BY: ARCHER PARQUETTE, CHRIS DROSNER, ASHLEY ABRAMSON, ANN CHRISTENSON, EVAN MUSIL, ADAM ROGAN, RICH RIVOTO, BRIANNA SCHUBERT AND CAROLE NICKSIN
1. José G. Pérez
MILWAUKEE COMMON COUNCIL PRESIDENT
Many local city councils act as rubber stamps on mayor’s agendas. That hasn’t been the case since Pérez became council president in 2022. He prioritizes galvanizing all 15 alders to “be laser-focused on policy” and fulfill their role as “an equal branch of government” – particularly facing off with the executive branch, when necessary.
This has led to monthslong battles with Mayor Cavalier Johnson over, among other things, appointments to the scandal-plagued Housing Authority and demands for more control over the playbooks that direct the city’s lobbyists’ activities in Madison. Throughout the first decade of his 13 years as an alder, “I don’t think the council was exercising its authority and influence in the way that it should,” he says. That’s shifted with Pérez at the helm.
“People tend to shy away from tension and conflict,” he says. “My job as a leader is to embrace those things to some extent. If you want change, it’s not going to happen easily.”
Let your voice be heard about everything you love in Milwaukee, from food trucks to florists.
2. Cavalier Johnson
MILWAUKEE MAYOR
For how much of a showman Johnson can be – he frickin’ rappelled down the Milwaukee Athletic Club building to bring attention to Doors Open Milwaukee last year – it’s the unseen stuff he does that powers his administration.
Since he replaced Tom Barrett in 2021, arguably the biggest waves Johnson’s made have been generated by lobbying in Madison rather than sticking around City Hall.
Johnson has worked closely with Republicans, who still hold most of the political power in the state. And he has no regrets, because he has receipts: the new 2% county sales tax, a historic shared revenue increase, the Brewers committing to stay through at least 2050.
“My own friends,” he says, “were telling me that I was wasting time and energy and effort by going to the Capitol, that there was no way we were going to be able to get this done. And yet we got it done.”
RELATED READS: THE POWER OF BLACK LEADERSHIP IN MILWAUKEE
3. David Crowley
MILWAUKEE COUNTY EXECUTIVE
When people from his old neighborhood in the 53206 run into him, Crowley notices many of them treat him differently because of his elected role. He always laughs when they ask him what his phone number is. “It hasn’t changed,” he replies. “When you walk with purpose and people gravitate toward you, it is important to know that folks are always looking,” he says, noting he tries to influence young people to become interested in county government.
Since childhood, Crowley has witnessed firsthand the wide breadth of what the county does: His mother faced eviction, loved ones received services for mental health and addiction, he took a county bus to school.
“For me, influence and power are about recognizing that, no matter where you are, no matter what space you walk in every single day, you’re working for the betterment of not only yourself but the entire community. I think that’s the way that I show up every single day.”
4. Marcelia Nicholson
MILWAUKEE COUNTY BOARD CHAIR
Nicholson learned everything she needed to know about herding cats (i.e., the 17 other Milwaukee County Board supervisors) as a fourth-grade teacher, when she says her MPS classrooms averaged 36 students.
“Teaching,” she says, “taught me how to organize people, how to be direct and be up-front.” Her role today is analogous to the speaker of the House or congressional whips: She sets the agendas but also needs to make sure what comes up is actually going to pass.
This is where her real power comes from, in addition to administrative responsibilities of approving individual supervisors’ travel budgets and appointing specific public servant roles. The buck stops with her – and, often, a lot of bucks. She points to last fall’s passage of the $1.4 billion 2025 county budget, which was unanimous. That doesn’t happen very often.
5-7. Emily Phillips, Sarah Smith Pancheri & Peggy Williams-Smith
THE POWER TRIO
THREE WOMEN, two in the public sector and the third firmly in the private sector but all with an innate desire to make the world a better place. We asked them to sum up their commonalities, professionally as well as personally.
Milwaukee Magazine: Do you see a common thread in how each of you lead?
Emily Phillips: The three of us operate in a manner that carries an energy of accessibility and kindness, but not at the expense of getting things done. And what I really enjoy about the energy that the three of us share is that we don’t have a lot of patience for nonsense.
