THE GMC

Civic Engagement, Trust, & Regional Alliance On February 9, the Greater Milwaukee Committee hosted its Annual Membership Meeting. In addition to approving the 2026 Board slate, the meeting featured a focused discussion on why civic engagement is a strategic imperative for business leadership and successful community development. A national perspective was delivered by Joseph Arroyo, Executive Director of Cities Forward, a leading organization based in New York City working at the intersection of civic infrastructure, local government, and community leadership in cities across the country. Drawing on his experience working nationwide, Mr. Arroyo shared concrete insights and examples of how business, civic, and public-sector leaders are partnering to strengthen trust, expand participation, and drive measurable community outcomes. Under his leadership, Cities Forward has emerged as a thought leader in investing in community leadership, building responsive public institutions, and creating alignment to dismantle silos and make local government more visible, coordinated, and responsive. His remarks highlighted how embedding civic organizing and engagement within local government and community institutions creates durable civic infrastructure, enabling communities to rebuild trust, deepen civic participation, and position cities for long-term growth, resilience, and innovation. Strong civic engagement is essential to advancing the GMC’s pillars of education, fiscal strength, public safety, and infrastructure. When communities trust and participate in public systems, regions see stronger educational outcomes, more effective use of resources, safer neighborhoods, and the infrastructure needed for long-term growth. This discussion explored how civic engagement drives workforce readiness, economic competitiveness, and shared prosperity—and the role business leaders can play in strengthening Milwaukee’s civic fabric. Speakers included: Joseph Arroyo, Cities Forward JoAnne Anton, Herb Kohl Philanthropies Angela Damiani, NEWaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson, City of Milwaukee

Advancing Sustainability for Milwaukee’s Arts & Culture Institutions Milwaukee’s arts and culture ecosystem is at a critical inflection point. With philanthropic resources tightening and state funding remaining stagnant, organizations must explore new strategies to ensure long-term financial resilience. This meeting brought together leaders from across the sector to discuss innovative, practical approaches to operating more sustainably in today’s challenging climate. With local organizations as key examples, we examined how major institutions are adapting—balancing capital needs, evolving business models, and diversifying revenue streams. Speakers included: Kevin Giglinto, Marcus Performing Arts Center Jodi Gibson, Zoological Society of Milwaukee Ellen Censky, Milwaukee Public Museum Christine Hojnacki, Imagine MKE Rob Henken, Herzfeld Foundation Topics included opportunities for shared services, new partnership models, long-term audience development strategies, revenue innovation, and approaches to stabilizing operations during periods of transition.

The GMC’s November membership meeting centered on public safety and violence prevention efforts across our community. The discussion featured updates from local leaders who are advancing safety through prevention-focused, neighborhood-level strategies that are showing meaningful progress across Milwaukee, including: -Dan Bader, president and CEO, Bader Philanthropies -Heather Hough, Chief of Staff, Milwaukee Police Department -Kent Lovern, District Attorney, Milwaukee County - David Muhammad, Deputy Director, Milwaukee County Health Department -Langston Verdin, Director of Partnerships and Strategy, GMC We reviewed key outcomes and lessons learned — exploring what’s working, where challenges remain, and how citywide collaboration can build on this momentum. Together, we examined how Milwaukee’s coordinated approach continues to evolve, addressing complex issues with innovation, compassion, and accountability. This conversation provided valuable insights into how civic, business, and community leaders can sustain and strengthen these efforts to create safer neighborhoods, deeper partnerships, and a shared commitment to the well-being of our city.

Advancing Reading in Milwaukee: In early May, Mayor Cavalier Johnson convened a group of Milwaukee’s educational, civic and philanthropic leaders for a unique discussion focused on advancing educational outcomes while leaving historic challenges or grievances at the door. The meeting launched an effort to transform reading outcomes in our city and to advance new ways to train educators in the science of reading. Whether you attended the May meeting or pledged your support for the Milwaukee Reading Coalition, work is underway to dramatically improve outcomes for kids in our community. As Milwaukee’s youth begin a new school year, we celebrated the formal launch of the Milwaukee Reading Coalition and highlighted the status of our collective efforts, with a panel conversation with Milwaukee Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Brenda Cassellius, JoAnne Anton, Dr. Howard Fuller of the Howard Fuller Academy and Laura Gutierrez from United Community Center. Many have already joined the call, but the work has just begun. Watch now to learn how you can participate in advancing reading outcomes for Milwaukee’s youth and your future workforce.

