BizTimes Milwaukee | February 27, 2023

Back the schools – They need our support

THIS ISSUE of BizTimes Milwaukee includes our second annual Business Cares section, focused on education. A high-quality education for all students in our region will impact their life outcomes immensely. It will help make our community a better place and ensure that we have a healthy and productive future workforce, advancing our region’s growth and ability to compete globally.

You’ll find extensive coverage on this important topic on pages 18-30, including stories on challenges in education continuing after high school, better understanding the Department of Public Instruction’s school report cards, and advocates pushing for changes in choice and charter school funding.

Our education coverage also highlights speakers from our inaugural Milwaukee Education Spotlight. Held on Feb. 23, this event brought more than 300 business community members together with educators to shine a light on successes at high-performing schools. It also offered a chance for attendees to connect with schools and to learn about opportunities to become mentors, board and committee members or partners as we all pursue solutions to our workforce challenges.

This section is part of a month of BizTimes Milwaukee coverage focusing on education and our future workforce. Look for more stories at biztimes.com/ highqualityseats.

The logos on our front cover represent companies and organizations already engaged in supporting Milwaukee schools and the expansion of more high-quality schools seats in our city. We thank them for their support. A portion of their logo investment will be reinvested in education efforts in the city. The logos below represent the schools that benefit from these companies’ support.

We all can agree that our workforce is challenged. The headline on this issue of BizTimes Milwaukee is “Back the Schools” because education is where the rubber meets the road. We’re asking you to find your own way to contribute. Are you willing to help, to get involved, to donate, volunteer or mentor? Increasing the number of high-quality school seats in Milwaukee, in any form, will require more from all of us. Our future workforce needs you now more than ever.

Dan & Kate Meyer

Co-owners, BizTimes Media

presents the 16th annual:

Tuesday, April 4, 2023

2:00-2:30pm – Registration/Networking

2:30-5:00pm – Program followed by cocktails & hors d’oeuvres Brookfield Conference Center

M&A 2023: Navigating the Road Ahead

Make plans to attend the 16th annual M&A Forum on April 4. Designed to equip attendees for the road ahead in this complex economic environment, the conference will feature a keynote conversation on one of the most interesting local deals of 2022, Palermo’s Pizza and Funky Fresh Spring Rolls, followed by a panel with buyers and sellers sharing insights and strategies on how they navigated the M&A landscape.

Keynote conversation:

• Giacomo Fallucca, Chairman of the Board & CEO, Palermo’s Pizza (1)

• Jasper Fallucca, Director of Business Development, Palermo’s Pizza (2)

• TrueMan McGee, Funky Fresh Spring Rolls (3)

Sell-side/Buy-side Panel

From Selling Your Business to Growing Through Acquisitions

Company owners will share their best practices and lessons learned related to building value, timing, managing the transition and other related experiences that will help you navigate through the process of selling and buying a business.

Panelists:

• Mike Harris, Entrepreneur, Principal, Harris Advisors (4)

• Alex Lawton, CEO, The Lawton Standard Co. (5)

• Vince Shiely, Partner, Lubar & Co. (6)

• Kate Westfall, Shareholder, Reinhart Boerner Van Deuren s.c. (7)

Moderator: Ann Hanna, Managing Director & Founder, Taureau Group (8)

Breakout Sessions to Follow Presentations

• Lessons from the Rearview Mirror – A buyer’s reflection on the journey behind them.

• A Roadmap to Higher Business Value

• Emerging legal trends in M&A that every buyer and seller should consider The program ends with a networking reception, where you can interact with the speakers and your peers. Whether you are a buyer, a seller, or a seasoned M&A professional, this conference will provide valuable insights and tools to help you succeed.

Sponsors: Event Partner:

Special Reports

Many companies that are hosting corporate events for the first time since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic are going all out to show their employees a good time, and to bring them together.

Evers pitches $290 million plan for American Family Field upgrades

By Arthur Thomas, staff writer

Gov. Tony Evers is proposing to use $290 million from the state’s surplus to fund improvements to American Family Field in Milwaukee, which opened in 2001 and cost $392 million to build.

The plan was included in Evers’ state budget proposal. The state would make a one-time cash

BY THE NUMBERS

payment of $290 million to the Southeast Wisconsin Professional Baseball Park District. The money, along with existing funds at the district, would be used by the district to meet its stadium maintenance obligations under its lease with the Brewers.

Those obligations include

updates and maintenance to the stadium, such as repairs to the retractable roof system, new boilers and fixes to expansion joints. The work is less of a single, major construction project and more the ongoing repair and replacement of aging systems and updates to meet current building standards. A study done by Venue Solutions Group for the Brewers points to around $428 million in projects to be done over the course of the lease to keep American Family Field up to date with Major League Baseball standards.

Because Evers’ proposal is for a cash payment, the state would save by not having to turn to bonding or borrowing. Additionally, the stadium district will be able to invest the funds it does not immediately need, providing a return to help fund projects in future years.

In exchange for the state support, the Brewers would sign a non-relocation agreement and commit to another 20 years at American Family Field, keeping the team in Milwaukee through the end of 2043. The current lease would allow the team to leave as soon as 2030.

In announcing the plan, Evers noted it would use “just a small portion of our state’s historic surplus.” Wisconsin has a roughly $7 billion budget surplus. The governor also said the team’s presence will generate around $400 million

in tax revenue through 2043.

The proposal, however, will face an uncertain path forward as part of Evers’ budget proposal and with Republicans in control of the Legislature. In the most recent budget cycle, Republicans essentially passed their own budget for Evers to sign, dropping many of his proposals.

Assembly Speaker Robin Vos expressed frustration with Evers, saying there was not any attempt at collaboration before the stadium proposal was unveiled. But Vos did say both sides of the aisle would continue to work on keeping the Brewers in Milwaukee.

“When the Bucks had a similar situation, Democrats and Republicans worked together to find a solution on the best path forward,” said Vos. “I look forward to working with colleagues on both sides of the aisle to ensure that the Brewers stay in (Wisconsin).”

Rich Schlesinger, president of business operations for the Brewers, said the team is committed to working with policymakers on both sides of the aisle to keep the stadium up to date and the team in Milwaukee. He noted the stadium district is the primary owner of American Family Field and is responsible for major capital repairs and improvements.

The proposal from Evers does not include any contributions from local governments to help finance the improvements. n

American Family Field in Milwaukee

Wauwatosa-based Briggs & Stratton plans to lay off 160 workers at its Wauwatosa plant and will relocate two of the facility’s production lines to Alabama and Missouri.

in f cus

Edging out the competition

ALISON GORDEE carefully guides a power saw through a sheet of oriented strand board during an annual skill competition for Wisconsin’s top construction apprentices.

Held at Washington County Fair Park, the day-long event convened 33 third-, fourth- and fifth-year apprentices representing five technical colleges in the trades of carpentry, electrical, HVAC and plumbing. Their skills were put to the test in a four-hour practical competition followed by a written exam.

Gordee, who’s an apprentice with Fond du Lac-based Steve Wirtz Builders Inc., took first place in carpentry, making her one of four Wisconsin apprentices who will compete at the National Craft Championships in Orlando, Florida, on March 16.

Now in its third decade, the Associated Builders and Contractors Apprenticeship Skill Competition aims to give industry up and comers the opportunity to step outside of their comfort zones and show what they’ve learned on the job.

“A number of apprentices say they are nervous before the event but then come to appreciate the new skills and confidence they acquire as a result. Most of them just love it and many who are eligible come back for a second year,” said Leigh Emrick, apprenticeship director for ABC of Wisconsin. n

— Maredithe Meyer

REV UP

GENO.ME

LEADERSHIP:

Britt Gottschalk, founder and CEO

HEADQUARTERS: Milwaukee

WHAT IT DOES:

Links genomic and electronic health record data in an open marketplace

FOUNDED: 2020

EMPLOYEES: 8

NEXT GOALS:

Expanding client base, boosting sales

FUNDING: $3 million

Geno.Me focuses on growing client base as company nears close of seed II round

By Ashley Smart, staff writer

MILWAUKEE-BASED biotech startup Geno.Me is focused on expanding its client base and boosting sales as it nears the close of its seed II funding round, which has a cap of more than $3 million.

Geno.Me links genomic and electronic health record data in an open marketplace, which allows medical researchers to more easily access data and patients to have more transparency and control of the use of their personal health and medical data, according to Britt Gottschalk, the company’s founder and chief executive officer. Patients who share their data are compensated.

Gottschalk has experience as a management consultant. She founded Geno.Me during the COVID-19 pandemic after she identified inefficiencies related to patient data transfer and accessibility in the American health care system.

“The whole idea behind Geno.Me is to basically give people power back over their data,” said Gottschalk. “You haven’t always had the ability to have this much control over your data as you might have perceived.”

The company not only wants users to have control over their health data, but also to put that data to good use. Geno.Me can help users better understand how their inherited and environmental health care characteristics could affect them.

“There’s not a ton of research being done based on the viability of a medical record in tandem with a genetic report,” said Gottschalk. “The medical record and genetic report tell very different sides of your health story.”

She explained the issue is not necessarily gaining access to medical records but having so much medical information in a multitude of places that makes it difficult for people to take control over their own data.

“Let’s say you move to Arizona, and now there’s only one hospital network. Being able to get your medical data reported accurately into that new system is really a challenge because those systems a lot of times do not talk to each other,” said Gottschalk.

Milwaukee-based Gateway Capital was the lead investor in Geno.Me’s $500,000 seed

round in 2021. Two angel investors provided $50,000 each while Gateway Capital invested $400,000. Last April, Geno.Me launched its seed II round with a goal of $3.25 million. As of Feb. 1, the company had secured $2.5 million.

The additional funding will allow Geno. Me to add some more key employees. The company named Shawn Belling as its first chief technology officer in December. There will also be additions to the company’s product development team.

The Geno.Me platform officially launched last October with more than 40 active users. The company has been working with researchers from the Medical College of Wisconsin to flesh out the platform’s features. Eventually, users will have new abilities including being able to see what organization has accessed their data and for what purpose.

“Being able to really put our heads down and focus on working with the companies that need our services and really growing the sales side and client base is front of mind for me,” said Gottschalk. “Over the last year, we went from having no platform to having an operational platform, and now we just want to get out there and show companies this is something that can be really valuable for your researchers, employees and patients.” n

Britt Gottschalk

LILA ARYAN PHOTOGRAPHY

63%

SUBORDINATED FINANCING WITH A FORGIVABLE LOAN COMPONENT

First-Ring Industrial Redevelopment Enterprise (F.I.R.E.) is a regional Community Development Entity (CDE), formed in 2007, strategically focused to provide subordinated gap financing to mixeduse developments, commercial, and industrial development projects and expansions throughout the Southeast Wisconsin historic industrial corridor (Kenosha, Racine, and Milwaukee counties).

New Markets Tax Credit Program

• Proceeds are used to fund investments (typically structured as low-interest rate with a forgivable loan component) in qualifying businesses, nonprofits, or commercial real estate developments.

• Proceeds can be used to fund about 20% of a project’s costs and can be paired with owner’s equity, borrowed funds, or other grant/public funds.

• Ideal for projects of at least $5 million. A $5 million allocation would provide a partial forgivable loan to the project, which can be subordinate to other debt and have a low-interest rate, 7-year interest-only term, and other flexible features.

Refer questions and prospective projects to John Stibal at jfstibal@gmail.com

Passenger traffic at Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport grew 20.4% in 2022 to 5.45 million.

of Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce members expect profit increases for their companies this year, according to a recent survey.

The metropolitan Milwaukee manufacturing index for January was 50.24 up from 45.42 in December. A reading above 50 suggests the sector is growing.

The average hourly wage for private sector jobs in Wisconsin was $30.74 in December, up 5.45% from $29.15 in December 2021.

Wisconsin companies exported $27.4 billion in goods to other countries in 2022, an increase of 10.4%.

The latest area economic data.

MEET THE

JOEL QUADRACCI

Chairman, president and CEO Quad/Graphics SUSSEX

Fifteen years after joining the company his father founded, Joel Quadracci took over Sussex-based Quad/Graphics as its president and chief executive officer in 2006. Today, Quadracci guides the printing company’s strategic growth amid many industry disruptions. Under his leadership, the company has diversified beyond print to offer marketing, content and creative production and integrated media management services for its clients. Quadracci serves on the board of directors for Plexus Corp., Pixability Inc., Road America Inc., the National Association of Manufacturers, and the Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce, and on the board of trustees for the Milwaukee Art Museum.

Education:

Bachelor’s, Skidmore College

What was your first job, and what did you learn from it?

“I got my first job when I was 16, so I could drive myself, and it was with Quad. I worked at our Lomira plant, which is now the largest printing plant in the Western Hemisphere. I worked with the electrical engineering department to help bring everything up to snuff and turn it into a functioning plant. It was a wonderful summer job because I got to see what it takes to bring a large manufacturing plant online once the building is built. I did everything from helping them rewire the lights to actually installing equipment, which gave me a deep understanding of infrastructure for large manufacturing plants, and that’s been very helpful in my career with Quad.”

What piece of advice has had the most significant impact on your career?

“This comes from my father, Harry Quadracci, who founded Quad. He said, ‘Business is pretty logical. If something seems too complicated, it’s probably because it is too complicated, and it needs to be simplified.’ I have found that to be very helpful advice, and it’s been a tenet at Quad, too.”

If you could have dinner with any two business leaders, who would you choose and why?

“I would want to have dinner with my father and Dick Burke (co-founder of Trek Bicycle Corp.). My father, who was also the founder of Quad, and Dick, who was one of our first outside members and then became chairman of the board after my father passed away. I would love to talk to them about what the world looks like today versus what they thought it would look like when they looked into the future 20 years ago.”

What are some of your favorite destinations or places to visit?

“We love to travel, and there are so many great places out there that it’s hard to have favorites! It could be anywhere from Iceland to the Amalfi Coast to India to the Middle East. I’m a fan of visiting places that are very different from where we live.”

What’s your hobby or passion?

“I race cars, and I am a pilot. In fact, this summer I was at what’s known as The Greatest Aviation Celebration in the World, right here in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. These are two of my biggest hobbies, but I have a lot of them. I love to mix it up and try lots of different things.”

What was your first car? How long did you drive it for?

“The first car I bought for myself was an orange 1983 Fiat spider convertible, which was quite used when I got it. I bought it when I was in college, and I still have it. I want to get it back on the road again. It’s a great car.”

If you could take a one-year sabbatical, what would you do?

“I would travel around parts of the world on a sailboat. Especially, I’d like to sail around the whole Mediterranean, and then work my way further astray from there.”

What advice would you give to a young professional?

“Never forget that you are your own brand and investing in that brand is super important for the long term. Decisions you make now do matter. Show commitment to your job and to people. Be a good people person. Do what you say you’re doing. This is fundamental to the core of your brand. And remember that brands are hard to build and very easy to tear down.”

What is one thing you would change about Wisconsin to make it even better?

“I would ask us to significantly improve the segregation in the city (of Milwaukee) with truly holistic approaches to the current challenges. It’s a problem that has persisted for a long time, and there are a lot of good efforts, but we should be better than where we are today.”

Is there a nonprofit cause that has special meaning to you?

“We’ve made a lot of investments in the communities that Quad is in. Today, I’m pivoting towards supporting many different efforts that I hope will help impact the inner city of Milwaukee. As I mentioned earlier, this is an area where I think we can be better.”

What is the biggest risk you have ever taken?

“Taking on this job as CEO of such a big company, at a young age, a year before the Great Recession, and just as our industry was about to be really disrupted. That was a watershed moment in my life.”

What has you most excited about the future?

“I’m excited about Quad’s future because of the commitment we’ve always had to figuring it out, no matter how tough. I see us at a tipping point in our journey. Our evolution to a marketing experience company is about thinking around corners and anticipating the needs of tomorrow’s marketers today. I’m very excited to see where we’re going to go.”

“This comes from my father, Harry Quadracci, who founded Quad. He said, ‘Business is pretty logical. If something seems too complicated, it’s probably because it is too complicated, and it needs to be simplified.’”

This Q&A is an extended profile from Wisconsin 275, a special publication from BizTimes Media highlighting the most influential business leaders in the state. Visit: biztimes.com/wisconsin275 for more.

the Good LIFE

Seeing things through a different lens

By Cara Spoto, staff writer

Tim Keane has always loved experimentation.

Working in the world of marketing – first for GE Healthcare and then as the founder of a direct marketing company – the Milwaukee-area businessman learned how to test and tweak campaigns until he got the desired outcome.

Today, the former Marquette University business professor and founder of Brookfield-based Golden Angels Investors, is putting that love for experimentation into his photography.

“For me, creativity is always about experimentation,” said Keane who rediscovered his love for photography about 15 years ago. “You try to present a unique vision of something that perhaps somebody hasn’t seen before, or that makes them look at a person in a different way than maybe they have.”

Keane has produced dozens of professional

portraits, a bevy of travelogue images from various parts of America as well as an array of artistic photos. Most recently, the photographer has been documenting the lives of workers at Master Lube oil change stations in Billings, Montana, where employees are given free classes, coaching and mentorship so they can eventually leave the garage to pursue a different vocation.

“They are actually teaching people how to be successful enough to quit,” said Keane, who plans to publish a photo book about the program.

Keane said he wasn’t sure what to expect when embarking on the project.

“The work is tough. It’s hot and grimy. If it is 105 (degrees) outside, it’s 120 under the car … but (the workers) really like it,” he said. “I don’t know if this book will find an audience. I hope it might. I do hope that what it does is inspire somebody else to do the same thing.” n

LOUIS HABECK

GREG GORMAN

FEATURE

Following pandemic-related layoffs, Milwaukee-based Derse bounces back with 250 new hires last year

By Ashley Smart, staff writer

NOT TOO LONG AGO, a businessperson wouldn’t think twice about attending a trade show packed to the brim with other guests. That changed when the COVID-19 pandemic shook the trade show industry to its core as most business travel was canceled, and people skirted away from gathering in large groups.

For Milwaukee-based Derse Inc., one of the largest designers and builders of trade show exhibits in the country, the pandemic resulted in mass layoffs. In June of 2020, with business at a standstill, the company laid off 87 employees, which was almost a fifth of its total workforce at the time.

While Derse took a hit at the start of the pandemic, the company has since rebounded and had its best sales year ever in 2022, bringing in $205 million and employing upwards of 550 people. Out of those 550 positions, 250 were filled in 2022.

“As we navigated the reopening of the economy, our business came roaring back and we had to both take employees off of furlough as well as hire new employees,” said Brett Haney, chief executive officer of Derse.

In 2019, Derse generated $171 million in sales and employed about 490 employees, including 150 at its Milwaukee headquarters, and at its other facilities in the Chicago area, Pittsburgh, Dallas and Las Vegas. All of those locations remained open throughout the pandemic.

“We ultimately had a lot of confidence that the industry would

return,” said Haney.

Derse is not the only organization with hope for the future of the trade show industry.

PwC estimates the business-to-business trade show market will return to its pre-pandemic market value of roughly $15 billion by 2026. That’s after the segment contracted by about 65% to $5.6 billion in 2020, according to the firm’s 2022 Global Entertainment & Media Outlook.