Sarah Smith Pancheri: We are going, going, going. Everyone is busy, and no one’s busy is more important than anyone else’s busy. But we are always pushing, whether it be as a working mother, as a CEO, as a friend – we’re always on the move.
EP: I prefer to say “productive” instead of “busy.” I don’t think that “busy” is reflective of the level of intentionality that goes into our schedules.
MM: While you are all very professional, there’s a lot of kidding around – and some of it would qualify as “gloves off.”
Peggy Williams-Smith: Absolutely – that’s just how we roll! When you have strong, smart and driven women in a room together, there’s some candid conversation. But at the core, it comes from a place of deep respect and trust. We challenge each other, we push each other to be better, and we don’t waste time tiptoeing around tough topics.
RELATED READS: Q&A: PEGGY WILLIAMS-SMITH ON WHAT THE RNC MEANS FOR MILWAUKEE
MM: Is there something that the three of you have worked on together that is an extension of your relationship?
SSP: I think Emily’s Jacken Awards are a really good example of that. I’ve watched it evolve as a way of recognizing so many people, and it expands the network. And each year, [Emily chooses] an organization to support. I’ve learned about organizations and their work through this. The Jackens are an organic extension of Emily’s interests, and Peggy and I are big supporters.
MM: What do you three talk about when no one else is listening?
PWS: Oh, you know, our secret plans for global takeover … and, of course, the occasional debate over who’s actually in charge. But really, we talk about the things that matter most: how to make an impact, how to support each other and, let’s be honest, how to survive it all with a little bit of humor. And a lot of wine.
8. Genyne Edwards
WHAT DIVERSITY’S WORTH
Edwards has seen leadership from many perspectives through her high-level roles in the corporate, nonprofit and government sectors. “Leadership is really about influence,” Edwards says. “It often simply comes down to clarity of vision and purpose, but also having the self-efficacy to appreciate and understand that I can change things and influence my environment.”
An attorney, Edwards co-founded P3 Development Group, where she serves as a strategist in the areas of economic development, organizational and leadership development, communications, and equity and social inclusion. “Some people can’t understand the value of diversity, so we reframed it as curiosity,” Edwards says. “There truly is value in taking all opinions and perspectives into consideration. If you don’t, you’re going to miss out.”
9. Matt Arnold
DIAMONDS IN THE ROUGH
If you want to know how the Brewers have defied low-to-middling expectations shaped by a tight payroll, names like Colin Rea, Trevor Megill, Tobias Myers, Bryan Hudson and Jared Koenig come to mind. No-name pitchers posting career-best performances have become a hallmark in Arnold’s four seasons as general manager.
RELATED READS: BREWERS GENERAL MANAGER MATT ARNOLD REFLECTS ON THE 2024 SEASON
The 2024 MLB Executive of the Year has done it with shrewd evaluation of talent – both internally and poring over other clubs’ rosters – combined with a development “lab” that treats pitching a ball like an emerging science. And he and principal owner Mark Attanasio made a pretty good hire last year, too: Pat Murphy, who was named MLB’s manager of the year.
10. Marty Brooks
BUILDING BUSINESS
“The organization today is unrecognizable from the organization I stepped into,” Brooks says of the Wisconsin Center District, of which he took charge in 2018. “If it wasn’t for the changes our organization has had, we would be irrelevant, as would I.” He’s referring to internal machinations – fostering loyal staff, pursuing ambitious goals – but the external change is obvious, too.
In 2024, the Wisconsin Center unveiled a $456 million expansion, doubling the size of the district’s centerpiece event space. Since then, the newly named Baird Center has been a host site for the Republican National Convention, among dozens of major events. The Downtown nexus, Brooks hopes, is an engine for the city’s growth well into the future.
11. Liz Joy
THE SMILESMITH
With a name like that, maybe making people happy was Joy’s destiny. Because that’s what she’s doing at Joy Ice Cream Social, the Tosa creamy sweets shop and community hub. Great product, cool branding, thoughtful collaborations – Joy wrote the book on it. “I’m just having a lot of fun over here,” she says simply.
Her goal for the shop was also simple: build a welcoming spot where everyone can feel at home. And “there’s no greater uniter than ice cream. Who doesn’t love ice cream?” she says. Her collaborations with other business (Press waffles, Cranky Al’s doughnuts) are part of her stronger-together strategy. “I’m an Aries. When people tell me I can’t do something, I just dig in further.”
