Rotary Club of Milwaukee Tuesday Speaker Series

This week we celebrated the conclusion of President Kent Lovern's successful year of leadership and thanked him for his dedicated service to the Rotary Club of Milwaukee over the past year. We also proudly welcomed Beth Heller, Vice President of Programs for the Zoological Society of Milwaukee, as our Club President for the 2026–27 Rotary year.

This week in Memorial Hall, Joe Peterangelo, Research Director at the Wisconsin Policy Forum, joined us to discuss the Forum's latest report on the state of small businesses in Wisconsin. He also shared insights from the organization's research on Milwaukee's small business support ecosystem and demonstrated the Metro Milwaukee Innovation DataTool, which measures the region's progress in innovatio...

This week in Memorial Hall, we heard from Lafayette Crump, Milwaukee's Commissioner of City Development, as he shared his vision for Milwaukee in 2026 and provided an update on the city's economic development efforts and priorities.

This week in Memorial Hall, Rotarians heard from Milwaukee School of Engineering's 6th President, Dr. Eric Baumgartner, as he shared his vision for MSOE and the future of the region's leading technical university. Drawing on leadership experience in higher education, robotics, and at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Dr. Baumgartner offered a unique perspective on innovation, engineering, and the...

This week in Memorial Hall, community members gathered for an engaging discussion on the significance of Juneteenth in U.S. history and Milwaukee, and how the day is commemorated and celebrated today. Speakers included Tony Kearney, Executive Director of Northcott Neighborhood House; Clayborn Benson of the Wisconsin Black Historical Society; Sarah Pancheri of Milwaukee World Festival; and Miss Jun...

This week, we celebrated our Armed Forces Week luncheon featuring Major General (Ret.) Brian Winski, Rotarian and President & CEO of the Milwaukee County War Memorial Center, as we recognized the dedication and sacrifice of active-duty military personnel in our community.

This week in Memorial Hall, Paul Smith, who has covered the outdoors for Wisconsin newspapers for more than 30 years, sat down with member David Haynes to talk about Wisconsin's long love affair with hunting, fishing, wildlife, and the state's natural beauty. He shared his thoughts on the deer population, recent bald eagle sightings in Milwaukee, and the impacts he is seeing from climate change.

Yesterday, Rotarian Dave Haynes moderated a bipartisan conversation featuring Mayor Tom Barrett and Representative Scott Klug, Wisconsin board members of the Democracy Defense Project. Their discussion focused on the state of civility in public discourse, Wisconsin's election administration systems, strategies for strengthening trust in civic institutions and showcased bipartisan cooperation as a...

The Rotary Club of Milwaukee's highest honor is the Rotary Person of the Year Award, which recognizes an outstanding individual each year for exceptional professional achievement and meaningful community impact. This week, we proudly recognized our Executive Director, Mary McCormick, as our 2026 Rotary Person of the Year. Mary exemplifies our club's mission of "connecting" by serving as the ultima...

This week at Rotary, Mark Hasting, CEO & President of Blain's Farm & Fleet, shared the story of the family-owned retailer as it celebrates 70 years of serving customers. He also emphasized the company's continued momentum—building on a legacy of trust, hard work, and community commitment while actively adapting, expanding, and investing for the future

On Tuesday April 7th, Rotarians heard from Gil Peri, President and CEO, Children's Wisconsin. Children's Wisconsin has more than 7.3 million connections with kids and families throughout the state each year. Gil discussed the services and capabilities the organization has to support children – from prevention and early intervention through highly-specialized and complex hospital services. He also...

Adam Tindall-Schlicht, Rotarian and Milwaukee native, shared reflections from his service in the Biden-Harris Administration as the 11th Administrator of the U.S. Great Lakes St. Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation, where he led and oversaw one of North America's most vital international waterways. Adam discussed the economic, environmental, and geopolitical importance of the Great Lakes–St. L...