While the trade show industry was on hold for several months, Derse kept busy by launching a virtual events group and acquiring two competitors. Those firms were Chicago-based Nichols Display Group and Columbus, Ohio-based Exhibitpro.

“We’ve had growth as we’ve come out of COVID really from three factors. One, most of our significant clients before COVID are spending more money with us now than they did before. Two, we’ve won a lot of new clients this year. Three is acquisition,” said Haney.

Derse manages exhibit programs for approximately 500 clients at more than 8,000 individual events each year. The kinds of exhibits the company builds range from tabletops to complex, double-deck exhibits with multimedia presentations, special lighting and fully operational equipment or products.

While most companies are looking to save money in 2023 to combat the rising cost of goods and labor, Haney said one area businesses are not looking to skimp on is face-to-face marketing.

“We’ve got so much pent-up demand for the type of work we do that our forecast for 2023 is

Haney

Derse has designed exhibits for Badger Meter, Clarios, SentinelOne and many others.

that we’re going to have a much bigger year than 2022,” he said. “A lot of what our customers have reported back to us is their marketing budgets have shifted away

from things like digital and social media and there’s more money coming into what we do.”

Following record lows in 2021, marketing budgets rose to 9.5% of revenues in 2022 but still lag pre-pandemic levels, according to a survey of chief marketing officers conducted by tech research and consulting firm Gartner Inc.

A CONSTANT EVOLUTION

Derse opened in 1948 and was originally a sign painting business based in the Milwaukee garage of founder Jim Derse’s mother. Over the years, Derse moved into making billboards and exterior signage before eventually starting to build trade show exhibits.

Like any industry, makers of trade show booths and exhibits have also had to adapt and keep up with modern demands. Haney explained a lot of trade show booths that were constructed 20

to 30 years ago were very heavy and made from wood and metal. The industry continues to evolve and use more lightweight solutions, like fabric. Technology has also become a more significant part of booths through the use of LED screens, lighting and other components.

Derse’s ability to leverage its decades of experience and meld that with the modern desires of clients has allowed the company to bring customers back.

“One of the clients we recently won back was GE Healthcare. The scale of their booth is almost the size of two football fields,” said Haney.

Looking ahead, Haney said he expects to add another 50 to 60 jobs within the next year, with half of those positions located in Milwaukee. This is in addition to the more than 250 employees Derse has hired in the past year through -

out the country.

As the company continues to welcome new employees across its entire footprint, training and integrating the new workforce will be front of mind.

“For me, my priority in 2023 is reinvesting in our employees, making sure they’ve got the training and support they need,” said Haney. “We hired 250 people last year. That takes a lot of work to integrate those people into the company and make sure they’re successful.

Derse is also moving forward with previous plans to open a location for building and servicing exhibits overseas. Where that location will be has yet to be decided.

“That’s certainly on the priority list and my expectation is within the next couple of years we’ll have our first foothold in terms of European expansion,” said Haney. n

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We’ve had growth as we’ve come out of COVID really from three factors. One, most of our significant clients before COVID are spending more money with us now than they did before. Two, we’ve won a lot of new clients this year. Three is acquisition.”

— Brett Haney, Derse

the Interview

VC 414 LAUNCHED at the start of the year with one mission in mind: to help underrepresented founders grow their businesses and create generational wealth. Founded by venture capitalist and angel investor Jennifer Abele and former BMO Harris executive Raquel Filmanowicz, the city’s newest early-stage venture capital firm is the product of several years of personal interest in helping founders who are often overlooked for VC funding, including women, people of color, veterans and members of the LGBTQ+ community. Abele, who is married to former Milwaukee County Executive Chris Abele and has spent the bulk of her career in the realms of government and higher education, became interested in entrepreneurship and venture capitalism later in life. She has made several private investments, including backing Milwaukee-based COnovate Inc. and Milwaukee-based Xena Workwear. Filmanowicz, who spent 11 years at BMO Harris Bank in roles involving corporate philanthropy, commercial lending and venture investment, also developed a passion for entrepreneurship later in life. BizTimes Milwaukee reporter Ashley Smart recently sat down with Abele and Filmanowicz to discuss the founding of VC 414 and their goals for the firm. Below are portions of the interview, edited for length and clarity:

What sparked your passion for venture capitalism?

Abele: “In serving disadvantaged communities and looking at how we can build economic prosperity, we realized to truly make an impact, we needed to go further upstream and give people the tools to build wealth, to build their own economic prosperity.”

Filmanowicz: “Getting a chance to get to know these entrepreneurs and understanding their journey was so rewarding and really touched my heart. I was like, ‘I want to do more. I want to go deeper and help them grow and scale and be successful.’”

How did you solidify what VC 414’s mission and priorities would be?

Filmanowicz: “We both knew that we wanted to establish a firm that supported women and underrepresented founders, so straight

Founders and managing partners VC 414

313 N. Plankinton Ave., Suite 212, Milwaukee vc414.com

out of the gate we were set on that. Our careers have varied in so many areas that to pinpoint it to a specific industry or sector would be doing us a disservice, especially since we’re kind of narrowing the funnel as far as who we want to invest in. We decided to be industry agnostic to be able to look at all kinds of deals. Jennifer has so much experience in higher ed and utilities, and me, I’m the finance and the banking. We also knew we would bring on a set of advisors that would be industry experts. We have a deep bench.”

Abele: “There articles kept coming across my desk about how women were only getting 2% of venture capital despite it being record-breaking years in terms of venture capital being put out there. And then you see Black and Latinx founders just being sorely underfunded. The data is out there. It’s very clear.

“Meanwhile, there’s data on the other side that shows womenled companies have higher performance and it’s the same with diverse teams. The more we talked about it, we realized this mission is actually data driven. Why wouldn’t we want to put funds behind companies that show better results?”

What makes this new partnership so special?

Abele: “We believe that (Raquel) is the first Latina general partner in a venture capital firm in Wisconsin. In the United States, there are less than 30. This is actually a really big deal that she’s half-owner of

Jennifer Abele and Raquel Filmanowicz

this company. It’s pretty groundbreaking.”

Filmanowicz: “We have a really great team that brings a lot to the table. We’re looking to change the face of venture capital. Part of our tagline is venture with a conscience. We want to support these underrepresented founders in every aspect that they need.”

What goes into starting a venture capital firm?

Abele: “I think starting a venture capital firm has some similar things to starting any company. I feel from that perspective, we can relate to a lot of founders that come through the door. We’ve been through a lot of those steps now ourselves. It includes creating a financial model, a performa for the company, hiring human resources and legal. Legal for venture capital is very complex. Then there’s, of course, thinking about marketing and all your different tech. A lot of the standard buckets you think about.”

Filmanowicz: “Being an institutional investor, it was helpful to have that experience as far as what institutions look for when they’re considering investing in a firm. It was just taking that experience from the bank and using it to inform our process as far as pitching, our decks and all of that.”

Is there a timeline for when VC 414 will make its first investments?

Abele: “I think you’ll see announcements from us in Q2 (of 2023).”

How did your past experiences prepare you for leading VC 414?

Filmanowicz: “My background had mostly been in philanthropy on behalf of (BMO). I spent eight years making grants and investments on behalf of the bank to nonprofits. I always thought

that was my passion and what I wanted to do, but after I moved into a commercial lending role, it made me realize if people knew how to establish a company and create generational wealth to keep them from falling into dire situations, that’s the solution to so many problems. I feel like this chapter of my life is just an evolution of my commitment to communities and helping Black and brown folks uplift themselves.”

Abele: “I think for me, over the course of my career, I’ve led and empowered a lot of different teams. Something that was consistent through those experiences was I was heavily involved in the initiation of a project, getting it off the ground and then stepping away and allowing somebody else to execute that. As a result of that experience, I feel like I have a knack for identifying peoples’ skills as it relates to successfully getting something off the ground. That’s really relevant when you’re evaluating an entrepreneur’s ability to get the job done.”

What’s your long-term goal for VC 414?

Filmanowicz: “We’re looking to build something for a really long time. When Jennifer and I were thinking about starting VC 414, we did talk to a lot of key female leaders. They’d say something like, ‘I’ve always been interested in venture (capital) but I don’t understand the mechanics, and I want to learn more.’ That was such a recurring theme that I told Jennifer VC 414 should be a vehicle by which we educate people as well. The more we can equip women to make decisions about investing and the future, I think we will help change a lot of dynamics.”

Abele: “We want to de-mystify venture for people and engage more people in it. That’s how we build the ecosystem in Milwaukee.” n

Apartment tower building boom in Milwaukee will test the market

The Goll Mansion apartment tower, slated to be constructed at 1550 N. Prospect Ave., is just one of the latest high-end apartment towers to be proposed in and near downtown Milwaukee in the past year.

IF YOU’VE spent any time in downtown Milwaukee lately, you’ve likely noticed the bevy of new high-end apartment towers, and several cranes building more of them.

Projects likes the 35-story, 310unit 7Seventy7, which opened to tenants in 2018, and the 25-story, 259-unit, mass timber Ascent at 700 E. Kilbourn Ave., which began welcoming residents this past summer, were some of the most recent developments to quench local professionals’ thirst for luxury downtown apartment living.

Since then, developers have pitched, or are in the process of constructing six more high-end apartment towers in or near downtown. The 44-story, 322-unit Couture at 909 E. Michigan St., and the 31-story, 333-unit Hines apartment tower at 333 N. Water St. are under construction and will together provide well-heeled Milwaukeeans with 655 new luxury units to choose from by mid-2024. Add the less soaring – but still impressive –nine-story, 251-unit Nova development that New Land Enterprises expects to complete this summer at 1237 N. Van Buren St., and that number climbs to 906 units.

Then there are the projects

Milwaukee-based Katz Properties Inc. kicked off 2023 with a large property acquisition, purchasing a portfolio of 11 multifamily complexes in the Milwaukee area from Blankstein Enterprises Inc. for more than $82.5 million.

CBRE’s Patrick Gallagher, Matson Holbrook and Gretchen Richards represented Blankstein Enterprises and several affiliated entities in the transaction.

State property records indicate Katz Properties paid $82,551,000 for the properties, located in Greenfield, Oak Creek, Shorewood and Milwaukee. The largest properties were the 196-unit Sunburst Apartments in Greenfield, which sold for $18.2 million, and the 184-unit Newbury Place apartments in Oak Creek, which sold for $16.1 million. The 99-unit Oakland Manor apartments in Shorewood were sold for $13.7 million.

Katz also bought the Einstein Bros. Bagels building at 4301 N. Oakland Ave. in Shorewood for $1 million and two duplexes in the 2600 block of North Stowell Avenue for $639,000.

FEATURED DEAL: KATZ PROPERTIES ACQUIRES 11-PROPERTY MULTIFAMILY PORTFOLIO IN $82.5 MILLION DEAL

PRICE: $82.5 million

LOCATIONS: Milwaukee, Shorewood, Greenfield, Oak Creek

SELLER: Blankstein Enterprises Inc. of Milwaukee

BUYER: Katz Properties Inc. of Milwaukee

SOLOMON CORDWELL BUENZ

that have yet to break ground – the 192-unit, 25-story Goll Mansion apartment tower slated to begin construction this summer at 1550 N. Prospect Ave.; the 25-story, 310unit Renaissance Place apartment tower planned for 1451 N. Prospect Ave.; and the 28-story, 296-unit mass timber apartment tower, dubbed The Edison, planned along the Milwaukee River at West State and North Edison streets – that could deliver another 798 units between early 2025 and early 2026.

The development boom has some real estate experts wondering if Milwaukee is close to oversupplying the luxury apartment market downtown.

Discussing the issue this month, Gard Pecor, a senior market analyst with CoStar Group, pointed to a recent report by the company showing record multifamily construction across the Milwaukee market, including in the typically underserved luxury sector.

Despite the slow growth in workforce or “three-star” market-rate rental units, which have hovered between 1,000 and 1,500 new units per year since 2016, the report found that close to 3,900 four-and-five-star units were under construction at the end of 2022. That’s the highest quarterly figure on record in Milwaukee.

The good news: In addition to the property tax revenue these developments will create, Milwaukee still has a vacancy rate of only 3.6% for such high-end units. That means there’s still room for inventory growth.

“There may be a short-term supply shock, but it’s not anything that is overly concerning. I think there is demand for it, it will just take a bit longer to lease up,” Pecor said. “Overall, I think this is really positive development for Milwaukee. We have more apartment towers under construction than Indianapolis, which is growing faster than us.”

But could the spike in development jar investors?

Andy Hunt, Vieth director of the Center for Real Estate at Marquette University, said that’s unlikely.

“These are all top-tier devel -

opers. They know what they are doing. Luxury takes more risk, but the money behind these deals is probably pretty smart money,” Hunt said.

With that said, if all the projects that are either currently underway or in the planning stage end up coming to market, downtown Milwaukee could be at a tipping point for luxury high rises, Hunt noted.

Looking at The Edison, the latest high rise to be proposed, Hunt said the development is an example of a project that “could be pushing the limit” in the downtown market.

“It is coming up at a really interesting time,” he said. “It’s a great location. It will probably be successful, but there is that question of, ‘What is going to happen to the development that comes after it?’”

Tim Gokhman, managing director of New Land Enterprises, said the surge in apartment tower proposals doesn’t really impact his development decisions, especially since many of those projects – including New Land’s own Renaissance Place project – have yet to start the permitting phase.

Regardless of that, Gokhman said the time has come for Milwaukeeans to stop fretting about whether the city can handle such new developments.

“I think it is time to move past that mentality,” he said. “Milwaukee has grown significantly. Ten years ago, it was a different story, but we have become a different city. One project more does not change the ability of the city to absorb these units.” n

RITE-HITE’S NEW WALKER’S POINT HEADQUARTERS

Contractors are putting the finishing touches on construction of the second half of Rite-Hite’s new corporate headquarters campus in Milwaukee’s Walker’s Point neighborhood.

The manufacturer began work on its new headquarters in late 2020, wrapping up construction of the first building, HQ South, last summer. The 119,485-square-foot building houses engineering and light industrial operations for one of the company’s divisions as well as space for subsidiary Arbon Equipment Corp. There’s also a technical training center that will host more than 500 technicians a year.

The larger of the two buildings, the 173,610-square-foot HQ North building, will be completed soon. In addition to office space, it will feature a “customer experience center” as well as a full commercial kitchen for catering and lunch service needs.

More than 300 Rite-Hite employees will work at the 9.5-acre campus, which also has a four-level parking deck. The company employs more than 2,200 people worldwide.

CARA SPOTO Reporter

P / 414-336-7116

E / cara.spoto@biztimes.com

T / @CaraSpoto

Educators seek ways to fix Milwaukee’s leaky pipeline to college graduation

BY LELAH BYRON, staff writer

It was during her junior year at James Madison High School in Milwaukee that Decarieana Ozier came to a striking realization: Many of her friends would not be going to college.

At her school, Ozier said it seemed like students were sorted into two categories: those who were deemed college-ready, and those who were not. With a 4.0 GPA, Ozier was part of the former cohort, which she said received special attention like academic advising and class parties. But the latter group was left adrift, she says.

“(Some friends) told me they didn’t feel smart enough or that they didn’t have the money for college,” Ozier said. “It was so unfair.”

Some of her fellow classmates went straight into the workforce after high school, Ozier said. Others just dropped out.

Undergirding Ozier’s story are sobering statistics about the reality of Milwaukee’s K-12 through college pipeline. Less than 50% of graduates from public high schools in Milwaukee enroll in postsecondary education immediately following graduation, and only one-third of college students in the region graduate within the expected time frame, according to a recent report from the nonpartisan Wisconsin Policy Forum.

This trend – driven by financial limitations, subpar academic preparedness, socio-emotional challenges and worsened by the COVID-19 pan-

demic – has negative implications not only for the students who fall behind, but also for the local workforce and economy.

It’s what Mark Mone, chancellor of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, describes as a “vicious cycle.”

“Public education is the foundation of democracy,” Mone said. “If Wisconsin doesn’t have well-educated and trained employees, then we won’t be able to attract and retain companies, and the economy won’t strengthen, and we’ll be left behind.”

To fortify what the Policy Forum’s December 2022 College Material report deems a “leaky” education pipeline from high school to college, Wisconsin higher education institutions are shifting from a culture of competition towards collaboration with each other and nonprofit organizations.

Changing a business model

Now in her second semester of Lakeland University’s Milwaukee Co-Op year, Ozier plans to pursue degrees in zoology, business and art. The tuition-free Milwaukee Co-Op program combines college courses with part-time paid work at area employers.

“Lakeland’s Milwaukee campus is right by the zoo. … I see myself working there and finding out new things about animals,” Ozier said.

During her first semester of the program, Ozier developed a community library at a local resource center for children.

“I realized that the kids didn’t have a library, but they had piles and piles of books,” Ozier said, adding that after working with the center’s budget and building shelves, she “took the time to organize them all from A through Z.”

An extension of Lakeland’s Cooperative Education program, the Milwaukee Co-op year provides students with a 100% tuition-funded first year of college, along with tuition-funded “pathways” for a second, third and fourth year. After year one, students have several options in front of them, including earning a two-year or four-year degree from Lakeland in Milwaukee or at Lakeland’s main campus in Sheboygan County; transferring to another college such as MATC; or continuing into the workforce.

Beth Borgen, president of Lakeland University, is a firm believer that high school graduates shouldn’t have to choose between work and college. With Milwaukee CoOp, there’s a way to do both.

“We’ve completely changed our business model

ELORA HENNESSEY,

to build risk-free pathways for students who otherwise may not have considered college,” said Borgen. “We created a daytime experience in Milwaukee, where a cohort of students come together and have breakfast in the morning with a faculty member who then helps get them off to work. As part of the program, they are aligned with employers, earn credit and also take a couple classes.”

The Milwaukee Co-Op program is just one of many initiatives that have taken shape in recent years to close the widening gaps in college enrollment and completion among Milwaukee’s youth.

A completion crisis

Although overall high school completion rates for Milwaukee students steadily increased to 70% in 2019, that progress appears to have been reversed over the course of the pandemic, as completion rates dropped to 64% in 2021, according to the Policy Forum report, which used data from the state Department of Public Instruction on public schools in Milwaukee, including district and charter schools.

When it comes to the next step in the pipeline, enrollment in college, the data shows a drop-off like that of high school completion rates. The cohort of Milwaukee students completing high school in four years in 2021 saw approximately 37.3% of its members enroll in a college by the first fall after graduation. That’s below pre-pandemic levels, the highest of which was 48.5% in 2017.

Explaining the crisis of high school completion and college enrollment is no simple task, yet experts offer gaps in the labor market as an important factor.

“With unemployment at historic lows in recent years, the strong labor market may have lowered the real or perceived need for further education in the eyes of high school graduates and lured them directly into the workforce,” the Policy Forum states.

It’s for that reason that Mone noted, “the mindset around going to college has to start really young.”

“Right now, you can earn $35,000 - $45,000 a year right out of high school. But in reality, if you want to have stability in your life and maybe even raise a family, that’s not a lot of money, and you’re capped without further education,” he said. “We know that individuals with college degrees earn twice the amount what high school graduates earn over a lifetime.”

Even if a high school student has a strong support system, it’s a lot of work to matriculate through the education pipeline, said Allison Wagner, founding executive director of nonprofit AllIn Milwaukee. The nonprofit’s goal is to see more high-achieving, low-income students complete college with minimal debt. Its strategy is to provide wraparound support from a student’s senior year of high school through their matriculation

into the Milwaukee workforce.