12. Derek Mosley
LIVING TO THE FULLEST
This might be lower on his long list of accomplishments over 20 years as a Milwaukee municipal court judge, but more than 1,000 couples know Mosley best as the man who officiated their wedding. His warm, joyful, charismatic presence made him a natural at leading those celebrations.
Now at Marquette University, Mosley uses that same presence to support law students. Outside of his work, he’s relentless – lecturing on Black history, showing off Milwaukee’s food scene on social media, hosting monthly Heritage Dinners to showcase world cuisines, and publicly promoting organ donation for several health care organizations.
He dates his voracious approach to life to 2014, the year he nearly died of renal disease. “I’m living on new time,” he says. “If not for my kidney replacement, I probably wouldn’t be here. So someone wants me here, right? There’s work for me to do, and I want to do that work.”
13. Ellen Censky
THE MUSEUM MOVER
The Milwaukee Public Museum is in the thick of it. For the first time in over six decades, the local institution is packing up its collection of over 4 million items, dismantling its exhibits, and moving to a new building. Censky is leading MPM through the transition, with its monumental funding demands, public pushback and complex logistics.
RELATED READS: MEET THE WOMAN TRANSFORMING THE MILWAUKEE PUBLIC MUSEUM
With fundraising still ongoing, the new museum is set to open in 2027, almost a decade after the move was announced. “It’s exciting and frustrating and intense,” Censky says. “If we were to stay [in the old location], we’d eventually close, versus keeping this alive. It’s one of those once-in-a-lifetime opportunities.”
14. Aaron Lipski
BRINGING THE HEAT
The striking thing about talking to Milwaukee’s fire chief is how unfiltered he sounds. When many civic leaders speak through the clean (and occasionally meaningless) polish of PR-approved soundbites, Lipski has built a reputation for plain-spokenness.
Since the COVID pandemic prompted a rash of MFD retirements and resignations, that has often meant demanding more resources for his department without mincing words. And it appears to be working.
RELATED READS: MILWAUKEE FIRE DEPARTMENT CHIEF AARON LIPSKI IS REDEFINING THE ROLE
Since Lipski’s appointment in 2021, MFD has reopened two once-shuttered stations and hired more personnel. “One might say I’m a little rough around the edges or pushy,” Lipski says. “But what I’m finding is that people are absolutely starved for someone to just say it like it is.”
15. Barry Mandel
CREATING BETTER PLACES
When Mandel talks about the projects he’s developed, he’s not just talking about buildings. He uses the phrase “creative placemaking.”
That’s the apartment or condo building itself, of course, but it’s also the space around it, the public parks he builds, the walkability of the neighborhood. “It’s all part of an intentional effort for the development to be much greater than the building, to extend to the community,” he says.
RELATED READS: HE BUILT THIS CITY
Since Mandel Group’s first major Downtown development in 1991 – East Pointe Commons – Mandel has made a name for himself building in places with what he calls “high barriers to entry” – municipalities that weren’t interested in apartments. His developments have attracted suburbanites back to Milwaukee, and built out communities across the metro area. “We create more of a soul and a spirit,” Mandel says, “than just four walls and a roof.”
16. Dale Kooyenga
PICKING A NEW BATTLE
“Milwaukee’s best days are still ahead of it,” Kooyenga says. As president of the Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce, he’s one of the key players in making sure that’s more than just a nice sentiment. MMAC is a conduit of influence, connecting businesses and drawing more of them into the city.
Before joining MMAC last year, Kooyenga, a lieutenant colonel in the Army Reserve and former CFO, was a Republican legislator for 12 years. He sees this role as something of a new start. “Getting things done has always been more important to me than a culture war or playing politics,” he says. “Our vision is to be a globally competitive region for all of the folks here. That’s what I fight for.”
17. Dan Jacobs
OUR TOP CHEF
His self-deprecation and offbeat sincerity made this chef/restaurateur a fan favorite in 2024’s “Top Chef” Wisconsin season. He didn’t win, but, come on, we know otherwise. Look what he did: show the world what makes his adopted home of Milwaukee great (“We’re so cool, we have no idea how cool we are,” he likes to say), and create a national platform for Kennedy’s disease, a neurodegenerative condition that greatly affects his own life.