This week in Memorial Hall, Rotarians heard from the Milwaukee Bucks' new President, Josh Glessing, on the intersection of professional sports, global business, and civic impact.  He shared his strategic assessment of his first 60 days in the role, his vision for evolving the Bucks' business model to drive regional growth, and the important role the organization plays in the Milwaukee community.

This week in Memorial Hall, Darryl Morin, President and CEO of Advanced Wireless, Inc. and President of Forward Latino, sat down with Rotarian Dave Haynes for a discussion on the economic impact of immigration and immigration policy. He highlighted the important role immigrant labor plays in Wisconsin's economy and addressed some of the most common misconceptions on the topic.

This week in Memorial Hall, Brenda Cassellius, Superintendent of Milwaukee Public Schools, returned to the Rotary Club of Milwaukee to discuss the district's $46 million budget gap. She outlined her plans to restore fiscal health while protecting classrooms, maintaining safe schools, and investing in academic achievement.

This week in Memorial Hall, Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley highlighted his administration's ongoing efforts to promote fiscal sustainability, maintain the critical services residents rely on, and strengthen economic development, public safety, and affordable housing across Milwaukee County. He also discussed the Future State Project, a new initiative designed to improve programs and serv...

Yesterday in Memorial Hall, Dr. Lia Medeiros PhD, Assistant Professor at University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee's Center for Gravitation, Cosmology, and Astrophysics, shared the history of how telescopes around the world united to capture the first-ever image of a black hole—and how she used that historic image to test Einstein's theory of gravity. She also introduced her innovative machine learning al...

This week in Memorial Hall, Rotarian Colleen Foley, Executive Director of the Legal Aid Society of Milwaukee, shared yesterday how Eviction Free MKE addresses homelessness caused by evictions. She highlighted how this Right to Counsel program ensures individuals and families facing eviction receive the support, guidance, and legal representation they need to remain in their homes.

This week in Memorial Hall, Rima Alaily, Corporate Vice President & General Counsel of Infrastructure Legal Affairs at Microsoft, shared an update on the company's expanding investment in Wisconsin, including its multi-billion-dollar commitment to advanced AI datacenters and cloud infrastructure. She also highlighted the economic opportunities these projects bring, discussed Microsoft's Community-...

Yesterday at Rotary, Dr. Kim Sajet, newly appointed Donna and Donald Baumgartner Director of the Milwaukee Art Museum, shared how cities worldwide are placing art and creativity at the center of economic growth, innovation, and community life. Drawing on global examples and Milwaukee's ambitions, she highlighted how museums and artists drive measurable impact while strengthening identity and belon...

This week in Memorial Hall, Rotarians  heard from Mike Knetter, Economist and Senior Advisor for Investments and Business Development at the UW Foundation & Alumni Association, who shared an economic outlook for the U.S. economy, with special emphasis on the role of the AI innovation cycle and America First policies.

Yesterday, Greg Borowski , Executive Editor, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel , discussed with Rotarians how he and his team are navigating today's challenging news landscape. He shared how their focus on connection, relevance, and community partnerships is bringing stability and impact to their reporting.

This week, Tom Content, Executive Director of the Citizens Utility Board of Wisconsin, discussed CUB's work to fight energy inflation and the growing challenges to energy affordability posed by the development of data centers in Wisconsin and around the country.

This past Tuesday, we kicked off our first Rotary program of 2026 with a presentation from Michael Ford, Director of the Wisconsin Institute for Citizenship and Civil Dialogue. Michael shared his talk, "Practical Tools for Navigating Difficult Conversations," offering practical, evidence-based tools for engaging in disagreement without deepening polarization.

This week in Memorial Hall, Steve Vavrus, Senior Scientist at UW–Madison, shared how Wisconsin's climate is rapidly changing, with the past two decades being the warmest on record and the 2010s the wettest. Drawing on work from the State Climatology Office and WICCI, he highlighted major trends, extreme weather impacts, and what these shifts mean for the state's future.