“All of the financial aspects, the social and cultural challenges and academic preparation, there are just so many pieces of it,” Wagner said.

A separate Wisconsin Policy Forum report in April 2022 determined that state lawmakers have not prioritized financial aid in recent state budgets. The report also found that Wisconsin was trailing other states in how much it spends on financial aid grants per student. In 2020, the state spent $541 per undergraduate student, almost half the national average of $980.

“The price of college has skyrocketed 150% since 1980 and Pell Grants cover far less than what they used to. And here in Wisconsin, what we see is the average college student graduates with $32,000 in debt,” Wagner said.

In addition, although the data shows recent improvements, the lowest rates of degree completion are found among students enrolled in degree or certificate programs of fewer than four years, Pell Grant recipients, male students, Black students and Hispanic students.

To bolster the overall odds of degree completion for those groups of students, education leaders say financial and emotional support are key.

‘Committed to each other’

As Lakeland’s head leader, Borgen abides by her “three C’s” – college, career and community. But there’s another ‘C’ she’s been working on in recent years.

“We’re all competing for students,” Borgen said. “But I don’t want to compete, I want to collaborate.”

Collaboration was not always a strategy for colleges and universities in the region, Mone said.

“We were an island. We didn’t reach out to other colleges or high schools, and we didn’t care,” Mone said.

That changed in 2014, when the leaders of UWM, Milwaukee Area Technical College and Milwaukee Public Schools joined forces for the first time.

“We were all new and started the same month of July of 2014, so we sat down, had breakfast and started talking about our hopes and dreams for the city and for our students,” said Vicki Martin, president of MATC. “We asked, ‘How can we make sure that we take care of those leaks between our three institutions, where we’re the three largest public institutions with the most student diversity?’”

From those queries, M³ (pronounced M-cubed) was born.

“We are committed to each other,” Mone said. “We took a blood oath, cut our hands and shook them. I can show you my scar.”

In the beginning, leaders of the three institutions were worried about competing for students, or whether the program would take away from donors; instead, M³ has allowed its members to “come

together to tackle tough problems,” Martin said.

Those tough problems include the cost of college.

“We’re half the price of a four-year public institution, but it’s still too much,” said Martin. “It turns out as little as $100 can have a student actually drop out of classes.”

Through M³’s dual enrollment College Connections program, which officially launched in 2017, MPS students take college classes and earn college credits while still in high school. It works like this: MPS provides lunches and pays for the College Connections classes; MATC provides bus passes for all students and offers math and science courses; and UWM provides classes in social studies, psychology and other subjects.

The College Connections program has grown from 32 students in 2019 to 152 students representing 21 MPS schools in 2022. Last year’s graduating class collectively earned 1,840 college credits. At an average of $300 per credit, students saved $552,000 in college tuition. Since the inaugural graduating class in 2019, more than 400 students have earned a total of 5,002 college credits through College Connections, saving a collective $1.5 million, said Keith Posley, superintendent of Milwaukee Public Schools.

“One of our top priorities in Milwaukee Public Schools is to move students toward meaningful career paths,” said John Hill, director of college and career readiness for MPS. “More than 70% of students who participate in the M³ College Connections program enroll in postsecondary institutions within one year of high school graduation, which exceeds district, state and national rates.”

To that end, students and employers can ben-

Allison Wagner (center) with All-In Milwaukee scholars and Marquette University seniors Ana Angeles (left) and Maryann Jimenez.

efit from work-based learning experiences like internships, apprenticeships, student teaching and clinical experiences, said M³ leaders. During the 2019-’20 school year, nearly 6,000 students across the three M³ institutions took part in work-based learning opportunities at partner employers, such as We Energies.

But every year, 10% to 40% of high school seniors in the United States who planned to go to college in the fall never enroll, according to Harvard University’s Center for Education Policy Research. To address what experts call the “summer melt,” M³ offers Smart Start, which provides MPS high school seniors who are planning to attend UWM or MATC support through the admissions process, summer bridge programming and co-curricular activities during their first semester in college.

Throughout the process, it is important to include family, especially for students whose parents have not attended college, Mone said. Facilitated by MPS counselors with the support of MPS parent coordinators, the Milwaukee Parent Institute addresses just that. Sessions were held at 26 high school sites over the past several years, serving more than 1,000 parents. Topics of the sessions range from creating a supportive home learning environment and nurturing socio-emotional development to filling out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), which is a prerequisite for federal grants, work study and loans. Recently, M³ has looked to expand the Milwaukee Parent Institute to middle schools.

UWM stands out among UW campuses for having large numbers of students of color, students

with military or veteran status and undergraduates receiving Pell Grants for low-income students. But UWM graduates also have higher debt levels than the UW System as a whole, according to the Wisconsin Policy Forum.

Milwaukee nonprofits are going all in

“We need to see more universities recognizing how expensive college has gotten and how unattainable that is for so many students,” said Wagner of All-In Milwaukee. “The best programs are those that clearly lay out what students need to be successful.”

The Wisconsin Policy Forum report breaks down those needs as academic readiness, financial resources and sense of belonging. In 2021, the forum documented qualitative data on a common perception that the culture of four-year campuses “generally do not understand or adequately take into account the needs of students of color, multilingual students, first generation college students, and those from low-income families.”

These challenges have led nonprofits, like AllIn Milwaukee, to offer scholarships, FAFSA completion support, academic preparation and models that bolster students’ sense of belonging.

Ninety percent of All-In Milwaukee scholars graduate with zero debt, Wagner said. Adrian Mora, a senior at Marquette University, is one of those scholars.

“When I first saw the price of college, I was like, ‘There’s no way either me or my parents can afford to put me through even one year,” said Mora, a first-generation college student. Through All-In

The leaky pipeline for Milwaukee

public school students

5,568 students

Started 9th grade in 2015

3,898 students

Completed high school by 2019 (70% of original cohort)

1,739 students

Enrolled in college in fall 2019 (31.2% of original cohort)

Leaks continue in college

33% of all students

enrolled at Higher Education Regional Alliance schools completed their degree the in expected timeframe. While the available data does not directly connect the 9th grade Milwaukee cohort to college completion, the HERA data provides a glimpse at hypothetical outcomes.

Assuming rates for Milwaukee students match HERA rates overall, just 10.3% of the 9th grade cohort completed their degree in the expected time frame, equaling just:

574 students

Source: Wisconsin Policy Forum, Department of Public Instruction

Adrian Mora on the job as an intern for Baird Advisors in 2021.

ALL-IN MILWAUKEE

Milwaukee, Mora is graduating debt-free with a full-time job at Milwaukee-based Baird Advisors.

“When you’re navigating from high school to college, it’s a big culture shock,” Mora added. “But you’d be surprised by how many people share the same struggles that you have. You’ll never find help if you don’t reach out.”

Another example of a nonprofit organizing itself around the “leaky Milwaukee education pipeline” issue is the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Milwaukee, through its Graduation Plus College Access and Success program. The program provides support and mentorship to more than 800 high school and college students annually, boasting a 100% high school graduation rate for participants, according to its website.

For its report, the Policy Forum surveyed a total of 13 local nonprofit organizations that offer programs addressing various stages of the city’s education pipeline from high school completion through college, including College Possible Milwaukee, Future Urban Leaders, the “I Have a Dream” Foundation, PEARLS for Teen Girls, SecureFutures and YWCA of Metro Milwaukee, just to name a few.

That’s in addition to 12 programs run by higher education institutions and four run by other entities, such as Milwaukee Public Schools and Employ Milwaukee. Together, the 29 program providers that participated in the survey serve approximately 24,800 high school-age students and 9,100 college-age students per year, according to the report.

Room for improvement

However, the data suggests that even more students could benefit. One-third of the programs included in the Policy Forum survey are currently unable to serve all interested students; another third is currently underutilized.

In addition, some of the barriers that students face – food insecurity for example – are outside the scope of what some programs can do. Additionally, while those programs target either low-income or high-achieving students, there are students who may not fit the definition of “low income” yet still struggle to afford college, and there are students who may not fit the definition of “high achieving” yet still can succeed academically.

Addressing these issues will likely require greater coordination and partnership between providers, and acknowledgement of the yet unmet need to efficiently redirect funds, the Policy Forum report reads. To bridge the gaps between students and the local landscape of post-secondary readiness programming, the report recommends minimizing competition in student recruitment efforts; expanding diversity recruitment by adapting eligibility requirements; and getting the word out about the effectiveness and quality of programs.

“We have to partner in ways that have never been heard of before,” Martin said. n

Programs working to fix Milwaukee’s education pipeline

Researchers at the Wisconsin Policy Forum identified 60 programs working to help students with postsecondary readiness or success. Twenty-nine of those programs participated in a survey for the report. The list of respondents provides a snapshot of the range of groups working to improve outcomes in the city.

PRESENTS: PRESENTING PARTNER:

FEBRUARY 23, 2023

7:30-11:00AM | ITALIAN COMMUNITY CENTER

Let’s get involved – Our future workforce depends on it

A high-quality education for all students in our region will impact their life outcomes immensely. It will help make our community a better place and ensure that we have a healthy and productive future workforce, advancing our region’s growth and ability to compete globally.

While we face many challenges, there is tremendous momentum in our schools in increasing the number of high-quality seats. With growing support from the business community, dedicated school leaders and innovative supporting organizations, the future is bright.

Our inaugural Milwaukee Education Spotlight event, held on Feb. 23 brings together members of our business community to learn about what success looks like at high performing schools and educational organizations.

We would like to thank our table captain supporters as well as our presenting partners – Northwestern Mutual and M3, which is a collaboration between MPS, MATC and UWM, focused on the retention, graduation and career success for students. Thanks also to supporting partner, Kacmarcik Center for Human Performance.

This is where the rubber meets the road. Are you willing to help, to get involved, to donate, volunteer or mentor? Increasing the number of high-quality school seats in Milwaukee, in any form, will require more from all of us. Our future workforce needs you now more than ever.

Dan & Kate Meyer Co-owners, BizTimes Media

With 100,000+ students, Milwaukee Public Schools, Milwaukee Area Technical College and the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee reflect the region’s diverse talent pipeline. Together as M3, we are growing successful initiatives that are advancing diversity, equity and inclusion; expanding access and persistence; and closing equity gaps:

M3 efforts are driving greater access to financial aid. FAFSA completion was up 8% for the MPS Class of 2022, double the national average.

• A record number of MPS students completed the M3 College Connections dual enrollment program in 2022, earning up to 21 transferable credits at MATC and UWM. College Connections graduates have saved $1.5+ million in tuition costs.

M3’s new “Smart Start” helps MPS graduates navigate the application and onboarding process along with the first semester of college at MATC and UWM. Smart Start combats a national trend of students planning to attend college but not enrolling.

M3’s recently updated public data dashboard shows:

• More MPS graduates who attend MATC and UWM are continuing their second year of higher education.

MPS students who go on to MATC and UWM are graduating more quickly. Watch for an exciting new opportunity in the coming months for businesses to help shape and advance our efforts to transform the future of Milwaukee through education. Thank you for your continued partnership.

PRESENTING PARTNER:

Northwestern Mutual has been helping people and businesses achieve financial security for more than 165 years. As a mutual company, its commitment to doing good extends beyond making a positive impact on the financial wellbeing of its clients and into the community.

Northwestern Mutual has a longstanding history of investing in high-quality education in Milwaukee—having invested more than $60 million in Milwaukee-area schools to address educational disparities and increase access to high-quality seats for disadvantaged students. The company is proud to partner with nearly 30 choice, charter, and public schools in Milwaukee to sustain and grow their capacity so more students can receive the resources they need in a high-quality learning environment, and to collaborate with higher education partners to help more students graduate from college, contribute to the growing diverse workforce, and make a generational impact on the trajectory of Milwaukee and its youth. To learn more, visit northwesternmutual-foundation.com/education/

SUPPORTING PARTNER:

The Kacmarcik Center for Human Performance believes every person deserves access to develop their full potential. Our work centers learning as key to achieving the vision of a better world, and our passion to advance well-being for all activates dynamic partnerships with like-minded organizations across Wisconsin. Join in our work at www.kacmarcikcenter. com. Potential Made Possible™

Gretchen M. Jameson, Ed.D.

Chief Learning Officer & Group President Kacmarcik Center for Human Performance

Kacmarcik Enterprises

Mobile: (636) 795-6707

EDUCATION

What does success look like in Milwaukee’s schools?

WHEN THE TEAM at BizTimes Media set out to plan the inaugural Milwaukee Education Spotlight event, we wanted to make sure it could help make a difference. We wanted an event that brought our business readers together with educators. We didn’t want a program only focused on problems. We wanted to highlight successes and to provide an op-

Bruce Arnold Partner

portunity for business leaders not already involved in education to find their own way to contribute.

In advance of the event, held Feb. 23 at the Italian Community Center in Milwaukee, BizTimes asked our speakers to share how and why their school or organization has achieved success. Here are their responses:

“For me and my colleagues at Husch Blackwell, our support for organizations like Seton Catholic Schools is fundamentally grounded in the phrase, ‘20 years from now.’ For us, this is about supporting schools that educate, train and nurture leaders for tomorrow, especially those from the richly diverse student population served by schools like Seton Catholic Schools, a school uniquely grounded in the 179-year tradition of Catholic education in our community. And for us, success means bending the trajectory, which means we start at the beginning – kindergarten – with a vision of one day welcoming these children into internships, our local universities and the community of businesses and organizations that Husch Blackwell serves.”

Krysta DeBoer Executive director Center For Urban Teaching

“CfUT has successfully expanded the number of alumni serving annually and achieved one of the highest teacher retention rates in the nation, helping schools close the achievement gap and minimize summer learning loss despite disturbing trends in the teacher pipeline, student achievement data and statewide student demographics. CfUT has seen this radical success because it focuses on calling over career, provides practical training and experiences, and invests in people because it believes to be a great educator you have to be a great person first.”

“Success at Aug Prep is a trinity of hope-filled students, professionals and parents working together to ensure the workforce of tomorrow is equipped today. We are intentional in our focus on not only academic excellence, but also serving the needs of the whole child. It’s about delivering a rigorous curriculum, developing strong character and discovering the unique interests, aptitudes and calling of each student that drives them to embrace their potential. That last piece is especially important. When students themselves acknowledge and act on opportunity, they are faithfully leading change across entire communities.”

Brittany Kinser

President and executive director City Forward Collective (Kinser was asked to address success at a citywide level.)

“Every student and family in Milwaukee should have access to a high-quality school. Right now, we’re failing far too many of those students. What works? Ensuring that every school has the necessary resourc es for students to be successful. One important step we can take toward that goal is to fund all students equally, regardless of where they go to school. Milwaukee’s charter and private schools serve tens of thousands of students who face the same challenges as their (public school) peers – and do so with about $7,000 less per student in (state) funding. All of Milwaukee’s students need and deserve the same level of funding, resources and support.”

Husch Blackwell

Abby Andriestsch

President and CEO

St. Augustine Preparatory Academy

Anthony McHenry CEO Milwaukee Academy of Science

“Milwaukee Academy of Science has graduated 100% of our seniors for eight consecutive years and has a 94% four-year cohort graduation rate. As a K-12 school serving 1,400 scholars from 25 zip codes, with 96% classified as economically disadvantaged, several indicators must be successfully met to achieve these outcomes. The commitment to city-wide school bus transportation contributes to our 92% student retention rate. Our innovative STEM curriculum and strategic partnerships have strengthened our teacher instruction and student engagement. Those factors, in conjunction with our ability to develop healthy, long-lasting relationships with scholars and families, create hope that pushes our scholars to graduate and pursue their post-secondary options.”

Robert Rauh Chief education officer Milwaukee College Prep

“At Milwaukee College Prep, we measure our success directly against the success of our 2,000 scholars and 2,000 alumni. We have seen that an uncompromising K-8 education is the difference between dreams realized and dreams denied. MCP works by delivering equal parts academic rigor and character development in a joy-filled environment. We know that strong, loving relationships are prerequisites for academic and social success, so we are committed to creating Dr. King’s ‘beloved’ community by ensuring that when our scholars walk over the threshold into our classrooms each day, they feel loved, valued and capable.”

Andrea Roberts

Program administrator GPS Education Partners

Michelle MorrisCarter

Principal Golda Meir School

“I feel successful at Golda Meir School, when students are able to apply the principles, values and academic skills learned to opportunities and experiences they encounter when approaching adulthood. When students return to Golda to share their journey, challenges and successes, with our younger learners, then I know we are successful. When our students take risks and persevere in entrepreneurial endeavors; when they come back seeking opportunities to support our students; when they initiate and present their vision for change in our schools and city to leaders and community members; and when we have learners who enter our doors not understanding their full potential, but through experiential learning opportunities, leadership experiences, family and school persistence and insistence on academic excellence, leave as prepared, confident leaders, then I feel success as a school leader.”

“GPS Education Partners helps transform struggling high school students into work-ready adults with access to meaningful careers. The key to a student’s success is the immersive mentoring program delivered by both GPSEd staff and our business partners to ensure students succeed both on the job and in life. Students in our program are able to achieve GPSEd Personal Development Certifications that help them learn the key skills around employability, professionalism and leadership. Students are directly coached and evaluated on these skills both in the classroom and on the job, and then actively use them to build their careers through proper communication, timeliness, teamwork, problem-solving and more. When our students make a mistake, they are supported by multiple caring adults on the consequences of their choices and the teachable moment to grow and improve.”

voucher schools

BY LAUREN ANDERSON, for BizTimes

NEARLY 30 YEARS AGO, Milwaukee’s business community threw its weight behind a hoped-for solution to improving educational outcomes in the city.

Stagnating graduation rates in Milwaukee Public Schools and even lower college completion rates pushed for-profit leaders to wade into the contentious political waters of school choice.

“There was just a tremendous challenge in finding the talent (business leaders) needed, and there was a dearth of students going on to twoyear and four-year institutions,” said Tim Sheehy, president and chief executive officer of Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce. “So, we engaged because we felt that giving parents a choice would open up more quality education options for their students.”

MMAC lobbied for a state law providing public funding for students enrolled in private voucher schools, paving the way for the expansion of school choice beyond the original Milwaukee Parental Choice Program pilot initiated by state legislator Polly Williams. The group later advocated for the inclusion of religious schools and the lifting of enrollment caps in the choice programs and the creation of local authorizers for independent public charter schools.

“At a critical moment in time, the MMAC stepped up and provided financial support to hire organizers that were key to bringing par-

ents and community members to the table to support the passage of the Milwaukee Parental Choice Program,” said education reform advocate Howard Fuller.

The decades since have brought the proliferation of charter and choice schools in the city, with those sectors now accounting for about 40% of enrollment in Milwaukee schools. If trends hold, it’s expected that within a few years the city could have more children enrolled in those alternatives to traditional public schools than in MPS itself.

Against the backdrop of a different education landscape, however, the business community today faces a similar set of circumstances as it did in the 1990s: Less than 15% of public-school students are going on to earn a two- or four-year college degree after graduation. With 40,000 openings among the top ten high-demand jobs in the metro area, Milwaukee faces severe talent pipeline challenges. Urgency among employers today is again coalescing into advocacy for a policy change that they hope will boost high-performing schools and, ultimately, graduation rates in the city.