Higher education is facing mounting headwinds, both in Wisconsin and across the nation. Declining enrollment, ideological concerns, shifts in workforce demands, disinvestment of public resources, and tightening financial models are challenging institutions to rethink their missions, strategies, and long-term viability. In Wisconsin, these pressures are intensified by demographic trends, regional economic shifts, and policy constraints. Nationally, institutions are grappling with similar disruptions, many of which call for urgent and coordinated responses. On June 9, we were joined by academic and industry leaders at UW-Milwaukee for a conversation about the immediate and long-term challenges and what higher education is doing collaboratively to navigate these uncharted waters. Speakers included: - Mark Mone, Chancellor, UW-Milwaukee - Cindy Gnadinger, President, Carroll University - John Swallow, President, Carthage College This discussion is not just timely – it is a necessary step in rising to the occasion to solve challenges in our community and our world.

Celebrate Milwaukee and the dedication that GMC members have to fulfilling our strategic mission. We met at the historic Rockwell Automation building l to hear from one of Milwaukee's favorite historians- John Gurda.  Mr. Gurda presented a live version of his television series the "Making of Milwaukee."  Milwaukee was known as “good land” to Native Americans, a place of abundant natural resources. It became, over the decades, a major Great Lakes port, a stronghold of industry, a capital of ethnic diversity, a model of good government, and one of the most livable large cities in America. “The Making of Milwaukee” is a fast-paced, fully illustrated PowerPoint program that captures the full sweep of the community’s history, from its wilderness past to the complex patterns of the 21st century. We were also be joined by Senator Tammy Baldwin to share an update on her work in Washington DC and locally.  Thank you to Becky House and Rockwell Automation for generously hosting this meeting in one of Milwaukee's historic landmarks.

Reliable public transit is a hallmark of great cities in America and around the world. Despite major ongoing challenges in transit locally and nationally, Milwaukee has seen innovations introduced in the past few years. One example is the FlexRide microtransit program launched in 2022 to connect residents from predominantly low-income neighborhoods to suburban employers previously inaccessible via traditional bus routes . The service has provided over 100,000 rides, facilitating access to an estimated 17,000 additional jobs. Other innovations in transit have also been introduced over the last few years, including the Connect 1 Bus Rapid Transit Line. Even with these innovations, funding challenges at the local, state and federal levels threaten routes and ultimately, the entire system. County Executive David Crowley will help us understand the current situation, what the future may bring, and how we can have an impact on it. On May 12, we heard from County Executive David Crowley and MobiliSE executive director Dave Steele on how we can address these challenges to ensure that Milwaukee is able to continue to offer quality and affordable transportation options for our community and workforce. In addition, we discussed how all of us can be stronger and better advocates during this time of disruption and uncertainty. To finish the meeting, Milwaukee Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Brenda Cassellius spoke with membership after GMC President Joel Brennan announced the MPS Superintendent Leader Impact Fund.

The GMC was joined by Secretary Jeff Pertl from the Wisconsin Department of Children and Families. ​This webinar provided a deep dive into the Governor’s budget proposals for early childhood education (ECE), examining the potential impact on businesses, workforce stability, and economic growth. We discuss what these initiatives mean for employers and their employees, how they could affect the bottom line, and the key question—who will ultimately pay for them in the long run?

The K-12 landscape is always a center of attention, but we have all seen stark reminders of both what ails us and how potential solutions may ensue as the last year has unfolded. Milwaukee Public Schools face unprecedented fiscal and organizational challenges from failing to complete mandatory filings with the state, losing federal and state resources, uncovering lead poisoning in schools and wrestling over school resource officers. At the same time, recent test scores show that Milwaukee has fallen further behind compared to our national peers. The 100,000+ kids who attend schools in the city of Milwaukee are not being served well enough, and we are compelled to seek the clearest and shortest path to progress. After the narrow passage of the April 2024 referendum granting MPS an additional $252 million in local taxpayer support, followed by incidents of financial reporting errors, Governor Evers called for an independent operational review of MPS to shed light on the current situation and potential ways to improve the fiscal and organizational issues. The results of that review were released earlier in February. At the March 10 membership meeting, GMC president Joel Brennan shared key findings from the audit, including suggestions for how MPS can operate more efficiently. We were also joined by Milwaukee journalists who have delved into recent and long-term challenges in our city’s schools and who will provide further insight into the evolving landscape of K-12 education in our community. - Alan Borsuk, Marquette University - Corri Hess, Wisconsin Public Radio