, in private practice, and in schools. With a passion for the environment, she was active in the Fox River Cleanup Plan. In order to obtain a better understanding of environmental issues, Bernard Schaber returned to school in 1985 to complete an Associate Degree in Natural Resources at Fox Valley Technical College. As a member of the Fox Valley Sierra Group and as Chairperson for Wisconsin’s John Muir Chapter for the Sierra Club, she has been very active in local and statewide natural resources.[1]
In 2008 Bernard Schaber was elected into the Wisconsin State Assembly from the 57th District after defeating Jo Egelhoff in the November general election.[2]
Bernard Schaber won re-election November 2, 2010 defeating Republican challenger Chris Hanson.[3]
Bernard Schaber was re-elected to a third term on November 6, 2012 after receiving a write-in challenger, Brian Garrow. Bernard Schaber received 19,862 or 94% of the votes cast in the 57th Assembly District.[4]
In the 2009–2010 Legislative Session, Bernard Schaber was a member of the Health and Health Care Reform Committee, the Public Health Committee, the Transportation Committee and was Vice-Chair of the Jobs, the Economy, and Small Business Committee.
In the 2011–2012 Legislative Session, Rep. Bernard Schaber was a member of the Jobs, Economy and Small Business Committee, the Transportation Committee, and was the minority ranking member on the Aging and Long-Term Care Committee.[5]
In the 2013–2014 Legislative Session, Bernard Schaber serves on the Jobs, Economy and Mining Committee and is the minority ranking member of the Aging and Long-Term Care Committee, the Transportation Committee and the Joint Survey Committee on Tax Exemptions.[6] In addition, she is a member of the Governor's Council on Highway Safety.
On July 23, 2013 Bernard Schaber announced her campaign for Wisconsin State Senate, challenging long-time incumbent Senator Mike Ellis[7]
On April 11, 2014 Senator Mike Ellis dropped his bid for re-election.[8] Bernard Schaber was defeated by Roger Roth on November 4, 2014.[9] Amanda Stuck was elected to the Wisconsin State Assembly to succeed Bernard Schaber.[10]
In 2015, Bernard Schaber was elected to be a member of the state governing board of Common Cause Wisconsin, the state's largest non-partisan citizen reform advocacy organization with more than 18,000 members and activists. In 2022, she was elected as Co-chair of Common Cause Wisconsin, along with former Republican State Rep. and retired Wisconsin Court of Appeals Judge David Deininger of Monroe, WI.