A growing coalition of business leaders say an increase in funding for choice and charter sectors is needed for good schools to sustain and expand their operations.

In 2022, Milwaukee Public Schools received $14,987 in state and local per-pupil funding annually, compared to $9,423 for public charter schools,

$8,336 for K-8 private schools and $8,982 for 9-12 private schools. Choice and charter schools fundraise to make up the $5,000-$6,000 difference between them and their MPS counterparts, a solution that some education and for-profit leaders argue is unsustainable.

“We are asking schools to climb a Mt. Everest-sized challenge, to serve disadvantaged students, and to do so without the oxygen of resources,” MMAC said in its recent K-12 education agenda.

Dr. Howard Fuller Collegiate Academy, a public charter high school serving about 300 students on Milwaukee’s north side, raises at least $600,000 annually to cover bare-minimum operating costs, said Fuller. At near west side public charter high school Milwaukee Academy of Science, with 1,350 students, the funding gap is roughly $6 million. St. Marcus, a K-8 private voucher school, sets a $1.28 million fundraising target annually to make up its funding gap.

“The funding disparity (among sectors), that funding inequality, threatens the existence of the education ecosystem that has been built over all these years because it’s not sustainable,” Fuller said.

While there are high- and low-performing schools in each school sector, data published by City Forward Collective shows 80% of Milwaukee public charter schools and 81% of private voucher schools meet or exceed expectations, compared to 48% of MPS schools, based on state-issued school report cards. That same CFC report shows only marginally higher performance overall among students in charter and choice schools, compared to MPS, however.

The founding of K-8 private voucher school St. Augustine Preparatory Academy in 2017 was made possible by a roughly $50 million investment by Husco International chairman Gus

Business leaders helped bring

to Milwaukee 30 years ago, funding them is their next fight

St. Augustine Prep’s new elementary school building will be complete by the 2023-’24 academic year.

Ramirez and his family. The philanthropic infusion got Aug Prep off the ground, but ongoing fundraising is also needed to sustain operations, said Abby Andrietsch, president and chief executive officer of the school.

Raising additional funding allows the school to have arts, athletics, STEM programming, five social workers this year and seven next year, she said.

“It’s thinking about the whole child. If we don’t have students who are able to be healthy and present in the classroom, they’re not able to learn,” Andrietsch said. “For us, that additional investment is a critical part of how we get success.”

The school, which serves largely low-income and Hispanic students from Milwaukee’s south side, has received five-star ratings from the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction and is on track to become the city’s largest single-campus school when it opens a standalone elementary school later this year.

“In the short-term, the business community has stepped up and we need it to continue to step up to support great schools across Milwaukee,” Andrietsch said. “… But one of the most important things we can ask business leaders and their associates to do is to advocate for that equalization of funding.

The value of one student is not greater than the value of another, and we need the business community, who has a lot of influence on both sides of the aisle, to be part of voicing that effort.”

Boosting charter and voucher school funding would lessen the burden on the philanthropic community, business leaders say.

Ray Manista, executive vice president, chief legal compliance officer and secretary of Northwestern Mutual, said equal funding is a “top priority” for the life insurance company. One of the top corporate donors to Milwaukee schools, Northwestern Mutual, through its foundation, has invested $50 million over the past 25 years.

“While we encourage other corporations that call Milwaukee home to invest in quality education along with us, the model in which schools must continuously rely on philanthropy and private funding to simply meet per-pupil education costs is not sustainable,” Manista said.

MMAC’s 2023 policy agenda calls on the state to close the gap, which would equate to approximately $278 million in additional per-pupil funding support. In addition, the group advocates for an across-the-board increase in funding for all sectors equal to at least the rate of inflation, which would

be a roughly $288 million investment.

Sheehy said he expects the state Legislature to take action this year that would begin to narrow the funding gap.

“I don’t expect that this is going to be a one-anddone that will solve it all,” Sheehy said. “But the trajectory is that more kids are going to be going to independent charters and private schools, not less, so if we don’t address this problem, this ship begins to sink.”

Sheehy said employers can’t afford not to act.

“It takes a long time to accomplish these policy goals, but … it’s enlightened self-interest to stay engaged, to improve the education and skill development for these K-12 students, because it is literally their future workforce,” he said. “These are 114,000 students in the city that are critical to filling the job openings of today and tomorrow.”

Fuller said he’s encouraged by the for-profit sector’s advocacy work; other cities do not see the same level of involvement.

“Even some of the debates we have, I see as constructive because it means people still care,” Fuller said. “The one thing I can say about Milwaukee is we haven’t given up, and I believe the business community has been a critical part of the not giving up.” n

EDUCATION

Reading school report cards for all they’re worth

BY LAUREN ANDERSON, for BizTimes

IF YOU WANT TO KNOW how Milwaukee schools are doing, your first stop might be to pull up the school report cards compiled and released by the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction.

The DPI’s report cards annually publish the performance of traditional public schools and districts, charter schools, and private schools participating in the parental choice program. As the bedrock of the state’s accountability system, the report cards offer a means of comparing schools across Milwaukee’s three school sectors.

But for those outside the education realm, reading and interpreting the report cards can be confusing. In recent years, changes to the computational system underpinning them and pandemic-related interruptions to the data have further complicated matters. More than a plain reading is required to understand the value – and limitations – of the report cards.

WHAT DO THE REPORT CARDS MEASURE?

The report cards are an aggregation of a variety of school performance measures largely drawn from students’ performance on state and federally mandated standardized tests.

Each school and district is assigned an overall score on a scale of 0 to 100, corresponding to five rating categories that range from “Significantly Exceeds Expectations” to “Fails to Meet Expectations.” Those categories are also associated with a five-star rating system.

The overall score is determined by the weighted average of four factors: a school’s achievement

(how much students know, based on state testing); growth (how much students progressed over the course of a year, including the pace of improvement); target group outcomes (how the lowest-scoring students are performing on achievement, growth, absenteeism, attendance and graduation); and how well students are reaching certain milestones that predict whether they will graduate on time.

Academic outcomes on the report cards are based on K-8 students’ performance on the annual Forward exam and 9-12 grade students’ performance on the ACT/ACT Aspire exams.

HOW FAR DOES THE DATA GO BACK?

Public schools were first issued report cards in the 2011-‘12 school year and private schools with at least 20 parental choice program students were added in 2015-‘16, as required by state law. One benefit of the report cards is the creation of a consistent reporting system that has allowed for more meaningful comparison among choice, charter and traditional public schools.

For a city with a fragmented education system, having data for all three sectors is essential for accountability, said Abby Andrietsch, president and chief executive officer of St. Augustine Preparatory Academy, a private voucher school in Milwaukee.

“We have more clear information today than, for sure, we had 15 years ago across all three sectors,” said Andrietsch, who also founded and formerly led Milwaukee education nonprofit Schools That Can Milwaukee. “For voucher schools and

Reading a school report card

Department of Public Instruction school report cards contain a lot of information. Here are a few tips for making sense of the data:

• Start with the top-line overall accountability score, but make sure you look beyond that number and whether a school meets expectations.

• Look at both the achievement and growth scores. The former tells you what students know; the latter is a measure of progress.

• Dig into how subgroups of students perform on achievement and growth. Are there gaps in proficiency between white and Black students?

• Exercise caution in making comparisons to prior years. The COVID-19 pandemic altered test participation and formula changes have been made.

“There is no substitute to going in, talking to teachers, talking to school leaders, getting a feel for a building, hearing and seeing what’s going on,” said Colleston Morgan, vice president of strategy and policy for City Forward Collective. “There’s no amount of data or numbers on a paper that will substitute for the hard work and the little bit of magic, quite frankly, inside the school building and also the context of the challenges in which the school is operating.”

charter schools to hold ourselves accountable to quality in the same way we’re asking public schools to hold themselves accountable is really important.”

Beginning in the 2019-‘20 school year, the pandemic brought significant disruptions, resulting in a pause in testing. No school report cards were produced that year. The following year saw historically low participation rates – with about 50% of students citywide taking the tests – which further obscured year-over-year comparisons.

DPI also rolled out changes to the report cards in 2020-‘21, including alterations to the formula that determines overall scores and cosmetic changes to the layout of the cards. Notably, the overall score ranges that determine a school’s star rating were adjusted. Previously, an overall score of 63 or higher was needed to “meet expectations.” With the change, that threshold was lowered to 58. The net result: despite higher overall scores on the report cards, student proficiency rates have not actually increased over the past six years.

All of this makes it difficult to hold up schools’ overall scores from 2021 forward against previous years’ scores.

“Essentially, if you’re looking at report cards today, you can’t compare these report cards post-pandemic with report cards from before the pandemic,” said Spencer Schien, senior manager of data and analytics for City Forward Collective. “It’s really not a great comparison, especially if you’re looking at overall scores.”

WHY ARE REPORT CARDS CONTROVERSIAL?

One of the most controversial aspects of the report cards is methodological, particularly the formula that determines a school’s overall score.

The weighting of the achievement and growth components vary, depending on the percentage of economically disadvantaged students in a school. For schools with 65% or more low-income students, growth is weighted at nine times the rate of achievement. In most Milwaukee schools, the achievement score counts for 5% of a school’s overall score, while growth counts for 45%.

By comparison, in neighboring Whitefish Bay, where 1.4% of students are economically disadvantaged, that weighting is reversed: achievement is weighted at 45% of the overall score, while growth is weighted at 5%.

Variable weighting attempts to recognize the more challenging work high-poverty districts –where students are much more likely to begin the school year behind grade level – have in making up large achievement gaps among students within a year’s time, said Colleston Morgan Jr., vice president of strategy and policy for City Forward Collective.

“Both things matter. I’m a parent; I care about how much my children learn in a year, but I also care that my kids are on grade level,” Morgan said. “I think the intention was a good one, to make sure

we were both recognizing that students are starting at different places and schools have different levels of challenge in, based on that starting point, in bringing students up to grade level.”

Compared to neighboring states, Wisconsin is an outlier in how heavily growth is weighted versus proficiency among low-income schools and districts.

Highlighting the disconnect, a 2022 City Forward Collective report found six out of 10 Milwaukee students are enrolled in schools that meet expectations, though fewer than one in five are able to read, write and do math on grade.

“Because it’s so high, we ended up in a place where you can have schools that have done good work – and it’s well recognized in the growth measure – but the vast majority of students are not meeting grade level expectations in math or in ELA (English Language Arts). And yet those schools are receiving ratings of ‘meeting expectations,’ despite the fact that maybe only a handful of students in the school are reading and writing and doing math at grade level,” Morgan said.

Some have called for a recalibration of the growth/proficiency weighting. The Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce and City Forward Collective have each put forth policy recommendations this year seeking a more accurate picture of student outcomes, advocating for a better balance of the report card’s achievement and growth components.

“We have, at this point, almost a decade’s worth of data from Wisconsin, and we have examples from other states to be able to better calibrate the weighting of those two measures in a way that can both recognize the importance of proficiency and growth,” said Morgan.

WHAT REPORT CARDS DON’T SHOW

Neither purely quantitative nor purely qualitative assessments fully capture the picture of a school’s performance, education leaders argue. Test scores offer a snapshot of how much students are learning but can’t address questions of, for example, how safe they feel in the classroom. Subjective testimonials, on the other hand, can’t answer how many students are at grade level for reading and writing.

As founding board chair of the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools in 2005, education reform advocate Howard Fuller was on the ground floor of conversations about tying test scores to school performance and accountability for the growing school choice movement.

“What happened was … test scores became the dominant and consummate way to understand the value of a school. And I believe that was a mistake,” he said. “Because we know we are in a situation where people look at test scores, but they don’t necessarily look at value added.”

As founder of Dr. Howard Fuller Collegiate Academy, a public charter school in Milwaukee in

Top-ranked Milwaukee private, public and charter schools by DPI report cards

which 80% of students are economically disadvantaged, Fuller said report cards hold schools accountable for factors outside their purview.

“For example, how do you hold schools responsible for attendance? There’s an argument that, if the school is really doing great things, kids will come. That’s not a real thing. Because if a parent wakes up and says, ‘I’m not sending my kid to school today because I want her to take care of her younger brothers,’ you have no control over that as a school, but yet you’re held responsible for attendance,” Fuller said.

With its students coming in multiple grades behind, DHFCA is focused on getting students on grade level and accepted into college. School report cards, Fuller said, aren’t able to fully capture this work.

“If you look at our school, I don’t think our school is a high-performing school,” he said. “But I’m not trying to be a high-performing school. I’m trying to have a school that will change children’s lives, that will put them on a trajectory that gives them a chance to be socially and economically productive citizens.”

Report cards can lend themselves to questions about a school’s outcomes, but others are also worth considering, Morgan said.

“Do I see positive interactions between teachers and families? Between teachers and students? Between principal and others?” he said. “Those types of qualitative data points matter immensely in any field, but they really matter when we’re talking about children and families and their educational journey.” n

SCHOOL NAME ACCOUNTABILITY SCORE ACHIEVEMENT SCORE GROWTH SCORE

WHAT WE DO

What is M3 ? It’s a partnership among Milwaukee’s three largest public education institutions dedicated to transforming the future of our city through education. In 2015, these three institutions came together to build seamless connections from high school to college, beginning with goals for college credit while still in high school, campus visits and tours, parent support, and financial aid navigation. M3 is witnessing the rewards Milwaukee students are gaining through three key impact areas: Connecting Learning, Transitioning, and Driving Completion.

CONNECTING LEARNING

• Every student builds an academic and career plan beginning in elementary school.

• Educators from MPS, MATC and UWM collaborate to build connections and make transitions seamless from elementary school through higher education.

• Joint professional development enhances culturally responsive teaching practices so instructors better understand our students and can deliver learning that is personally meaningful.

TRANSITIONING

• MPS students engage in experiences and programs at MPS, MATC and UWM that support the transition to college.

• The College Connections dual enrollment program, which began in 2019, has enabled about 400 MPS students to earn more than 5,000 college credits while still in high school – a combined cost savings of $1.5 million.

• The Smart Start transition program, launched in 2022, engages with MPS students prior to graduation, provides summer programs on the MATC or UWM campus, and offers support through the first year of college.

DRIVING COMPLETION

• Students learn how to succeed through advising, support services, and opportunities for learning outside the classroom.

• Student college and career fairs help students start thinking about life after high school and after higher education.

• A vigorous campaign of events and supports helps students complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).

M3 (pronounced M-cubed) is transforming the future of our young people and Milwaukee communities through the power of public education by multiplying the impact of Milwaukee Public Schools, Milwaukee Area Technical College, and the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. FOR MORE INFORMATION, VISIT UWM.EDU/M-CUBED OR EMAIL M-CUBED@UWM.EDU

In solar transition, WEC Energy Group sees long-term savings, advocates see short-term costs

BY ARTHUR THOMAS, staff writer

LESS THAN TWO decades ago, nearly three-quarters of the electricity delivered by WEC Energy Group came from coal. Now, only around a third of its power comes from coal, and the Milwaukee-based parent company of We Energies plans to eliminate coal as a power source by 2035.

In its place will be a host of renewable energy sources including solar, wind and battery storage. WEC Energy Group plans to spend $5.4 billion on renewables through 2027. The company’s plans call for 3,300 megawatts of renewable power, up from 40% from a year ago. Natural gas, nuclear and potentially hydrogen also play a big part in the company’s plans.

There are lots of reasons We Energies and other utilities around the country are transitioning from coal to solar, wind and battery storage. Many have emission reduction goals to hit, consumers increasingly want green energy sources, and there’s potential for savings for the utilities as well. Free fuel from the sun or wind is better than paying for coal, and solar panels cost less to operate and maintain.

But making the transition is less than straightforward. While WEC Energy Group has two solar farms in service, other projects have been delayed by supply chain issues, which, along with rising labor costs, added $100 million to two projects. Other projects are still seeking regulatory approval, and

the vast majority of the plan is yet to be submitted to the state Public Service Commission.

The timing of battery storage components for the projects, a key part of maintaining reliability while using solar, is yet to be determined.

“You think about the batteries, a lot of batteries are being used for the vehicle industry,” said Scott Lauber, chief executive officer of WEC Energy Group.

To help address some of the issues with batteries, WEC is piloting an organic flow battery from German firm CMBlu at its Valley Power Plant in Milwaukee in the fourth quarter. The battery is made from abundant, recyclable materials and has up to double the discharge time of a lithium-ion battery.

Even just getting solar panels to the projects has been complicated as the U.S. Department of Commerce seeks to curtail efforts by Chinese firms to circumvent anti-dumping regulations. In some cases, the company’s panels are in a warehouse in Chicago waiting for proper documentation.

The challenges in completing solar and battery projects led WEC and Alliant Energy this past year to delay planned retirements of coal plants in Oak Creek, Portage and Sheboygan by a year to 18 months.

The ongoing shift in WEC Energy Group’s electricity generation is contributing – at least in the short run – to higher costs for customers. The com-

pany’s Wisconsin utilities completed their first rate case amidst the shift in December, resulting in a $283.5 million, or 9.11% increase in Wisconsin Electric’s rates. The state Public Service Commission did reduce profits for the utilities, setting the authorized return on equity at 9.8%, down from 10%.

“We’re seeing a lot of cost pressures,” said Tom Content, executive director of the Citizens Utility Board of Wisconsin. “The clean energy transition, one of the things is the solar plans, you save money over time, but you have to pay for them right away.”

CUB is an advocate for residential utility customers and small businesses. The typical residential customer electric bill went up $154, or almost 11.5% for this year. Content said his focus has been on addressing controllable costs.

“To make it really cost effective, we've got to be able to refinance and eliminate profits from coal plants that aren't running,” he said.

Polling may suggest people are supportive of a transition to clean energy, but there is also a heightened level of attention on costs given the level of inflation in the past year, Content said.

“We’re kind of in this challenging moment of trying to make the transition happen in the most cost-effective way possible,” he said.

Todd Stuart, who represents large industrial companies as executive director of the Wisconsin Industrial Energy Group, shared a similar sentiment.

“Everybody has sustainability goals these days,” he said. “We want to do this in the most cost-effective manner, and we all need competitive rates.”

For WIEG members, energy costs are often among the top three expenses and some businesses spend more than $1 million per month on power, Stuart said.

WEC Energy Group’s analysis suggests its plans will save customers $2 billion over 20 years, Lauber said.

In his view, supply chains are likely the biggest risk for WEC’s plans to shift toward renewable energy.

While increased demand for solar panels would seem to drive prices up – threatening the potential cost savings – Lauber pointed to improved performance with so much interest in the technology.

“If we would have had this discussion 10 years ago, we wouldn’t have been talking about solar being economical,” he said.

In the short run, however, the WEC utilities will return to the Public Service Commission for a limited reopening of the rate case focused on costs related to projects going into service this year and in 2024.

“There’s a lot of capital going into service right now, and so there’s concern about the rate impact,” Stuart said. n

The Two Creeks Solar Park, a 150 MW facility in Manitowoc County that was the first large-scale solar park in the state when it went online in November 2020.

Time is now for Milwaukee to ready itself as a climate haven, experts say

BY ALEX ZANK, for BizTimes

THERE IS A REAL opportunity for Milwaukee to become a destination for climate refugees in the not-to-distant future, but embracing that role means the region must address its own ecological, economic and social challenges.