RELATED READS: Q&A: MILWAUKEE’S CHEF DAN JACOBS IS THE ‘DAN’ OF THE HOUR
Jacobs talks reluctantly about his ethos of influence, invoking the Spider-Man line – “with great power comes great responsibility.” Still, you can see Jacobs’ imprint on the new generation of chefs and front-of-house pros rising through the ranks of restaurants built, he says, on “equity, respect and community.”
18. Paul Bartolotta
THE DINING DOM
Since the death of his late brother/business partner, Joe, in 2019, Paul has led The Bartolotta Restaurants solo, shepherding the company through the dark days of the pandemic and dealing with the aftermath, which most restaurateurs will tell you continues to be felt.
For a long time, he was the less visible Bartolotta – off running restaurants in New York, Chicago and Las Vegas, racking up awards and living in Italy.
Now his raison d’être is about Milwaukee – “We have an obligation to make our city better,” he says – and the Bartolotta legacy. “Everything we’re doing right now is for the future.”
19. Omar Shaikh
AN APPETITE FOR MORE
Years ago, Shaikh’s SURG Restaurant Group helped transform Milwaukee Street into a tony restaurant mecca. Then he led the effort to reimagine the Grand Avenue Mall space as the now bustling food hall and entertainment destination 3rd St. Market Hall. The Brown Deer native says he’s passionate about Milwaukee and uses his platform to “move the needle.”
Sometimes that’s advocating for local tourism, serving on the RNC host committee, or working to secure state funding for American Family Field. Sometimes it’s more behind the scenes: “Every day I’m doing a lot of things that people don’t even know I’m doing … regular calls with county leaders, with city leaders, with police, just really trying to fix things in the city and move things forward.”
20. Kyle Knall
ON THE CULINARY PULSE
In four short years, the co-founder and chef of Birch has made his restaurant one of the city’s most talked about. A 2023 New York Times article called Knall’s cuisine Midwestern but “free from cliches.” We agree, and it’s because he brought a fresh set of eyes when he moved to Milwaukee in 2020 and immersed himself in the local agriculture that’s become Birch’s foundation.
Knall’s trademark of bright flavors with balanced acidity has made Birch both uniquely its own and also a standard-bearer of our culinary zeitgeist. He’s the kind of chef diners want more of – and they’re going to get it. Later this year, he and his wife, Meghan, are opening an ambitious French bistro in the new high-rise on the buzzing Third Ward intersection of Water and St. Paul.
21. Sande Robinson
A BLACK CANVAS
Perhaps no one has championed African American art in Wisconsin more than Robinson. As president of the Milwaukee Art Museum’s African American Art Alliance, she’s raised funds to acquire pieces from many talented Black artists like Lorna Simpson before they become famous. Robinson has also built her own collection of pieces by African American artists from Wisconsin, including one she bought from a then-unknown Della Wells.
Why does she focus on younger, emerging artists? To give institutional support to their careers, and to allow younger people to see themselves reflected in a museum environment – a motivation that reflects her years directing Marquette’s Educational Opportunity Program. “I think art is just very important for everyone’s life,” Robinson says. “It’s been a part of my life all the time.”
22. Lacey Sadoff
A SPIRIT FOR CULTURE
She never thought she’d stay in Wisconsin, let alone take over the family business of Fond du Lac-based Badger Liquor. But company president Sadoff did become, and she found an adopted city in Milwaukee. She now lives in one of the properties she’s bought and renovated in Walker’s Point. This onetime theater kid who was also in a rock band now considers arts philanthropy her mode of self-expression, financially supporting local groups with her foundation and serving on boards like Radio Milwaukee and the Friends of the Haggerty Museum Leadership Council.
She stepped into the role of Milwaukee Film’s board chair during a critical time for the nonprofit, and she views her advocacy as a responsibility – an exciting one. “This is a community where you can have impact and you can make important connections to people much more easily than you can in a bigger, more saturated place.”
23. Wes Shaver
POINT OF PRIDE
The CEO of Milwaukee Pride believes connection and collaboration go hand in hand. During the pandemic, when Pride board members, staff and volunteers faced struggles ranging from housing insecurity to loss of loved ones, Shaver saw an opportunity.
Instead of planning for Pride’s future, he invested his energy in creating the same “I got you” spirit of belonging that fuels PrideFest, the annual lakefront celebration of LGBTQ identities. Shaver believes those close bonds are the magic allowing his team to create welcoming, inclusive spaces: “Because our team is stronger than ever, our events are stronger than ever, too.”