That is according to experts and stakeholders who envision Milwaukee as a climate haven.

It is one of several cities researchers named last year as probable havens for those fleeing areas that will become more difficult, or impossible, to live in as the impacts of climate change worsen. Generally, a climate haven will avoid the worst impacts of global warming and has the necessary infrastructure to support an influx of people.

“Milwaukee is interesting, because it is still a pretty robust manufacturing economy, it has a pretty robust health care system that’s regional in its footprint, and it also has a trajectory from a cultural point-of-view of having (a history of) a lot of immigration,” said Jesse Keenan, an associate professor of sustainable real estate at New Orleans-based Tulane University.

People living in areas along the coastline, which are in the path of rising sea levels, and in areas prone to catastrophes like wildfires and drought will start moving out en masse when it is no longer financially feasible to remain, said Itziar Lazkano, an economics professor at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee who specializes in environmental macroeconomics.

“We see a lot more extreme climate events

that make some areas of the country a lot more expensive to live in, because adapting to the costs of those extreme events is expensive,” Lazkano said. “That does predict a climate migration, and an area like the Midwest or like Milwaukee can have the potential to absorb some of the migration because of the (relatively affordable) cost of living and the fact that we’re less susceptible to extreme climate events.”

Keenan was involved in the research that identified potential climate havens. The majority of named climate havens are in the Midwest, and in particular are clustered in the Great Lakes region. They include Madison; Cincinnati; Detroit; Minneapolis; Buffalo, New York; and Duluth, Minnesota, among others.

“With these Great Lakes cities, fresh water is truly your greatest resource,” Keenan said.

Research suggests communities that historically have experienced waves of immigration or domestic migration tend to be more accommodating of new incoming groups, said Keenan. Milwaukee’s lengthy migrant history is evidenced by its various annual cultural festivals.

Keenan predicts Wisconsin could see “hundreds of thousands” of people moving here over the next 80 years.

But mass migration does not happen in a vacuum, and stakeholders estimated a potential mix of both positive and negative outcomes associated with an influx of new arrivals.

“When we think of climate migration, in addition to thinking about how attractive different parts of the country might be, including Milwaukee, we might also want to think about the impact of that kind of migration on housing and wages, because that is going to have another effect on the migration itself,” Lazkano said.

Milwaukee and Wisconsin currently contend with “brain drain,” or the movement of highly skilled and intelligent people away to other parts of the country, noted Rafael Smith, climate and equity director of Citizen Action of Wisconsin and a member of the City-County Task Force on Climate and Economic Equity. Climate migration could create the opposite effect, as people from coastal cities move to the area.

The potential downside to this “reverse brain drain,” Smith said, is a scenario in which only certain people benefit from associated wage increases. He’s also worried about displacement and neighborhood gentrification as new high-income residents price people out of their homes.

One way community leaders can combat that future scenario is ensuring Milwaukee’s most vulnerable communities are part of the region’s transition to renewable energy. If they aren’t, they risk losing out on the associated economic benefits, Smith said.

“One of the biggest things to do is introduce trades at the scale that is necessary into our Milwaukee Public Schools system, getting kids connected with careers at a very early stage,” he said.

The City-County Task Force recommended, among other things, that Milwaukee implement a green jobs accelerator to help prepare residents for a career in the skilled trades and the green economy. This would include the creation of “green hubs”

Milwaukee

throughout the community to directly connect residents with job opportunities and career managers.

“This is not a question of whether we have to do the transition. Our fate as a human species is counting on making that transition,” Smith said. “But by making that transition, that’s going to produce jobs. If we’re not intentional on the front end, a lot of those jobs are not going to go to the people who have been the most impacted.”

The Milwaukee region must also do more to address its own environmental challenges resulting from climate change, experts warn. One of the biggest environmental challenges Keenan sees for Milwaukee is pollution. With its industrial history, Milwaukee has toxic metals in its soil. Greater rainfall fueled by climate change will increase the amount of toxic runoff into the area’s lakes and rivers.

“If you can’t manage that water quality, it’s an impediment to your single-greatest resource,” he said.

Civic leaders and the private sector must come together to create mitigation and adaptation strategies, said Stephanie Hacker, strategic planning leader with Milwaukee-based engineering firm GRAEF.

For example, a community thinking about its climate footprint will take a different approach

to roadway design and construction. Instead of simply repaving a street, the community would consider the use of permeable materials, carbon sequestration, and expansion of the infrastructure or underlying utilities to accommodate new residents.

The City of Milwaukee is presently undertaking climate planning. Milwaukee County is doing similar planning, but solely for its facilities and operations. Other municipalities within Milwaukee County have not begun climate planning, and the county’s Intergovernmental Cooperation Council hasn’t yet established a regular agenda item on the topic.

“Just in this region of the county, we’re missing the opportunity to climate-plan ahead and position our region to better serve existing and future residents, because we need to have those mitigation and adaptation strategies planned for the other communities as well,” Hacker said.

Companies like GRAEF are also obligated to examine how they’re contributing to the climate crisis and devise ways to lessen their climate footprint and adapt their operations to a changing global climate, Hacker added.

She said corporations should be asking, “What emissions are they producing? Have they done a

greenhouse gas inventory? Do they know what kind of footprint they have, and what are they doing to adapt at the same time?”

“The obligation is not only on our government bodies … we need to have that expectation applied to our corporations as well,” she said.

Devised climate actions need financial backing to have any real impact. Otherwise, they are just ideas without a path forward, said Hacker and Smith. GRAEF worked with the village of Oak Park, Illinois, for the last roughly 18 months in creating its climate action plan. Importantly, Hacker said, the plan included financing methods, such as the specific fiscal year the village would pay for each of its planned actions and from which part of its budget the village would draw the funding.

“We can have all the best ideas in the world, but if you don’t actually have the money to invest in the projects, then it’s just like we spent the last threeand-a-half years talking amongst ourselves and coming up with good ideas, but we don’t actually have the money to implement them,” Smith said.

There is no time to waste on preparing, experts and stakeholders warn.

“This is not something happening in the future,” said Keenan. “It’s happening now.” n

LUMIN schools is a network of 7 campuses serving over 1,400 students in Milwaukee and Racine. 98% of students attend on a state voucher.

To learn more about LUMIN Schools, visit luminschools.org.

CORPORATE EVENT PLANNING

Companies going all out to bring employees back together at events

BY MAREDITHE MEYER, staff writer

AS THE KNOWLEDGE workforce has increasingly returned to the office, corporate events have gradually shifted back to an in-person format. But considering how much has changed in the way employees engage with one another and the expectations they have of employers, it’s no surprise that companies are adjusting their approach to planning, and paying for, corporate events.

“What used to be an event where you just kind of brought people together, you gave them a meal, maybe there was some entertainment, you left it up to the guest to participate and engage with the other guests – that was a bit of a pre-pandemic type of attitude and mentality, and that is 100% not what it is anymore,” said Mike Underwood, president of Underwood Events LLC.

The Milwaukee-based corporate event planner and destination management company had its strongest year in 2022 thanks to the resurgence of large-scale, in-person events. Underwood Events drives most of its business from special occasion or marquee functions – think 100-year anniversaries, sales incentive trips and summer picnics. But after two years of cancellations and virtual meetings, companies were ready to pull out all the stops to bring people together again.

Starting in late 2021, clients came to Underwood with a similar rallying cry: “‘We haven’t done anything in the past two years. We haven’t brought our people together in the past two years. There hasn’t been any interpersonal interaction with our associates or team members, so we’re just going to do it,’” he said.

And to that end, the focus for those clients have been less about the budget for the event – albeit important – and more about creating a memorable and worthwhile experience for those in attendance.

“I think so many companies and executives understand that it’s such a challenge now to get people into a room and physically engage with each other,” said Underwood. “It’s important for us to incorporate that, weave that in as a throughline for all of our events.”

One of Underwood Events’ recent endeavors – a fifth anniversary celebration for a Minnesota-based company – took over the entire Grand Geneva Resort in Lake Geneva for two weekends last summer. The company was too big to safely gather all employees and spouses at once, so the event was held twice, for two separate waves of 700 attendees.

“Our job was to rethink how the entire resort

was used for four really marquee events,” said Underwood. “It was important for us to use the entire resort in a way that made people feel comfortable spatially in relation to one another.”

He noted that COVID-related health and safety concerns still come up in conversations with clients, but the topic is fading from event planning discussions.

Despite the budgetary threats of rising inflation and economic uncertainty, companies like Brookfield-based QPS Employment Group are investing more to reunite its employee base in more meaningful ways. The company’s annual owners meeting took place in person this year for the first time since the pandemic began, convening all 400 QPS employees from eight states for two days of networking, recognizing accomplishments and strategizing for the year ahead. Held at Potawatomi Casino | Hotel in Milwaukee, the 2023 meeting was the most expensive event QPS has ever put on, said Mark Millan, marketing manager at QPS.

New this year, QPS turned Friday’s informal social hour – traditionally held the evening before Saturday’s meeting to help welcome out of towners – into a full-blown evening affair, complete with drink tickets, appetizer stations, a live band, photo booths and comped hotel rooms for all. There was

even a meet and greet with Sam Mayer, the NASCAR Xfinity Series driver QPS sponsored last season. His race car was also on display.

“We really put an emphasis this year on our family spirit belief and everyone getting together and seeing the faces you see over email but not necessarily in person,” said Anne Jabusch, assisting marketing manager at QPS.

After shifting its annual owners meeting to a virtual format in 2021 and 2022, QPS was eager to restore opportunities for personal connections and face-to-face interactions that only in-person events can provide.

“Between new people coming into our company as well are those who had not attended that in-person meeting in three years, we focused on how to make it more special, more memorable,” said Milan.

Leading up to the event, there was some fear that it had grown too large, and the team questioned whether the expanded Friday-night portion would become a permanent addition to the agenda. But based on the results of a post-event survey, which overall had some of the most positive feedback QPS has gotten from an in-person event, the company plans to use the exact same format next year.

Until then, the spirit of the meeting is kept alive through videos, internal discussions and during the onboarding process for new hires.

“It can make a real difference in keeping somebody that was thinking of leaving, or attracting somebody new,” said Milan. “It’s a big expense but we feel it’s justified for another year.” n

QPS employees pose with NASCAR Xfinity Series driver Sam Mayer in front of the company’s sponsored car at the 2023 annual owners meeting.

QPS EMPLOYMENT GROUP

Brookfield Conference Center

A LOT OF PLANNING and consideration went into the modular design of the Brookfield Conference Center. Over 44,000 sq. ft. of meeting/function space allows for a multitude of configurations for the business or social event planner.

Our facility offers 4 distinct gathering spaces, each with their own unique atmosphere.

The Connect Ballroom with 18,000 sq. ft. of space and 11 different layout options is the centerpiece of the Brookfield Conference Center. The Collaborate Ballroom offers 6,000 sq. ft. and 3 space configurations. In this space, banks of customdesigned channel-glass enhance the natural light. Both ballrooms are appointed with custom loomed carpeting, modern lighting, and state of the art audiovisual.

The glass-encased Celebration Atrium is an 8,000 sq. ft. space for pre- or post-function gatherings, breaks, and more. Sleek design, modern sculpture and lofty ceilings add to the elegance.

The Celebration Plaza offers 9,000 sq. ft of outdoor meeting space. Beautiful landscaping, Edison lighting and comfortable seating make this an inviting outdoor location for smaller gatherings.

The Brookfield Conference Center is also proud of our in-house Executive Chef, full-service food and beverage catering and professional wait staff.

For added convenience, a 168-room hotel is attached to the conference center, and an additional 389 rooms are adjacent to the facility. Ample, free, surface parking rounds out the amenities for our guests.

We invite you to schedule a tour of the Brookfield Conference Center before booking your next event.

WhirlyBall -

the Ultimate Team-Building Experience

WHIRLYBALL is perfect for your fastpaced team-building events, business presentations, company outings, or staff celebrations. It isn’t just a game, it’s an experience!

New to WhirlyBall? It is a combination of basketball, lacrosse, and hockey played in souped up bumper cars we call Whirlybugs. Teams of five face off in a ten-minute game of heart-pounding, fist-pumping action. Each team tries to shoot a wiffle ball at a target that hangs ten feet from the floor. No speed, strength, or agility required. It is the most fun you can have going 4 miles per hour!

Our huge, 45,000-square-foot location in Brookfield Square Mall features two WhirlyBall courts, eight bowling lanes, three bars, VIP bowling lanes on the second floor, a LaserTag arena, ample parking, and private terraces - perfect for entertaining business clients or your next team outing. It is conveniently located across the street from the Brookfield Convention Center and just minutes from downtown Milwaukee.

WhirlyBall features the Pivot Room - a 75seat restaurant with a chef-driven menu and a craft beer bar with over 20 taps.

Book now at whirlyball.com/brookfield.

WhirlyBall

185 S Moorland Rd Brookfield, WI 53005 (262) 786-7777

whirlyball.com/brookfield

N OTA BLE BIPOC EXECUTIVES

BizTimes Milwaukee presents its showcase of Notable BIPOC Executives, highlighting accomplished leaders at businesses and nonprofit organizations in southeastern Wisconsin and demonstrating the diversity of talent in the region. BIPOC stands for Black, Indigenous and people of color.

METHODOLOGY: The honorees do not pay to be included. Their profiles were drawn from nomination materials. This list features only individuals for whom nominations were submitted and accepted after review by our editorial team. To qualify for the list, nominees must work in southeastern Wisconsin and must be serving in a senior level role within their organization.

KATHY THORNTON-BIAS PRESIDENT AND CEO

BOYS & GIRLS CLUBS OF GREATER MILWAUKEE

Kathy Thornton-Bias, president and chief executive officer for the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Milwaukee, is a visionary and fast paced leader, according to Kerry Mitchell, vice president of human resources at BGCGM.

“She is continually striving for the best possible outcomes for the youth of Milwaukee,” Mitchell said.

BGCGM has effectively overcome the challenges of the past three years in meeting youth’s most critical needs thanks to ThorntonBias’ effective strategy and intense commitment to youth of color, especially, according to Mia Krantz, BGCGM annual giving manager. Under Thornton-Bias’s leadership, the clubs have expanded their physical footprint with more than 50 club locations around the city as well as teen programming and services with 90% of teen club members expecting to graduate from high school.

“Kathy is passionate about and successful when ensuring as many children as possible experience every day the myriad of programs and services of the clubs. She positively impacts the lives and futures of young people throughout our city,” said Robert Mikulay, BGCGM trustee.

MICHELE HANCOCK VICE PRESIDENT OF COLLEGE CULTURE FOR INCLUSION CARTHAGE COLLEGE

Following a K-12 career culminating in her previous role as superintendent of the Kenosha Unified School District, Michele Hancock joined Carthage College in 2014 and continues to foster equity and inclusion within the teaching profession as vice president of college culture for inclusion.

After joining the Carthage Education Department, Hancock built an urban teacher preparation program to equip future teachers to work in diverse, urban environments. She later expanded her focus to all students by initiating Carthage’s Anti-Racism and Intercultural Seminar Experience (ARISE), in which all first-year students participate.

Hancock also created the Equity and Inclusion Certificate Program, which aims to equip professionals in the workplace with knowledge, disposition, and skills essential for equity and inclusion work. Through the year-long program, Hancock has directly mentored more than 50 faculty and staff. She has similarly trained staff in Kenosha judicial offices and regional school districts, including Racine and Waukesha.

“The sheer breadth of Dr. Hancock’s equity and inclusion work across the workplace is second to none,” said John Swallow, president of Carthage College, located in Kenosha.

Carthage College congratulates michele hancock Vice President for College Culture for Inclusion

Are you excited by the promise of higher education, serving Wisconsin students better than ever before? Do you work best in an entrepreneurial, fast-moving environment? Then Carthage College may be an institution where you can have great impact!

President John Swallow enthusiastically encourages entrepreneurial and experienced faculty, staff, administrators, and investors with bold ideas to express their interest. Join us for a cup of coffee to talk more about opportunities that are on the horizon. Reach us at emergingopportunities@carthage.edu to learn more.

Thank you

for your leadership and compassion

We’re honored to work beside Janice and Reggie every day. Their recognition is so deserved and exemplifies the commitment they bring to caring for all in our community, with special attention to those who are most vulnerable.

ascension.org

Be The Difference begins with great people.

Marquette University congratulates our 2023 Notable BIPOC Executive, Dr. Xavier Cole. As our vice president for student affairs, Dr. Cole is rooted in purpose and reaching for progress. His leadership serves as inspiration to all our students as they pursue a transformative education and meaningful change in our world.

Janice Litza, MD, FAAFP

Regional Chief Medical Officer, Ascension Wisconsin

Reggie Newson Chief Community Impact and Advocacy Officer, Ascension Wisconsin

ERIK KENNEDY SENIOR COMMUNITY RELATIONS COORDINATOR ADVOCATE AURORA HEALTH

As senior community relations coordinator for Advocate Aurora Health, Erik Kennedy develops relationships with community and business organizations, oversees the system’s blood donation program and sponsorship strategy, and coordinates the development and implementation of the community health strategy.

“Erik promotes healthy and impactful interactions by challenging us all to remove our lens when meeting others from different backgrounds. He is well known for this latter effort through his series of ‘Breaking Bread’ meals, where he assembles diverse groups to gather and grow together,” said Jim Villa, chief executive officer of NAIOP Wisconsin.

Kennedy also works with local nonprofits on behalf of Advocate Aurora Health. He is co-founder of ElevAsian and sits on the boards or committees of the AAPI Coalition of Wisconsin, Coalition for Children, Youth & Families, Salvation Army of Milwaukee County, Sharp Literacy and VISIT Milwaukee.

He was named the 2022 Young Professional of the Year by the Hmong Wisconsin Chamber of Commerce and has received other recognitions, including a Community Leadership Award from the National Association of Asian American Professionals Milwaukee and a Next Generation Leadership Award from the BizTimes Media Nonprofit Excellence Awards program.

ERICKAJOY DANIELS SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT AND CHIEF DIVERSITY, EQUITY AND INCLUSION OFFICER ADVOCATE AURORA HEALTH

In addition to her role as senior vice president and chief diversity, equity and inclusion officer at Advocate Aurora Health, Erickajoy Daniels is a lifelong learner, mentor and community advocate, according to colleagues.

“What makes her truly exceptional is her relentless commitment to connecting BIPOC community members with opportunities to improve their lives and personal agency. Her goal is not to be a leader, but to create leaders who can then connect to maximize opportunities for others,” said colleague and friend Bridget Butch, who works as a user experience and website architecture consultant.

Daniels, who is also an author, educator and speaker, leads AAH’s DEI team in identifying and serving neighborhoods with the greatest gaps in health care access and life expectancy. For example, during the COVID-19 pandemic the team created dozens of initiatives to provide COVID-19 education and vaccines in Black and Latino communities. After George Floyd’s murder, it conducted “REAL Talk” listening sessions to have uncomfortable conversations about race in a safe environment. The team also created now-mandatory unconscious-bias training for all AAH staff members.

THERESA DEAR CHIEF HUMAN RESOURCES AND PEOPLE OFFICER VIVENT HEALTH

Theresa Dear, chief human resources and people officer at Vivent Health, says she holds the title of chief because of the mentors in her life.

Growing up in foster care, Dear said she experienced neglect and instability, but she also experienced compassion, empathy and generosity.

“As a teen, I saw people giving their advice, time and resources and sometimes doing it anonymously. In HR, I’m able to extend that to employees,” she said.

That’s why, she said, DEIB (diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging) is important. At Milwaukee-based Vivent Health, Dear works with her team to enact a five-year DEIB plan.

Results, so far, include:

• Employee resource groups for working parents, African American employees, LatinX employees, and LGBTQIA+ employees. There are plans for a women’s group.

• Vivent’s insurance benefits for the LGBTQIA+ community include coverage for gender-affirming surgery for transgender employees.

• Diversity training for everyone in the organization.

• An annual week of understanding where LGBTQIA+ employees share their stories.

• 46% diverse employee representation

TAMMY BELTONDAVIS FOUNDER AND PRESIDENT ATHENA COMMUNICATIONS LLC

Tammy Belton-Davis is the founder and principal of Milwaukeebased Athena Communications LLC and an award-winning public relations and equity strategist.

Belton-Davis also served as the first-ever chief diversity officer for the Milwaukee Repertory Theater. In this role, she helped the Rep advance racial equity in its staff, supporters and programming.

She also mentors more than 15 men and women from a variety of backgrounds and stages in their careers, working in various industries from philanthropy to finance.

Most recently, Belton-Davis joined Marquette University as an adjunct faculty member. She is currently a board member of the Milwaukee Rep, Professional Dimensions and Alverno College. She is also a member of the advisory council of the Institute for Women’s Leadership at Marquette University and the Professional Dimensions Charitable Fund.

Belton-Davis has served on several task forces, committees, and work groups focused on education, the environment, economic and workforce development, theater and creative arts and racial justice.

SHALINA S. ALI CO-EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR TRUE SKOOL INC.

As co-executive director of Milwaukee-based TRUE Skool, Shalina S. Ali is an example of how to earn a living while working toward positive change in the community, said board director Lilith Fowler.

Located on the lower level of The Avenue in downtown Milwaukee, TRUE Skool markets itself as Milwaukee’s center for transformational creative arts and hip-hop culture. It provides programming to more than 300 young people annually and support to a network of alumni and creative professionals.

Ali and co-executive director Fidel Verdin engage youth in environmentalism, entrepreneurship, mental health and community development through the arts and hip-hop culture.

Public events such as the Annual Summer Park Jam at the Marcus Performing Arts Center and All Day MKE at the Milwaukee Art Museum and participation in Gallery Nights and Newaukee’s Night Market have made TRUE Skool a downtown staple for public arts engagement.

“Shalina has a remarkable track record of leadership and accomplishments resulting from her ability to diagnose problems and develop solutions. Her commitment to helping others drives her career,” said Fowler.

FIDEL VERDIN CO-EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR TRUE SKOOL INC.

As co-executive director of TRUE Skool, Fidel Verdin has built a creative haven for Milwaukee youth.

Located on the lower level of The Avenue development on West Wisconsin Avenue in downtown Milwaukee, TRUE Skool markets itself as the city’s center for transformational creative arts and hip-hop culture. It provides programming to more than 300 young people annually and support to a network of alumni and creative professionals.

Verdin and co-executive director Shalina Ali engage youth and families in environmental justice, personal wellness and community development through the creative arts and hip-hop culture.

“Fidel uses his resources and networks to connect charitable donors to culturally relevant community experiences and new models for collective impact,” said Lilith Fowler, TRUE Skool board director.

Verdin is an adjunct professor at Alverno College, and he serves on the music advisory board for Milwaukee Area Technical College, the educational outreach committee for the Milwaukee Art Museum and the garden leader council for Groundwork Milwaukee. He is also a 2023 recipient of the African American Environmental Pioneer Award from the Sierra Club’s Wisconsin Chapter.

REGGIE NEWSON CHIEF COMMUNITY IMPACT AND ADVOCACY OFFICER ASCENSION WISCONSIN PRESIDENT ASCENSION WISCONSIN FOUNDATION

Reggie Newson wears multiple hats at Ascension Wisconsin. He is chief community impact and advocacy officer as well as president of the Ascension Wisconsin Foundation.

“Newson works to close health equity gaps and build a healthier community. He is a special and rare leader who is deeply committed to improving community health, increasing access to care and creating a more equitable and just society,” said Bernie Sherry, ministry market executive at Ascension Wisconsin.

He manages external relationships and helps leverage public policy that support Ascension’s mission at the state and national level. He formed the Community Investment Council that focuses on upstream strategies to improve fundamental social and economic structures, while supporting downstream interventions that provide immediate relief for barriers to care as well as chronic disease and food insecurities.

“Thousands of lives have been impacted through initiatives he leads, including a collaboration with 90 churches that improves health literacy and provides health screenings and a maternal health program that increases the number of women delivering healthy babies in 39 Milwaukee locations,” Sherry said.

DR. JANICE LITZA REGIONAL CHIEF MEDICAL OFFICER ASCENSION WISCONSIN

Dr. Janice Litza, regional chief medical officer at Ascension Wisconsin, oversees and manages medical staff at Ascension All Saints Hospital in Racine, Ascension St. Francis Hospital in Milwaukee and the Ascension Franklin campus.

“She is an accomplished and compassionate health care leader with a wide range of experience and strengths in clinical care management,” said Kristin McManmon, Ascension Wisconsin’s regional hospital president. “She has a proven ability to execute efficient and seamless operations to promote clinical excellence and integration, optimal access and service performance for all patients.”

“Dr. Litza focuses on evidence-based and innovative approaches to improving care delivery and is leading ICU staffing transformation across the state,” McManmon added.

Born and raised in Milwaukee, Litza began her career caring for a mostly Latino population on Milwaukee’s south side. She continues to highlight her Puerto Rican heritage, especially when speaking to students in schools with diverse populations about careers in health care. She has also mentored many medical students and residents in integrative, holistic medicine.

SHELDON CUFFIE VICE PRESIDENT AND CHIEF INFORMATION OFFICER

AMERICAN FAMILY INSURANCE

Sheldon Cuffie, vice president and chief information officer for American Family Insurance, has worked his way up from IT analyst to corporate executive and is now a leader in enterprise architecture, cybersecurity and digital transformation.

Cuffie, who is based out of his hometown of Milwaukee, has been a featured speaker at numerous technology conferences including RSAC Executive Security Action Forum, Wisconsin IT Symposium, Evanta Global CISO Conference, and keynote for the 2023 STEM Forward celebration of STEM.

He and his wife, Celeste, created the Jonathan Cuffie and Thomas Stevens Endowment at Concordia University to address disparity gaps in STEM education and provide financial support to students of color in STEM, nursing or construction trades programs.

Cuffie serves as a board member for United Way of Greater Milwaukee & Waukesha County, UW Hospital System and Greater Mt. Sinai Church, where he’s a minister.

He is also a former board member of the Northwestern Mutual Foundation and the Milwaukee Urban League and is leading an American Family partnership with Amazon Web Services that includes an initiative to help build a robust tech ecosystem in southeastern Wisconsin.

Sheldon Cuffie, CIO for American Family Insurance Group

SAMANTHA MALDONADO PRINCIPAL CHASKA CONSULTING

Samantha Maldonado, principal at Chaska Consulting, is an example to those around her when it comes to leadership, community engagement and advocating for others, according to colleagues.

“She is known in the business community for creating and sustaining high-performance cultures, for transformational change and innovation and for leveraging these as part of her commercial strategy,” said Micah Crawford, director of Latin America marketing for Milwaukee Tool.

“Samantha is a focused and passionate leader driven to serve the development and well-being of our community. This can only be done through trust, open communication and accountability. Change depends on people, and people depend on relationships. Collaboration brings it all together,” said Crawford.

Maldonado serves as a mentor for Rotary Milwaukee and as an adjunct professor for Alverno College.

Her other board activity includes: vice chair for MobiliSE, board director and development chair for the Milwaukee County Parks Foundation, co-chair of the Diversity Leadership Council for United Way of Greater Milwaukee & Waukesha County, social responsibility committee for the YMCA, The Opportunity Center, VISIT Milwaukee and Alverno College.

DAVID BOWLES PRESIDENT CREATIVE MARKETING RESOURCES (D.B.A. CMRIGNITE)

After leading CMRignite’s company-wide strategy, planning and business development, David Bowles became president in 2021. Since then, his leadership and skills have helped position the Milwaukee-based company as an industry leader, colleagues say.

Founded in 1995, CMRignite is Wisconsin’s oldest and largest minority-owned communications agency. It specializes in developing “cause and behavior change” marketing campaigns for Fortune 500 companies.

“Since guiding the agency through its exponential growth during COVID-19 and leading its acquisition of a D.C.-based marketing firm, David has remained laser-focused on client and talent acquisition,” said Nepherterra Best, vice president of integrated communications at CMRignite.

“The agency has grown from a staff of 10 to nearly 70 full-time employees, yet David has never lost site of the company’s mission to embrace diversity and drive positive behavior change,” said Best. Seventy percent of CMRignite’s staff are Black, Indigenous and people of color, LGBTQ+ and/or people with disabilities. With a threeyear growth rate of 709%, the firm recently earned a spot on the Inc. 5,000 list of fastest growing private U.S. companies.

CHYTANIA BROWN PRESIDENT AND CEO EMPLOY MILWAUKEE INC.

Chytania Brown is the first Black woman to be appointed president and CEO of Employ Milwaukee. The organization uses federal, state and local funding to connect Milwaukee County’s unemployed, underrepresented young adult population to employment opportunities in growing industries.

“She believes through proactivity, Employ Milwaukee is in a far greater position to solve problems,” said Quintin Coby, planning and communications specialist at Employ Milwaukee. “Her work to advance the diversity, equity and inclusion efforts at EMI are inherently driven by her commitment to fostering the long-term effects that DE&I initiatives have not only on the organization’s culture, but our community as a whole.”

In 2022, Brown was invited to the White House by Vice President Kamala Harris to sit on a panel of workforce development leaders from across the country to discuss strategies for workforce development and the American Rescue Plan.

“Chytania approaches community service with the mentality of wearing a jersey, not a cape,” said Coby.

MFONISO EKONG MANAGING DIRECTOR OF GBETA GENER8TOR

As managing director of gener8tor’s gBETA accelerator, Mfoniso Ekong has provided coaching and mentoring to more than 100 business founders, 80% of whom identify as BIPOC.

Internally, Ekong has come up with several ways of helping gener8tor staff members gain a deeper understanding of underrepresented markets, and he has developed a working framework of best practices for engaging with historically marginalized communities. He has also advocated for more diverse hiring practices and initiated a corporate social responsibility program in which staff can support various causes.

“Mfoniso has established a safe, effective and collaborative learning environment for all staff members to engage in meaningful and difficult dialogue surrounding race,” said Dorothy Johnson, vice president of diversity, equity and inclusion at gener8tor.

Ekong is a board member of B Local Wisconsin, a voluntary collaboration of certified benefit corporations, nonprofits, sustainable businesses and individuals.

EDWARD DESHAZER EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR GREATER HOLY TEMPLE CHRISTIAN ACADEMY

Edward DeShazer, executive director of Greater Holy Temple Christian Academy in Milwaukee, has led the effort to raise the school’s state report card scores from 52 in 2015 to 73.4 in 2021.

Once a 2.2-star level school, the academy is now considered a 4.2star level, said Ronnie Jones, director of operations.

“In a three-month period, Edward helped purchase and then moved GHTCA into an old vacant MPS school building,” said Jones. “The building was vacant for the last 11 years, and he helped lead a multimillion-dollar remodel over the summer when everyone was telling him it couldn’t be done. It was an open concept building but now has 20 classrooms.”

DeShazer also had a workout gym installed for staff and has launched an effort, known as “Be Well Teacher,” to distribute selfcare gift boxes to teachers. He has donated these boxes to schools across the Milwaukee area. He also sits on the executive committee of the “Closing the Achievement Gap” effort, which helps area schools close the equity gap in their classrooms.

PEPI RANDOLPH VICE PRESIDENT OF BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT GREENFIRE MANAGEMENT SERVICES

As the former chief executive of Milwaukee-based Potawatomi Business Development Corp., Pepi Randolph saw an opportunity for the Potawatomi tribe to diversify and grow. From that vision, Greenfire Management Services was created.

The construction management firm is 100% owned by the Forest County Potawatomi. Randolph serves as vice president of business development.

Colleagues say Randolph’s ability to connect with people and form genuine relationships directly results in noteworthy projects and clients.

“Pepi is an asset to the firm through his connections and relationships. His desire to learn about tribal history and share it with our community sets him apart from his peers,” says Jeb Meier, president of Greenfire. “We are fortunate to have someone of his caliber on the team.”

“Pepi has been a mentor and leader to me as I learn and grow in business development. We each bring something different to the team,” said Michael Moe, business development coordinator. “He has an innate ability to walk into a room and come out with a new connection through his willingness to help others.”

ALVIN HILL JR.

SENIOR DIRECTOR OF DIVERSITY AND CULTURAL COMPETENCY CENTERS FOR INDEPENDENCE

Alvin Hill, senior director of diversity and cultural competency, has been the driving force behind creating the Centers for Independence’s diverse workforce since he started in 2004, according to colleagues.

“Al ensures diversity is fundamental to every aspect of CFI, from the mission, vision and values to the governance and business planning of the organization,” said Kasey Chard, associate director of development and donor engagement at CFI, a Milwaukee-based nonprofit organization.

“He has created topical and engaging diversity programs, coached leadership, spearheaded enhanced recruitment strategies to increase the hiring of a diverse workforce, and created employee resource groups that advance the careers of those underrepresented in the workforce,” he said.

One example: Hill launched diversity and cultural competence leadership training in 2021 to help leaders develop the skills needed to guide a multi-cultural and multi-generational workforce.

CFI is among other Milwaukee nonprofit organizations that have taken MMAC’s Region of Choice pledge to work toward dismantling structural racism in the community, including diversifying its board and staff above benchmarks.

TYRONE JOHNSON PRESIDENT AND CEO BROTHERS INFRASTRUCTURE GROUP CONSTRUCTION

Tyrone Johnson is the founder of Milwaukee-based Brothers Infrastructure Group Construction, known as B.I.G. The company has created a model for an 11-week construction education and financial literacy program for underserved and unrepresented individuals.

The participants were provided on-site skill construction training by certified instructors. Along with the construction training, participants were provided financial literacy training on how money works, the importance of saving and opening a savings account.

B.I.G. was the recipient of the 2022 Governor’s Financial Literacy Award.

Johnson has more than 25 years of experience as a project manager, construction manager, program manager and engineer on public and private construction projects, including at Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport, Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Milwaukee and Milwaukee Christian Center.

“His commitment to the community shows in the way he gives back to help lift others up,” said Sherri Jordan, founder and principal consultant of Envision the Ladder.

CONGRATULATIONS!!

The Centers for Independence salutes

Alvin (Al) Hill, Jr., CFI’s Senior Director of Diversity and Cultural Competence, as a Notable BIPOC Executive. Al is highly regarded for his leadership, not only within the organization, but also in the community. Thank you, Al, for your passion and dedication!

OUR MISSION

PARTNERING WITH PEOPLE OF ALL ABILITIES TO ADVANCE THEIR TOTAL HEALTH.

HEALTHY AND HOPEFUL COMMUNITIES. OUR VISION

MARVIN BYNUM SHAREHOLDER GODFREY & KAHN S.C.

Marvin Bynum, attorney and shareholder at Milwaukee law firm Godfrey and Kahn S.C., is a member of the real estate practice group, co-chairs the firm’s recruiting committee and serves on the fellowship and compensation committees.

“Marvin is so dedicated to bringing good people into Godfrey & Kahn,” said Kelly Conrardy, legal talent director and recruiter. In addition to his work at the firm, Bynum serves as board president of Harbor District Inc., which leads efforts to revitalize Milwaukee’s Harbor District area.

“One of the things I value most about Marvin is his leadership style; he thinks about how to get us to success and the steps necessary to do so,” said Tia Torhorst, CEO of Harbor District Inc. “His contributions have put us on a path for making significant changes to the equality of access to the rivers and lake. Harbor District has an equity lens as a result of many board members, but Marvin in particular.”

Bynum is also active with Milwaukee College Prep, specifically the school’s Amazing Shake competition hosted by Godfrey & Kahn. The program teaches etiquette and professionalism in preparation for the workforce.

CONGRATULATIONS

Our award-winning lawyers are just one of the many reasons our clients continue to choose Godfrey & Kahn.

XAVIER COLE VICE PRESIDENT FOR STUDENT AFFAIRS MARQUETTE UNIVERSITY

Xavier Cole, vice president for student affairs at Marquette University, leads the Division of Student Affairs, which fosters the holistic growth of students by providing them with opportunities to learn and practice skills, grow in competency and develop as leaders in service to others.

“He is passionate about access and engagement initiatives for firstgeneration students and students of color in higher education,” said provost Kimo Ah Yun. “Dr. Cole is a highly valued leader on campus, leading various initiatives. In March 2020, he began serving as chair of Marquette’s COVID-19 response team — a role for which he deserves much recognition.”

The response team was organized into five committees, encompassing approximately 100 subject matter experts from faculty and staff.

Throughout the pandemic, COVID transmission remained low on campus among students, faculty and staff, and professional contact tracing showed little to no classroom-based transmission and was able to help limit residence hall quarantine and isolation activity. Since fall 2020, Marquette has not needed to cancel inperson classes or suspend residency.

RASHI KHOSLA FOUNDER AND CEO MARS SOLUTIONS GROUP

Rashi Khosla, founder and chief executive officer of Town of Brookfield-based tech staffing provider MARS Solutions Group, is a DEI advocate within her company and beyond.

More than 68% of MARS employees and consultants identify as BIPOC. MARS also works to contribute to the DEI initiatives of clients. Eighty-three percent of full-time employment conversions fall within BIPOC categories.

“Rashi has left an impact on her community through her membership in organizations, contributions to the public forum and discussion space, reskilling and upskilling, hiring practices, and DEI initiatives and strategic partnerships,” said Roy Spieckerman III, marketing coordinator for MARS.

Through the MARS Returnship program, which helps people re-enter the workforce after a career gap, Khosla has helped more than 85 people return to work. Eighty-five percent of program participants are female and 88% of participants identify as BIPOC.

Khosla serves on the board of MKE Tech Hub Coalition and supports its mission to inclusively double tech talent in the area. She also chairs the HR committee for the Ronald McDonald House of Charities Eastern Wisconsin board of directors.

SUMATHI THIYAGARAJAN VICE PRESIDENT OF BUSINESS STRATEGY AND ANALYTICS MILWAUKEE BUCKS

Since joining the Milwaukee Bucks as its first vice president of business strategy and analytics, Sumathi Thiyagarajan has been able to make an immediate and profound impact on the business, according to colleagues.

“She leads a forward-thinking team that she built from the ground up, to harness the power of data, technology and applied and advanced analytics to drive results,” said Kate Reed, communications coordinator for the Bucks.

Thiyagarajan and her team focus on ticket pricing analytics, predictive modeling, executive-level reporting, market research, CRM management and enterprise program management.

“By partnering with every line of business, she and her team optimize revenue management for a large-scale portfolio,” Reed said.