24 & 25. Greg and David Marcus
THE LEVERAGE OF LEGACY
THE MARCUS FAMILY is three generations into providing hospitality at hotels, theaters and restaurants in Wisconsin. But the family’s legacy in philanthropy, particularly in support of the arts in Milwaukee, is perhaps just as impactful, with major contributions to the Marcus Performing Arts Center, Summerfest, Sculpture Milwaukee and more spanning over half a century.
We talked influence, business and philanthropy with brothers Greg, CEO of The Marcus Corp. and star of the theater chain’s pre-movie welcome messages, and David, head of the company’s investment arm.
Milwaukee Magazine: How do you think the Marcus’ long-term success in business and in the community translates to influence?
David: There is this unspoken big-shoes-to-fill sense of responsibility that Greg and I both feel to make a difference. But from there, what you find is engagement creates rewards for yourself that might not have been why you did it. The more involved we are, the more difference we make, the more rewarding it is, on a lot of different levels.
Greg: Whatever influence we have, I think it’s been earned. We’ve made huge investments – and stayed here. A lot of times you’ve got people who develop stuff who have none of their own money in it, or who plan to do it and then sell it and be gone. We have a long history– we’re committed to [Milwaukee]. I mean, we’ve owned the Pfister for 63 years. The Hilton, not much less. So we make our money, we give back and because we’ve made these investments well, we actually should then have a seat at the table [in philanthropy] to say, “Here’s what we think should happen.” Because our interests are aligned! It doesn’t do us any good for this community not
to succeed.
MM: Greg, your on-screen role welcoming people to the movies actually began with a United Way PSA in 2012, but now you’re practically an influencer, all over TikTok and Instagram. David, what do you think of your brother’s performances?
David: The TikTok stuff has taken it to a different level when they go viral. I was with Greg at an In-N-Out Burger in Scottsdale, Arizona, and I can see these 20-somethings looking over and kind of whispering to each other and looking at us. And I’m like, “It’s him.” And they’re like, “I knew it was him!” He’s the face of our brand, and he humanizes us. I think it’s a great thing for our business, and if Greg’s comfortable with walking around in the attention, more power to him.
26. Eve Hall
GROWING NEW GENERATIONS
Investing in Cream City youth is in Hall’s DNA. Her mother worked as a teacher and tutor in Milwaukee schools until her 90s – and, today, Hall serves as CEO of the Greater Milwaukee Urban League, which supports the city’s young people in their education and careers with a wide breadth of community work and programs.
RELATED READS: WOMEN OF DISTINCTION 2021: THE GREATER MILWAUKEE URBAN LEAGUE
Lessons learned from her mom still drive Hall: In a recent presentation, she recalls sharing her belief that leadership isn’t about titles or accolades but using your talents to make the greatest impact you can. “No one is better or less,” Hall says. “We all have a particular role to play in our spheres of influence.”
27. Ian Abston
LIGHTING THE WAY
As a driver of Light the Hoan, Abston’s already altered Milwaukee’s nighttime skyline by illuminating the iconic arch of the lakefront bridge. But he’s also working to make sure our brightest young lights know they don’t need to leave Wisconsin to thrive – while also trying to make our community more appealing to talent from elsewhere.
To reverse the state’s troublesome brain drain (he calls it “the largest problem that our generation will face”), Abston leads leadership development groups including Forward 48, which is now in its ninth 48-member cohort. Finding commonality is key.
“For the new people coming in, we have to find ways to connect them because that’s what they have in common,” he says. “They are exploring this place together.” But we have to bring home Milwaukee expatriates, too: “The cheapest ones to attract are those that have already been here and have some relationship with the city.”
28. John D. Johnson
ANSWERING THE RIGHT QUESTIONS
Johnson’s work reads like the top of a newspaper front page: deep, compelling insights about elections, housing, demographics, public opinion. But he’s not a reporter; he’s a data scientist and researcher who since 2016 has been Charles Franklin’s right-hand man at the heavyweight Marquette Law School Poll. “I describe my job as halfway between journalism and academia, and not really either one,” he says. “A lot of the methods that I use are from academia, and a lot of the questions that I’m answering are from journalism.”