Thiyagarajan serves in a leadership role within the Bucks’ Diversity Leadership Council focused on increasing diversity, equity and inclusion awareness. She also serves on the board of REDgen, which focuses on youth mental health, and is a member of TEMPO Milwaukee, HOAN Group and South Asians in Sports.

SHAKITA LAGRANT-MCCLAIN EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR MILWAUKEE COUNTY DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Shakita LaGrant-McClain, executive director of the Milwaukee County Department of Health and Human Services, oversees a $400 million budget and more than 700 employees. DHHS serves more than 80,000 residents annually through aging, disabilities, children’s, housing, behavioral health and veterans’ services.

Under her leadership, DHHS integrated into adult and children’s systems of care and implemented a “no wrong door” model of customer service. “Regardless of what ‘door’ someone enters –by phone, email, contact with staff or other – this model ensures people are connected to holistic services,” said Jill Lintonen, communications manager for DHHS.

Results of the new model include a 42% increase in individuals reached through the Aging & Disability Resource Center; eviction prevented for 12,000 households; 40% increase in enrollment in children’s disability programs; and more than 3,500 veterans, dependents and survivors served, according to Lintonen.

In 2022, LaGrant-McClain oversaw a significant change in the behavioral health system, with the closing of the Mental Health Complex in Wauwatosa and transitioning of services to communitybased locations.

FELICE GREEN DIRECTOR OF PROGRAMMING MILWAUKEE WATER COMMONS

Felice Green is the director of programming at Milwaukee Water Commons, a cross-city network that fosters connection, collaboration and community leadership on behalf of the area’s common waters. Green manages and oversees the organization’s Water City Agenda programs.

She also serves on the Sherman Park Neighborhood Tree Board, a volunteer committee of residents who participate in making decisions involving trees and green spaces in their neighborhood.

Green is also an MKE Culture Ambassador with the Wisconsin Bike Fed’s MilWALKee Walks (MKE Walks), a pedestrian and bicycle safety advocacy program that works with neighbors, business leaders and area nonprofits to lobby for safer and healthier streets.

In 2022, Green organized and led bi-weekly “yield to pedestrians” crosswalk actions on some of the most dangerous intersections on Milwaukee’s north side to bring attention to the need for safer streets throughout the spring and summer.

CAMELIA CLARKE PRESIDENT PARADISE MEMORIAL FUNERAL HOME AND CREMATION SERVICES

Camelia Clarke, president of Milwaukee-based Paradise Memorial Funeral Home and Cremation Services, is driven in her leadership by a sense of purpose and impact, said Faithe Colas, a consultant with Athena Communications LLC.

In July 2022, Paradise Memorial acquired Leon L. Williamson Funeral Home in Milwaukee upon the retirement of Leon L. Williamson, who had owned the business for more than 63 years.

“(Clarke) has a keen sense of business, as noted by the Leon L. Williamson family selecting her to assume ownership of their family business,” said Colas.

She also founded Wisconsin Casket and Funeral Care Supply Co., which provides a casket product line and sells funeral care supplies. It’s the first Black-owned company of its kind in Wisconsin.

In 2022, Clarke was named Funeral Director of the Year by American Funeral Director magazine. She was also elected to the board of directors of Federated Insurance Companies.

“Committed to inclusive excellence, Dr. Clarke is focused on building the capacity of others in service to all,” said Colas. “Her passion is contagious, and her business and community service excellence is a life and business model for others.”

TERRI HOWARD DIRECTOR OF EQUITY HGA INC.

Terri Howard, director of equity for Minneapolis-based HGA Inc., has been transformational in the organization’s growth since assuming the newly created role in January 2022, according to colleagues. Howard is based out of the firm’s Milwaukee office.

“She has established equity, not as a catch phrase, but as a business imperative, and not as a noun, but a verb,” said Martha Kelley Koenig, marketing manager for HGA’s Great Lakes office. “Perhaps more importantly, she has done so with compassion, curiosity and an open heart.

Howard has made the learning process accessible and inviting, meeting colleagues where they are at, and as a result the firm has learned “a great deal about the difference between values and action, and the hard work and expertise it takes to evolve ideals into measurable growth,” said Kelley Koenig.

Howard has extensive experience implementing DEI plans for nonprofit organizations, government entities and Fortune 500 companies, including for Hyatt Corp., the University of Wisconsin System, Dane County, the City of New York and Harris Health Systems in Harris County, Texas.

FRANCESCA MAYCA WEGNER EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR HISPANIC PROFESSIONALS OF GREATER MILWAUKEE

Francesca Mayca Wegner serves as executive director of Hispanic Professionals of Greater Milwaukee, an organization focused on growing the Latino talent pool in Wisconsin. Recently, Mayca Wegner secured a philanthropic investment of $350,000, the largest gift HPGM has received to date. She has established two new professional development summits for HPGM members and in 2022 founded the Poderosa Collective, the first Wisconsin Latina support collaborative.

Through community events and initiatives, the Poderosa Collective brings together a network of Latina entrepreneurs, Latina-serving organizations and professionals.

“With experience building and fostering strategic partnerships that enrich our community and drive positive change, (Wegner) champions the creation of spaces where others can bring their whole selves and feel valued,” said Gabriela Barbosa, senior leader of strategic partnerships and communications for HPGM. “She is an advocate for increasing representation and economic opportunities for Latinos in Wisconsin.”

Mayca Wegner serves on several boards, including for My Way Out, the Hispanic Collaborative, and the Higher Education Regional Alliance Steering Committee, and she’s a mentor in the Nativity Jesuit Academy Alumni Program.

JACOBO LOVO MANAGING ARTISTIC DIRECTOR LATINO ARTS INC.

As the managing artistic director of Milwaukee-based Latino Arts Inc., Jacobo Lovo is responsible for curating visual art exhibits, planning authentic cultural arts educational programming and collaborating with Hispanic artists from around the world.

Latino Arts’ gallery, exhibits and concerts attract audience members from around Wisconsin and Illinois, including more than 10,000 visitors in 2022.

Lovo collaborates with artists at various stages of their career. Two years ago, prior to his local fame with murals such as the Giannis Antetokounmpo mural in downtown Milwaukee, Lovo recognized the talent of Mauricio Ramirez and invited him to curate a solo exhibit at the Latino Arts gallery.

“Jacobo is a treasure to the community, utilizing his artistic talents and relationships to help bring the mission of Latino Arts alive and authentically share the beauty of Hispanic culture in accessible and unique ways,” said Laura Gutierrez, treasurer of the Latino Arts board of directors.

ALEXX ZAWADA DIRECTOR OF MARKETING POTAWATOMI CASINO | HOTEL

With more than 6 million visitors annually, Potawatomi Casino | Hotel is one of Wisconsin’s most popular attractions, and like other tourist destinations, it has faced challenges due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

From the outset of the pandemic, Alexx Zawada, Potawatomi’s director of marketing, and her team worked to ensure the safety of staff and patrons in an industry that relies on personable experience, according to Peggy Williams-Smith, president and CEO of VISIT Milwaukee.

“As workforce shortages emerged, Alexx and her team hosted regular on-site hiring events, using nearby digital billboards to get the word out,” Williams-Smith said. “Alexx did more than help the organization recover from the pandemic; her vision has brought the company to the precipice of expansion and growth that many would have considered inconceivable two years prior.”

In 2022, Potawatomi announced a $100 million renovation to its second level, including the addition of Rock & Brews restaurant, expected to be completed in phases during the summer and fall of this year.

Zawada is also a member of VISIT Milwaukee’s board of directors and marketing committee and a board member of Sojourner Family Peace Center.

BRIDGET ROBINSONWHITAKER EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR SAFE & SOUND INC.

Bridget Robinson-Whitaker, executive director of Milwaukeebased Safe & Sound Inc. is the first Black woman to hold that post since the organization was founded in 1998.

Starting as the program’s director in 2019, Robinson-Whitaker stepped into various executive leadership roles until she was promoted to executive director in 2022.

“Despite the various changes and turnover following the COVID-19 pandemic, Bridget remained focused and centered, which allowed Safe & Sound to thrive during uncertain times. It didn’t matter about the space, Bridget showed up ready and tackled every obstacle,” said Toria Monroe, director of development at Safe & Sound.

“If there was a problem with a funding source, she worked until the problem was solved,” said Monroe. “Bridget believes we all play a part in building the community we want to see.”

“Since Bridget’s start at Safe and Sound, she’s done an amazing job using her connections to provide exceptional service to the city of Milwaukee,” said Tushunda Wright, global HR advisor at ManpowerGroup.

KENNETH GINLACK CEO SERENITY INNS INC.

Kenneth Ginlack is the chief executive officer at Milwaukeebased Serenity Inns Inc., a recovery program for alcoholism and addiction. Since coming to Serenity a year ago, he has made a significant impact on programming, ensuring a focus on traumainformed care with an evidence-based curriculum, according to colleagues.

“Ken was able to spearhead a community event to address the increase in the overdose rate among African American men in Milwaukee County,” said Alicia Bryant, executive assistant at Serenity.

Attendees were given free groceries, hot dogs, hamburgers and behavioral health resources as well as a dose of Narcan and training on how to administer it.

“Ken has been instrumental in community engagement by getting community members to volunteer for dinner fellowship with the men at Serenity Inns,” said Bryant.

Ginlack started his career after he completed treatment for substance use disorder. He went back to school to become a counselor, obtained his master’s degree and later became a fully licensed psychotherapist.

TAMARRA COLEMAN EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR SHALOM CENTER

Tamarra Coleman, executive director at the Shalom Center in Kenosha, works to advance the needs of the most vulnerable parts of the community.

The Shalom Center annually distributes 1.1 million pounds of food, provides 18,758 shelter nights, serves 63,632 meals and coordinates 400 volunteers. She is currently overseeing the construction project of a community resource center.

Coleman left the business world in 2015 to become a member of the management team at the Shalom Center as the director of programs and operations. In February 2019, she became the executive director. She is also the board chair of the Kenosha Community Health Center/Pillar Health, an executive board member for Building Our Future, and a board member of the Kenosha Chamber of Commerce, Kenosha Area Business Alliance and Advocate Aurora Community Board.

Recently, Coleman was honored at Gateway Technical College’s annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration. She received one of this year’s Dr. King Humanitarian awards, recognizing her for contributions and dedication to the community.

BRANDON CURRIE CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER STRYV365

In early 2020, Brandon Currie founded STRYV365, a Milwaukee-based nonprofit organization that creates customized non-clinical, trauma-informed programming designed to foster positive childhood relationships, strengthen interpersonal skills and increase the ability to be resilient during challenging times.

STRYV365 uses activities such as sports and classroom exercises that help youth learn to use responsible decision-making, self-awareness, self-management, social awareness and relationship skills.

STRYV works with youth ranging in ages from elementary school to college and counts among its local key partners the Milwaukee Public Schools Twilight Program, the YMCA, Dr. Howard Fuller Collegiate Academy, the Milwaukee Academy of Science, and the school districts of Brown Deer and St. Francis. STRYV also works in Chicago and Indianapolis.

The organization’s presence has resulted in some amazing transformations, including during COVID-19, said Judith Parker, principal at Dr. Howard Fuller Academy.

“Every single one of our students has experienced some kind of trauma. We want to give them access to resources to deal with it,” Parker said.

VINCENT RICE VICE PRESIDENT, BUSINESS LENDING MARKET MANAGER SUMMIT CREDIT UNION

As vice president, business lending market manager at Madison-based Summit Credit Union, Vincent Rice works to generate economic growth and create opportunities in economically disadvantaged communities by working with local community development financial institutions and connecting funds with eligible small business owners.

He also meets with community organizations and leaders to promote the availability of Summit Credit Union’s business loan programs, giving small businesses a chance to thrive, according to Mike Jones, managing vice president of business services at Summit Credit Union.

While working for Wisconsin Economic Development Corp. in 2021, Rice created a $5 million funding program through Northwestern Mutual, supporting Legacy Redevelopment Corp. and Northwest Side Community Development Corp. to make additional investments into Milwaukee’s Black business community.

“He has devoted his career to helping small businesses, manufacturers, and workers grow, improve and succeed through funding, skills training, program development and acquisition prep,” said Jones.

Rice is a member of the board for Milwaukee-based Northwest Side Community Development Corp. and on the loan committee for the Latino Chamber of Southeast Wisconsin.

Summit Credit Union celebrates

Vincent

VP - Business Lending Market Manager

We’re proud to work with you, Vincent!

Thank you for devoting your career to helping businesses thrive. You’ve made it happen through funding, skills training, program development, acquisition preparation – and, of course, your great compassion.

among credit unions*

12 years in a row!

We’ll help your business thrive, too.

Cover all your business needs from competitive loans to easy cash flow services — with Summit, Wisconsin’s #1 Small Business Association (SBA) Lender among credit unions!*

Let’s talk through your questions and goals for confident next steps. Here for you at SummitCreditUnion.com.

Notable BIPOC Executive

Rice

A champion for small business owners and an economic change-maker for our communities.

*SBA Lender of the Year Award for Credit Unions as awarded by the Small Business Administration of Wisconsin in 2022. © Summit Credit Union 2023.

LAQUITHA “ELLE” BONDS

VICE PRESIDENT OF HUMAN RESOURCES SERVICES

MILWAUKEE AREA TECHNICAL COLLEGE

As the vice president of human resource services at Milwaukee Area Technical College since December 2020, Laquitha “Elle” Bonds leads talent management, training and development, recognition programs, compensation, benefits, legal compliance and employee data analysis for more than 1,600 employees.

“Being a life-long Milwaukeean, Elle knows the mission and history of our city and college and chose to work for MATC to provide exemplary services to our faculty and staff, and to make MATC an employer of choice in the region,” said Vicki Martin, president of MATC. “Recruiting and retaining high-quality talent is a top priority for her and critical to providing transformative education to our students and a diverse skilled talent pipeline to our community. Elle has been and continues to be a proven leader in working to improve these processes.”

While the COVID-19 pandemic posed challenges to all workplaces, Bonds worked to help MATC navigate health and safety issues and maintain its working environment.

“Elle is constantly striving to improve and enhance our organizational excellence,” Martin said.

EVA MARTINEZ POWLESS

VICE PRESIDENT AND CHIEF DIVERSITY, EQUITY AND INCLUSION OFFICER MILWAUKEE AREA TECHNICAL COLLEGE

Eva Matinez Powless became the first chief diversity, equity and inclusion officer at Milwaukee Area Technical College in March of 2021. In December 2022, she was promoted to vice president and chief DEI officer.

At MATC, Martinez Powless co-led the president’s DEI Task Force, developed the college’s five-year DEI plan, and planned and opened the college’s first centralized, dedicated office space for DEI at MATC’s downtown Milwaukee campus.

“DEI initiatives are of paramount importance to the college,” said Vicki Martin, president of MATC. “We are one of the most diverse twoyear colleges in the Midwest and our efforts to meet the needs of all students and employees and ensuring everyone is welcome are imperative to our college and community.”

“(Powless’) leadership practice is inclusive, collaborative, and she strives to lead authentically,” Martin added. “She is focused on the success of our students as well as our goal to become a Hispanic Serving Institution.”

DEREK GOODMAN EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR THE RICHARDSON SCHOOL

Derek Goodman recently became the executive director of The Richardson School, a MyPath Company that operates five therapeutic day schools in Wisconsin serving children with disabilities and behavioral challenges. Goodman has been impacting lives in the human services field for more than 20 years, according to Terry Leahy, president and chief executive officer of MyPath.

Before TRS, Goodman was director of operations for Paragon Community Services, a MyPath company that serves more than 300 adults, young adults and children with intellectual and developmental disabilities. While at PCS, Goodman oversaw six adult and respite programs, launched the Camp program to provide community outings for youth ages 7-21, launched transition services for individuals with cognitive disabilities, opened an adult day care program in the Green Bay area and increased daily attendance by 28% in 2022.

Before joining MyPath, Goodman held leadership positions at Easter Seals Southeast Wisconsin and served on the Wisconsin Adult Day Services Association Board of Directors.

Goodman also has mentored young Black men at MyPath and within the community.

LUKISCHA RAMOS DIRECTOR OF HUMAN RESOURCES UNITED COMMUNITY CENTER

As the director of human resources at United Community Center in Milwaukee, Lukischa Ramos is responsible for leading a team of HR professionals who oversee more than 500 employees.

Ramos leads people through change, adapts to changing rules and regulations quickly, and advocates for employees, said Anna Tietgen, media relations and marketing manager at UCC.

“She was instrumental in helping develop the agency’s COVID policies. United Community Center’s schools were among the first schools to return to in-person learning due to the preparation of Ramos and her team in ensuring a safe workplace,” Tietgan said.

Ramos also oversees employee benefits, including ensuring the agency can provide insurance with no premiums and keep costs under a 5% increase year over year.

“Lukischa has helped UCC overcome many challenges while also maintaining a forward-looking mindset to ensure we can continue to grow and meet the needs of our community. Lukischa’s efforts to cultivate and care for our employees is essential to our success,” said Laura Gutierrez, executive director of UCC.

FE COOPER DIRECTOR OF MEMBER SALES AND SERVICE

UW CREDIT UNION

As organizations strive to employ a more diverse workforce, Fe Cooper, director of member sales and service at UW Credit Union has worked to recruit people of color to the organization — particularly in leadership positions.

Since January 2022, Cooper has grown the credit union’s Milwaukeearea management team from one person of color to eight.

“Fe has made significant inroads with Milwaukee-area organizations to further support UW Credit Union’s recruitment pipeline,” said Amy Kriebs, UW Credit Union’s vice president of member sales and solutions.

She forged a partnership with BankWork$, an occupational skill development program through Employ Milwaukee that provides retail banking career training to underserved communities. Through this partnership, Fe has recruited four entry-level employees.

“In addition to her recruitment and support work, mentorship is a key part of Fe’s role,” said Kriebs. “She currently mentors five assistant branch managers, meeting with each monthly to discuss professional goals in their journeys to level-up as branch managers.”

CHARLOTTE HAYSLETT VICE PRESIDENT OF HUMAN RESOURCES VISIT MILWAUKEE

The COVID-19 pandemic created a new landscape of health and safety protocols, staffing issues and new policies for human resources professionals. In the travel and tourism industry, the changes have required an even greater nimbleness, and VISIT Milwaukee’s vice president of human relations, Charlotte Hayslett, helped keep the organization on track, according to Peggy Williams-Smith, president and chief executive officer of VISIT Milwaukee.

“In six years, Charlotte has proven herself an integral leader within the organization. Facing the unprecedented challenges of the pandemic, she implemented health protocols, ensuring the well-being of the company’s employees amid changing recommendations,” said Williams-Smith. “These changes in policy, remote work and COVID protocols fostered an environment of flexibility, keeping staffers informed and safe. In a time of nationwide staffing shortages, Charlotte worked tirelessly to assemble a diverse team of professionals.”

A leader of VISIT Milwaukee’s Unique Unites Committee, Hayslett works to increase VISIT Milwaukee’s community involvement and reaffirm its commitment to diversity, equity, accessibility and inclusion efforts through participation in events such as Juneteenth Day, Pride Parade and Accessibility Day.