One example: His analysis of the partisan lean of Wisconsin’s last redistricting proposals was the most complex and accurate made public – and ended up being cited to the state Supreme Court. He says his work is guided by the questions of others, of which we have one: Why aren’t city and state policymakers beating down Johnson’s door?
29–32. Kelly Gehringer, Ranell Washington, Annie Werner and Corry Joe Biddle
THE NETWORKERS
FORGET THE FRESHLY PRESSED suit and resume stack. For Milwaukee’s young leaders, networking isn’t about collecting business cards but forging authentic connections. Listen in on a conversation with four local people-connectors.
Milwaukee Magazine: Tell us about your role, and how networking fits into it.
Ranell Washington: I co-founded SocialX to help diverse professionals connect. Our goal is retaining talent here in Milwaukee, and helping people find their next job is part of that.
Corry Joe Biddle: At FUEL Milwaukee, we want to recruit talent and make sure young people don’t just see their jobs as steppingstones to an opportunity outside Milwaukee. We want people to fall in love with the city.
RELATED READS: 2022 UNITY AWARD WINNER CORRY JOE BIDDLE
Annie Werner: CreativeMornings is a global organization focused on creative community. We meet on Friday mornings once a month. There’s a keynote speaker, and then we invite audience members to share what they do on stage.
Kelly Gehringer: We try to create a space where everyone feels welcome. We have people as old as 80, and sometimes kids come, too.
CJB: Learning about networking, I remember feeling uneasy about the transactional focus. I’m more interested in genuine conversations. When I leave an event, I think, “I really liked that person,” or “We’re passionate about the same things.” That’s why I want to stay connected.
RW: It can be intimidating when everyone is put together. Our events are more casual. We want people to come as they are, to feel like they can come in and vent about work frustrations.
CJB: Younger people can struggle with that. Gen Z, especially, grew up online. They’re used to presenting themselves with a filter, and they feel like they have to be perfect. They don’t see what they have to offer.
AW: Sometimes we focus so much on what we want to get out of these events. But we all have something to offer each other, and that can help facilitate connection.
RW: It’s not about how many business cards you got. What if someone helped you think differently about something? You didn’t get a phone number, but you left with new information.
KG: If you made a friend or left with a feeling of possibility or hope, that’s a success.
CJB: That’s what networking is. It’s the exchange of experiences.
33. Meagan Johnson
THE DIAPER DELIVERER
For Johnson, passion and determination were seeds, and collaboration is the water allowing them to grow. She’s overseen the distribution of almost 3 million diapers to local families since she founded Milwaukee Diaper Mission in 2020, but she knows her drive to help isn’t enough to sustain her impact.
RELATED READS: MEAGAN JOHNSON IS BUILDING A DIAPER DYNAMO
Partnerships with food pantries, day cares and mutual aid groups get diapers into the hands of those in need – which is why Johnson views listening as her highest responsibility. “My influence is only as powerful as my willingness to have conversations with people who know what the community actually needs,” she says. “When we’re open to others’ ideas, magic can happen.”
34. Andy Nunemaker
ROOM AND BOARD
Since Nunemaker bought the UWM Alumni House for $1.8 million in 2021, the tech entrepreneur has been hosting events every other week. “All of the nonprofit boards I sit on get to use the house whenever they want,” he says. And Nunemaker has sat on a lot of boards: Summerfest, Sprecher, Northwestern Mutual, just to name a few. The arts are his philanthropic forte.
As board chair of the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, he took charge of the capital campaign to transform the old Warner Theatre into MSO’s shiny-new Bradley Symphony Center. Next up: leading the board of the Milwaukee Art Museum. How does he keep ending up in the saddle of Milwaukee’s cultural heavyweights? Nunemaker cites his extensive experience and network but credits his success to Milwaukee’s generosity. “My role, if anything, is just to connect the dots.”
35. Mike Doble
OPPORTUNITY BREWING
When The Explorium Brewpub’s purchase of Good City Brewing was announced on New Year’s Day, it may have looked to those outside the local craft beer industry like a minnow swallowing a whale. But Doble and his wife, Joan, have built a strong and steadily growing business since opening in Southridge Mall during the brewery boom of 2016. Doble’s been almost constantly scouting for new locations, even after opening in the Third Ward in 2020.