KAMALJIT JACKSON VICE PRESIDENT OF PROGRAMS AND OPERATIONS

WISCONSIN WOMEN’S BUSINESS INITIATIVE CORP.

Kamaljit Jackson, vice president of programs and operations at the Wisconsin Women’s Business Initiative Corp. is known as the “glue” of the organization.

“There is always the pause in the conversation where we say, ‘Let’s ask K.C.,’” said Christina Knudsen, vice president of development and communications at WWBIC.

“Her expertise, planning skills, forward thinking, visionary direction and overall caring for clients is what makes our organization tick. Our needle moves because Kamaljit believes in what we do, who we serve and how we will get there. Her senior leadership creates and designs our work,” she said.

Jackson was the recipient of the GoLeanSixSigma “Wonder Woman of Quality” award. She also serves as a board member with the Kenosha Area Family & Aging Services Inc. and as a volunteer for the Big Brothers Big Sisters organization.

“Her heart guides her work,” Knudsen said.

TONI WHITE CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER WRTP | BIG STEP

Toni White, chief operating officer at Milwaukee-based nonprofit WRTP | BIG STEP, has been an innovator in workforce development for more than 25 years, according to colleagues.

As the leader of a staff of more than 25, White oversees all administration and operations, including federal and state contract compliance, assessment and evaluation to ensure all people have access to equitable training and employment outcomes.

“She focuses on offering direct professional development opportunities as well as strengthening cross-collaborative teams. Her fiscal guidance has resulted in almost double-digit asset growth as well as capturing hundreds of thousands of grant dollars through implementation of strong internal control processes paired with innovative solutions to programmatic challenges in workforce development,” said Lindsay Blumer, president and CEO of WRTP | BIG STEP.

“She frequently facilitates professional development trainings that focus on human-centered approaches to serving others and presents hands-on workshops on everything from diversity, equity and inclusion to performance accountability to transformational leadership,” said Blumer.

N OTA BLE BIPOC EXECUTIVES

BIZ PEOPLE Advertising Section: New Hires, Promotions, Accolades and Board Appointments

BANKING

FINANCIAL SERVICES

Bryan Lisowski

Joins Wisconsin Bank & Trust

Bryan Lisowski has joined Wisconsin Bank & Trust’s rapidly expanding Milwaukee team, as Senior Vice President, Commercial Banker. Bryan comes to the bank with over 16 years of experience in all facets of middle-market commercial banking. He has diverse industry experience, working with contractors, manufacturers, and distributors through high growth and ownership transitions. Bryan is a graduate of University of Wisconsin – Whitewater with a degree in Finance, as well as a graduate of the Pacific Coast Banking School at the University of Washington. WBT is a Member FDIC and Equal Housing Lender.

LEGAL SERVICES

Griselda Aldrete

Joins Hansen Reynolds LLC

Hansen Reynolds LLC is proud to announce that Griselda Aldrete has joined as a partner in our Milwaukee office. Her practice focuses on criminal, commercial, law enforcement, discrimination, and employment litigation matters. She also has a passion for mediations and advanced dispute resolution. She is fluent in Spanish, both orally and written. Prior to joining Hansen Reynolds, she held senior executive positions in corporate, government and nonprofit sectors. Griselda has been a lecturer and adjunct professor teaching criminal justice and criminology at local universities and continues to teach at UWMilwaukee.

Vrakas Promotes Sara M. Johnson to Shareholder

Previously a Principal, Sara has been promoted to Shareholder in the firm’s audit department. As an Audit Shareholder, Sara’s primary role at the firm includes performing and managing financial statement audit/review engagements, advising clients on new accounting standards, and assisting with client mergers/acquisitions. Sara will also oversee the firm’s employee benefit plan audit practice which currently audits over 150 benefit plans annually.

FINANCIAL SERVICES

Vrakas Promotes Paul A. Rothering to Shareholder

Paul has been promoted to Shareholder in the firm’s audit department. As an Audit Shareholder, Paul’s primary role at the firm includes performing and managing financial statement audit/review engagements, advising clients on new accounting standards, and assisting with client mergers/acquisitions. Paul works with privately-held companies, including private equity and ESOP owned companies. Paul also oversees the firm’s college internship and full-time employee recruiting efforts.

FINANCIAL SERVICES

Vrakas Promotes Paul D. Schoessow to Partner

Paul has been promoted to Partner of Vrakas Business Valuations, LLC, part of the Vrakas CPAs + Advisors family of companies. Paul will be responsible for working with clients to identify their valuation and other related requirements and performing detailed analyses to determine the most appropriate and supportable solutions for his clients’ needs. Paul specializes in valuing privately-held businesses for the purposes of succession planning, divorce, shareholder buyouts, and other purposes. Paul also has experience in testifying regarding income available for support for divorce cases.

NONPROFIT

ARCHITECTURE

ARCHITECTURE

Penfield Children’s Center Appoints

Polina Makievsky as President and CEO

Polina Makievsky has been named President & CEO of Penfield Children’s Center, an organization that serves children with and without disabilities in Milwaukee by providing early education, health and wellness services, and family programs. For over 25 years, Makievsky has dedicated her career to advancing the missions of diverse child and family service organizations. She brings an extensive background in nonprofit leadership including program development, advocacy, and innovation design for both community-based and national organizations and a deep passion for helping people.

HGA Welcomes

Michele Stanton as Chief Information Officer

HGA has welcomed Michele Stanton as Associate Vice President and Chief Information Officer. Based in the Milwaukee office, she will direct the firm’s information technology strategy, working closely with Executive leadership, IT teams, and the Digital Practice Group firmwide. Stanton has directed enterprisewide technology solutions for leading companies throughout Wisconsin and globally. Her background includes strategic planning, business and technology transformation, digital innovation, IT delivery and operations, mergers and acquisitions, and systems integration.

Kahler Slater Welcomes Riley Atlas as Creative Director of Brand Design

Kahler Slater is pleased to announce Riley Atlas has joined as Creative Director of Brand Design. He will lead the design firm’s continued growth, evolution, and positioning of their Environmental Branding team across all market sectors.

MEDIA & MARKETING

Nikki Wagner

Named President of Catch-22 Creative

Wagner has been named President of Catch-22 Creative, a Milwaukee-based marketing/advertising agency specializing in business-to-business communication. Wagner replaces agency founder Don Schauf, who will remain with the firm through 2023.

To place your listing, or for more information, please visit biztimes.com/bizconnect

BANKING

BANKING

BANKING

BANKING

Chris Zirbes Promoted at Cornerstone Community Bank

Cornerstone Community Bank promoted Chris Zirbes to SVP – Commercial Lender. With over 25 years of commercial lending experience, he joined Cornerstone in 2015. Zirbes will transition into this new role as Cornerstone merges with Horicon Bank.

FINANCIAL SERVICES

RSM US LLP names new partner

Mike Graft has more than 15 years of public accounting experience and is the Consumer Products industry leader in Wisconsin. He is a provider of audit, accounting, and consulting services.

Chad Zimborski

Promoted at Cornerstone Community Bank

Cornerstone Community Bank promoted Chad Zimborski to VP – Commercial Lender. He has over 12 years of business banking experience and a finance background. Zimborski will transition into this new role as Cornerstone merges with Horicon Bank.

LEGAL SERVICES

Gimbel, Reilly, Guerin & Brown LLP

Attorney Russell J. Karnes Promoted to Partner

The Milwaukee, Wisconsin based trial and litigation law firm, Gimbel, Reilly, Guerin & Brown (GRGB) is pleased to announce that they have promoted Attorney Russell J. Karnes to the position of Partner.

Rick Novotny

Promoted at Cornerstone Community Bank

Cornerstone Community Bank promoted Rick Novotny to SVP - Chief Credit Officer. He has over 20 years commercial lending experience and has been at Cornerstone since 2008. He will transition into this new role as Cornerstone merges with Horicon Bank.

LEGAL SERVICES

Gimbel, Reilly, Guerin & Brown LLP

Attorney Nicole M. Masnica Promoted to Partner

The Milwaukee, Wisconsin based trial and litigation law firm, Gimbel, Reilly, Guerin & Brown (GRGB) is pleased to announce that they have promoted Attorney Nicole M. Masnica to the position of Partner.

Heather Nelson

Named Spring Bank

President Spring Bank named Heather Nelson as president. She joined the bank in 2010 and has served as a commercial lender for most of her 30+ year banking career. Currently, Nelson becomes only the third female bank president in southeastern Wisconsin.

LEGAL SERVICES

Gimbel, Reilly, Guerin & Brown LLP

Attorney Kristen N. Nelson Promoted to Partner

The Milwaukee, Wisconsin based trial and litigation law firm, Gimbel, Reilly, Guerin & Brown (GRGB) is pleased to announce that they have promoted Attorney Kristen N. Nelson to the position of Partner.

Presents:

APRIL 20, 2023

7:30 - 11:00am

Italian Community Center

Join us April 20 for a look at the issues shaping the future of Milwaukee County. A growing megaregion, demographic shifts, artificial intelligence, continued advancement in robotics, and climate change will all take center stage as topics that will either advance or limit the growth of Milwaukee County over the next 30 years. Take advantage of this opportunity to step back from day-to-day challenges and imagine what it will take to propel your business forward in the coming decades.

The program starts with a keynote focused on future-proofing Milwaukee County. Business futurist Geoffrey Kasselman will cover underlying drivers of change, challenges and opportunities for Milwaukee and potential strategies in areas like infrastructure, housing, employment, education, mobility and regional competition.

A panel with community and business leaders discussing a range of issues and breakout sessions will follow the keynote.

Make plans to attend now; you’ll leave the morning with new perspectives and ideas to incorporate into your long-range planning and strategic thinking.

HERZFELD FOUNDATION DONATES

$5 MILLION TO MILWAUKEE REP

The Richard and Ethel Herzfeld Foundation is donating $5 million to the Milwaukee Repertory Theater in support of its Powering Milwaukee Campaign to build a new theater complex in downtown Milwaukee.

The single largest gift the foundation has ever made, the grant will help build The Herzfeld Foundation Education & Engagement Center in what will be called the Associated Bank Theater Center, creating a dedicated space for Milwaukee Rep’s growing student and community programming.

“When we have 700-800 students come, they take over the whole building. Every hallway, every private office, every conference room, everywhere,” said Chad Bauman, executive director of the Rep. “We have a great facility in terms of providing a theatrical experience for them, but when they break off for workshops, it’s really difficult. There is no space.”

calendar

To address these issues, The Herzfeld Foundation Education & Engagement Center will include:

• A fully equipped performance venue with seating for up to 125 patrons

• Multiple classrooms for rehearsals and workshops

• Accessible restrooms

• A prep kitchen for use during events

• An entrance directly off the RiverWalk

• A state-of-the-art event space made available to community partners

The Rep has raised more than $43 million towards its $75 million Powering Milwaukee Campaign to build a new theater complex in place of its existing Patty & Jay Baker Theater Complex at 108 E. Wells St. in downtown Milwaukee. In addition to the Education & Engagement Center, there are plans for two new theaters.

ELMBROOK EDUCATION FOUNDATION

3555 N. Calhoun Road, Brookfield, WI 53005 | (262) 844-3742 elmbrookschools.org/elmbrook-education-foundation

Twitter: @EMBK_Ed_Fndtion

Facebook: facebook.com/EEFWI/

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/beth-dobrzynski-01791088

Year founded: 1958

Never Say Never Inc., will hold its Enchanted Evening Gala to raise funds for an inclusive playground in Walworth County on Saturday, March 11, from 5:30 to 11 p.m. at The Treasury, 303 E. Walworth Ave., Delavan.

The Kacmarcik Center for Human Performance will host the EmpowHER Women’s Conference cost-free for every attendee on Tuesday, March 21, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at its headquarters, 885 Badger Circle, Grafton.

The Susan B. Anthony Board and Committee will host its 32nd Annual Awards Dinner celebrating women in the Kenosha community on Friday, March 24, from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Alfred and Bernice De Simone Arena, 4130 Petrifying Springs Road #4034, Kenosha.

The Delta Memorial Endowment Fund Inc., will hold its 45th Annual Literary Luncheon on Saturday, April 22, at noon at the Hyatt Regency Milwaukee, 333 W. Kilbourn Ave., Milwaukee.

DONATION ROUNDUP

The Milwaukee Building and Construction Trades Council, through its Heat for the Holidays campaign, donated $14,000 to Meta House to cover heating costs for the months of January, February and March 2023. | Kohl’s donated more than $500,000 to more than 20 nonprofits serving families in Milwaukee and Waukesha Counties through the Kohl’s Hometown Giving Program. | The Milwaukee Bucks and Pick ‘n Save teamed up to donate $50,000 worth of food to Milwaukee organizations in support of Kroger’s Zero Hunger / Zero Waste initiative. | The “Fox Bros. Piggly Wiggly Charity of the Month” program raised more than $369,000 in 2022 for 52 southeastern Wisconsin nonprofits. | Cousins Subs donated a combined $10,000 in grants to Baby Blessings, Life Navigators, Milwaukee Youth Theatre and Paralyzed Veterans of America – Wisconsin Chapter through its Make it Better Foundation. | Good Harvest Market donated more than $2,400 in organic groceries to the Food Pantry of Waukesha County. | The annual Mukwonago Community Kids for Wish Kids Program presented a check for $175,000 in donations to Make-AWish Wisconsin. | Kohl’s donated $750,000 to Hunger Task Force to reduce food insecurity in Milwaukee.

Mission statement: The Elmbrook Education Foundation is an independent nonprofit that enriches the Elmbrook school district and community by investing in its students and educators through grants, scholarships and other major initiatives.

Primary focus of your nonprofit organization: Supporting the staff, educators and students at the School District of Elmbrook.

Other focuses of your nonprofit organization: Community engagement through four major events and staff appreciation initiatives annually. Past initiatives funded include the Elmbrook Nature Center, new musical instruments, the career readiness LAUNCH program, coding curriculum for the elementary schools, fine arts production equipment, elementary school libraries and sensory tool kits.

Key donors: Bank Five Nine, CG Schmidt, The Corners of Brookfield, Craig Husar Designs, Milwaukee Tool, Schlifske Family Foundation, Soerens Ford, TDS Telecom, and Waterstone Bank

Executive leadership: Beth Dobrzynski, executive director; Dr.

Mark Hansen, superintendent of Elmbrook Schools; Deborah Nustad, board president; Kelly Ebbole, vice president; Katie Rasoul, secretary; Patrick Proctor Brown, governance; Charles Braley, treasurer; Jessica Gonzalez, member at large

Board of directors: Danielle Leitner Baxter, Rebecca Becker, Eva Barbara Bongard, Carrie Bown, Jessie Grimm, Maria Kotsonis, Preetha Kurudiyara, Michelle Miner, Sara Monty, Maria Patterson, Helen Ramon, Elizabeth Simpson, Stephanie Soerens Borkowski, Bushra Zaibak.

Is your organization actively seeking board members for the upcoming term? Yes

What roles are you looking to fill?

Event chairs for Boos & Ghouls Night Out and EEF Golf Open; general board member

Ways the business community can help your nonprofit: Sponsor, donate and attend our events. Contribute to our funding initiatives. Provide a match for our future initiatives.

Key fundraising events:

• Explore STEAM, March 7

• EEF Golf Open, June 13

• Boos & Ghouls Night Out, Oct. 26

• Ladies Night, Nov. 29

— Lelah Byron staff writer

Making way for new West Division school

This February 1954 photo shows the demolition of a house to clear space for the new West Division High School building between the 2200 and 2400 blocks of West Highland Avenue in Milwaukee. The older school building, which was demolished in 1960, is in the background behind trees. Today, the school is the site of Milwaukee High School of the Arts.

— Photo courtesy of Milwaukee Public Library / Historic Photo Collection

dium projects. The team’s current lease for the stadium ends in 2030.

Evers’ pitch on stadium is just the beginning

GOV. TONY EVERS recently unveiled a plan to use $290 million of the state’s $7 billion surplus for upgrades to American Family Field, the 22-year-old home of the Milwaukee Brewers.

Studies commissioned by the Brewers and the state indicate the stadium will need more than $400 million in upgrades over the next 18 years. The Southeast Wisconsin Professional Baseball Park District is the primary owner of the stadium and is responsible for major capital repairs and improvements and still has $70 million in reserve.

So, under the Evers plan there would be $360 million in taxpayer money available for upgrades to the stadium, plus interest accrued as those funds are saved and invested until they need to be spent. The Brewers would commit to remaining in Milwaukee until 2043 and to spending its own money on future discretionary sta -

But what if public money isn’t provided for future repairs and upgrades needed at the stadium? We’ve seen this game played countless times by professional sports teams in America. There’s always the threat, said or unsaid, that the team could move to another city that builds them a new stadium.

Why don’t the Brewers just pay for these repairs themselves? After all, Forbes estimates the value of the Brewers at $1.28 billion, or about $1 billion more than what a group led by Mark Attanasio paid to buy the team in 2005. But the stadium district’s obligations to maintain the facility combined with the competitive landscape for cities to have major professional sports teams means officials must come up with a funding solution to maintain the stadium and keep the Brewers here long term.

Evers’ proposal will probably be revised. Included in his budget plan, the Republicancontrolled state Legislature will likely throw the proposal out as they put together and ultimately pass their own budget.

The Legislature will probably want to commit a smaller amount of state money for improvements to the stadium than $290 million, and they

VOLUME 28, NUMBER 17 | FEB 27, 2023

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will probably want some local funding skin in the game.

By comparison, look at how funding for Fiserv Forum worked out. Public funds covered $250 million of the $524 million total cost, with the state providing $55 million ($80 million including interest) and local government, including the city, county and Wisconsin Center District, splitting the rest.

The city and county are in a terrible financial condition and have no money available for stadium upgrades. But if the Brewers developed some of the real estate around their stadium, as several other pro sports teams have done, property tax revenue would be generated that could help pay for stadium repairs.

It will be up to the Brewers, Evers, state legislators and local officials to make a deal. Nobody wants to lose the team and the tax revenue it generates while being stuck with an empty stadium. n

ANDREW WEILAND

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Get out of the office and into the community.

HEATHER NELSON

President

Spring Bank

Industry: Banking

Employees: 32

“That’s how I deliver the personalized service and attention Spring Bank’s customers deserve. I step away from my desk and into the community. I do that nearly every day.

“Whether at their business or elsewhere, I visit with customers. Not just for meetings. I shop at their stores, dine at their restaurants, and find other ways to connect with them, including attending functions important to them.

“When you spend time with your customers in a casual setting or in their own spaces, your relationship evolves. You become more than business partners. This in turn allows you to celebrate their business successes, work through their challenges, and see what and how things impact them. Most importantly, you create a relationship of trust that allows you to be open, honest and transparent with one another.

“Engaging and understanding is key.”

AGE: 53

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE: Nelson joined Brookfield-based Spring Bank in 2010, serving most recently as senior vice president of commercial lending. She has more than 30 years of experience in the banking industry, including positions at large regional and smaller community banks, and has served as a commercial lender for most of that time. Nelson received her bachelor’s in business administration from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1991 and her MBA from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee in 1995.

IN THE NEWS: Nelson was named president of Spring Bank in late January, succeeding David Schuelke, who will continue as chief executive officer. The appointment makes Nelson one of only three women currently serving as president of a bank in southeastern Wisconsin, according to Spring Bank. n

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