When Good City – with statewide distribution, a flagship brewery on the East Side and three additional taprooms – came knocking for investment or an exit from the battered industry, Doble saw an opportunity for a nearly turnkey expansion. He’s spent the first months of 2025 working to convert the taprooms into the more restaurant-shaped spaces he favors. “I’ve always said the future of craft beer is hospitality,” he says.
36. Allison Wagner
ALL IN —QUICKLY
In 2018, Wagner was a corporate recruiter with an intriguing new client: a nascent talent development and retention program called All In Milwaukee, which sought to provide diverse, high-need students attending local colleges with scholarships, academic support, and career development and placement programs. All In’s founder, accomplished corporate CEO Darren Jackson, was looking for an executive director, but after meeting Wagner, his search was over.
Since then, she and her team built a college-to-career juggernaut from scratch, adding 175 new students to the program this year, with designs to have 1,000 scholars “All In” annually by 2029. Wagner cites the relationships she’s minted with critical corporate and academic partners as the recipe for success. “These leaders have come in and got behind us as a brand-new concept in town. They saw the potential,” she says. “We have been outcome-driven from day one, and that’s what’s led to our success.”
37. Austin Ramirez
TAKING IT ON
Ramirez knows challenges. As Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce’s board chair, he oversaw a key leadership transition after three-decade president Tim Sheehy retired. As CEO of Husco International, he focuses on product innovation, not acquisitions, to drive the growth of the Waukesha-based component manufacturer for the automotive and heavy-equipment industries.
But it’s educating children that matters most for Ramirez and his family. They created the highly successful St. Augustine Prep, which serves 2,200 students on the South Side and is expanding to Cardinal Stritch University’s former North Shore campus. But there are challenges on that front, too. “We’re on a positive path. The results speak for themselves,” Ramirez says. “Unfortunately, when you look more broadly at the city of Milwaukee, that’s not the case, particularly for minority students. That’s an embarrassment to me and it should be an embarrassment for all of us.”
38 & 39. Joe and Ellen Checota
GIVING A LEG UP
When Joe and Ellen Checota are out for dinner, strangers stop to thank them. They were surprised at first – but it certainly makes sense. Three years ago, the deceptively unassuming couple pledged $5 million to the Milwaukee Area Technical College Foundation to establish a full-ride scholarship. Every year, 600 students have their tuition, books, meals, transportation and other expenses paid for, under the “tough love” conditions that they take at least nine credits a semester and maintain a C average or higher.
The program boasts an 86% retention rate, compared to the 60% average for MATC’s part-time students. “I often get letters from students, and it makes me so happy,” says Ellen. The Checotas’ gifts, which originate from Joe’s work as founder and CEO of Landmark Healthcare Facilities, have also been a support beam for the arts. A $5 million contribution to the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra earned the couple their name on the Bradley Symphony Center’s atrium and gallery – and they’ve made similarly significant gifts to the Rep and Art Museum. “We hope more people who have the ability would consider making contributions,” Joe says. “There are an awful lot of people in Milwaukee who need a leg up.”
40. Margaret Andera
ART IN SITU
Most curators travel far and wide to land top jobs at cultural institutions. Margaret Andera considers herself “a bit of a unicorn” by never leaving her hometown She joined the Milwaukee Art Museum as an intern and worked her way up to become its senior curator of contemporary art.
Over the years, she’s played a big role in the museum’s most interesting, timely and often daring exhibitions of today’s artists – Vito Acconci, Robert Longo, Andrea Zittel – and in growing its significant folk art collection. Her favorite project? “50 Paintings,” the ambitious 2023 survey of international painters she co-curated with Michelle Grabner, which excellently captured the vibrant medium and proved Milwaukee has something to say in the cultural conversation.
41. Giannis Antetokounmpo
OUR GENERATIONAL TALENT
In the 12 seasons since a skinny teenage Greek immigrant began a legendary NBA career in Milwaukee, Giannis has earned hundreds of millions ($111 from salary and endorsements in 2024 alone, per Forbes). But he still embodies the kind of nice we want Milwaukee to be.
He’s down to earth, cognizant of his (earned) good fortune and, thank goodness, loyal to this city that he believes has given him so much. His family foundation has its hand in good works in Greece and Nigeria, but Giannis is still in our community, taking needy kids Christmas shopping or supporting affordable housing and food security. He may not be bouncing around Metro Market or geeking out about smoothies anymore, but this global good citizen is still our guy.
42. Cree Myles
SPREADING THE WORLD
When Myles first started posting about literature on YouTube and Instagram in 2018, it was just one way for the young mother to express herself to what felt like an unlimited audience. “[Social media] collapsed the world in on itself,” she says. Her book reviews, recommendations and literary musings quickly breached her immediate circle and found a growing following.
Three years ago, Penguin Random House tapped her to curate its Instagram platform All Ways Black, promoting the work of historic and contemporary Black authors. Now a podcast host, columnist and influencer on the national stage, Myles remains proudly Milwaukee at heart: “I’m on a mission to put Milwaukee on the literary map.”
43. Danielle Bly
STARTS WITH A SMILE
For Bly, influence is all about connecting with people. In her role at work (VP, supplier diversity at WEC Energy Group), the boards she serves on, and her personal life, she drives conversation with vulnerability and empathy. “I believe that is what we are all here for, to connect and support one another,” she says.
Whether it’s introducing someone who needs a connection to another person at an organization, or meeting someone new at an event, she believes in breaking the ice. One easy way? Smiling at someone or giving them a compliment, she says, followed by opening up a little. “I believe there is power in vulnerability,” she says. “It allows the guards and the fences to come down. At the end of the day, we’re both human beings.”
44. Matt Wild
THE OFFBEAT HEARTBEAT
If Milwaukee’s media ecosystem were a party, Milwaukee Record would be the cool, friendly, slightly intimidating dude hanging out by the bar cracking jokes. The website was launched in 2014 by Tyler Maas and Wild, the former city editor for the shuttered Onion affiliate A.V. Club Milwaukee.
The following decade has seen the unorthodox digital publication become a haven for local music coverage, quirky essays, “gentle sarcasm” and absolutely unmatched coverage of the snow pile outside the Marcus Center parking ramp. Wild’s irreverent but invested approach to local news has earned him a wide following. “Milwaukee is the perfect size for what we do,” Wild says. “We’re hyperlocal. Whether it’s the Milverine or the beached boat, we have these common experiences here that we can all get a kick out of.”
45. Charlie Berens
DA FLANNEL TYCOON
Does Berens need an introduction? If you’ve ever used social media, probably not. You’ve likely seen his skits on YouTube or Instagram, where he has over 1 million followers, poking affectionate fun at Midwestern style, mores and of course, our nasal accent.
RELATED READS: HOW VIRAL VIDE KING CHARLIE BERENS BECAME WISCONSIN’S CAMO-CLAD CULTURE AMBASSADOR
What started as one “Manitowoc Minute” spoof has spawned a social media mini-empire, with a constant stream of skits, stand-up specials, live shows across the country, commercial spots and even a book. “A lot of my stuff comes straight from the mouths of my grandparents. I think people see themselves and their families in it,” Berens says. “My hope is to keep making things that can bring people together.”
46. Khloe Kuriatnyk
THE MOMFLUENCER
“I don’t think it matters how big or small your following is. If you are a trustworthy and honest person, you can influence people in, I would hope, positive ways,” says Kuriatnyk, a Milwaukee-based influencer and founder of clothing brand Momsitivity. To her followers – more than 275,000 each on Instagram and TikTok, many of them moms and women – she shares videos of her life.
Earlier this year, for example, she posted one with the caption “reminding you of what a normal home looks like 🫶,” showing piles, messy dressers and her unorganized shower. She wants to remind moms that it’s OK to just be fully themselves, and that they don’t have to be perfect.
47. Bert Lauderdale
WEATHER SMACKDOWN
Is he a weather influencer? Storm chaser? General Milwaukee character? Weather is certainly the organizing principle for the affable persona, the alter ego of a local freelance photographer. But Bert’s videos are less forecast modeling and low-pressure systems than “It’s really coming down over here!” and geeking out about lightning, and he’s parlayed occasional virality on YouTube and Twitter into for-fun gigs (think bar trivia host).
Inspiration for the persona – an amplified version of himself – comes from a lifelong passion: pro wrestling. “I realized everyone’s got to have a gimmick, especially with the way the world is now,” he says. “Everything’s becoming pro wrestling, which is weird.” He even organized bouts in a ring in his backyard as a teenager; his character was a “straight-edge” heel. His name? The Influence.
