Rotary Club of Milwaukee Tuesday Speaker Series

This week in Memorial Hall, Rotarians heard from Paul Verdu, Managing Director for Asahi Beer USA, who shared insights on the rapidly evolving beverage-alcohol industry. Paul also discussed how shifting consumer preferences and emerging trends are driving innovation and shaping Asahi’s approach to growth.

Milwaukee stands at a turning point, with new opportunities on the horizon that demand fresh thinking. This week in Memorial Hall, Rebecca Gries, Executive Director of the Milwaukee 7 Regional Partnership (M7), explored how the region can build a more resilient and prosperous future by embracing change.

On Tuesday, Alex Lasry, CEO of the New York/New Jersey Host Committee for the 2026 FIFA World Cup shared details on the NY/NJ region’s role as the centerpiece of the tournament’s U.S. footprint. Alex covered how the region is preparing to host eight matches, including the Final Match, and highlighted the large-scale, cross-region coordination underway to deliver 39 days of unparalleled excitement and fan experiences.

This week, Rotarians heard from fellow member Dr. Anthony Cruz, President of Milwaukee Area Technical College Dr. Cruz reflected on his first year as President of MATC, and provided  insights on the educational needs of the community, MATC's new strategic plan, and new initiatives that will lead to new bold targets in student success, caring culture, and community trust.

This week in Memorial Hall, we toasted outgoing President Saj Thachenkary and welcomed new Club President Kent Lovern.

This week at Rotary, we honored Beth Weirick as our 2025 Rotary Person of the Year for her decades of leadership, compassion, and vision that has transformed Milwaukee. A lifelong Milwaukeean, Beth Weirick has been committed to the city since her first independent bus ride downtown to see a concert at the MECCA. Hired in 1998 to lead the newly formed Milwaukee Downtown, BID #21, Beth brought experience from roles at the Westown Association, the Milwaukee Department of City Development, and the Milwaukee Common Council.

This Tuesday, members heard from Dale Schultz, former Republican majority leader of the state senate, and Rotarian John Franke explain how fusion voting works and how it can provide moderate voters with a constructive way to reduce the power presently held by the extremes within the two major political parties. The program was moderated by the Lubar Center’s Craig Gilbert.

This week in Memorial Hall, members heard from fellow Rotarian and Chancellor Mark Mone who has led the University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee for 11 years. Mark reflected on the unprecedented headwinds during his tenure and the relationships and established groundbreaking collaborations that have benefited UWM, its students, our city and beyond.

This week in Memorial Hall, Mark Murphy spoke to the Rotary Club of Milwaukee about building a championship organization during his 17 years as the President and CEO of the Green Bay Packers. Mark also shared his background and influences and the Packer's impact on the community through the Green Bay Packers Foundation, Give BIG, and Titletown.

On May 6th, Deep Thought, the 44 foot long boat stranded in Lake Michigan for the past several months, was pulled from the water by Jeff Piller and his towing company, All City. This week at Rotarians heard from Jeff about the planning and execution of the operation that removed the 100,000 pound boat and captivated the attention of Milwaukee.

At this year's Armed Forces Week program, Rotarians heard from U.S. Navy Captain Lena Kaman, Commander of Navy Reserve Region Readiness and Mobilization Command Fort Worth. A native of Shawano, Wisconsin, and a career Naval Aviator with over 4,200 flight hours, Kaman has served in combat operations, led aviation squadrons, and held senior staff roles in Washington, D.C before assuming command of REDCOM Fort Worth.

Yesterday in Memorial Hall, Rotarian Dr. Doug Davis provided an update from the frontlines of Ukraine as he shared stories from his recent international work to support the acute care needs and address the physical and mental trauma resulting from the war in Ukraine.

This week at Rotary, Rich Eng, Founder of Voters First Wisconsin, provided an update on the progress of Final Five Voting in Wisconsin. Rich highlighted its success in Alaska, and provided an honest appraisal of its potential for empowering voters and countering political divisiveness. The program also included a demonstration of the Final Five Voting process - an election to choose Rotary’s favorite pie!

From Tariffs to Tax Rates: Navigating the Markets Reaction to the New Administrations Economic Policies. This week at Rotary, Dominic Ceci provided an economic and market overview from his perspective as Chief Investment Officer for Johnson Financial Group.

Yesterday, Rotarians and alumni of the Kellogg School of Management heard from Kellogg Professor Harry Kraemer as he shared insight into his recently released fourth book: "Your Values-Based Legacy: Making a Difference at Every Age and Phase of Life." Harry also shared his journey as a values-based leader by sharing life experiences and the advice he received many decades ago from his grandfather.

Enthralled Rotarians filled Memorial Hall on Tuesday to hear from Michelle Thaller, former Assistant Director at NASA, as she took us on a journey through the birth of stars and galaxies and explained how the materials that make up the cosmos are more connected to us than we might think.

This week in Memorial Hall, Milwaukee Police Chief Jeffrey Norman provided an update on crime trends, public safety developments, and efforts to strengthen community relationships. He also engaged Rotarians in an extensive Q&A session for an insightful discussion on policing and Milwaukee partnerships.

Brittany Kinser, candidate for State Superintendent, spoke yesterday at a joint program hosted by the Milwaukee Press Club, WisPolitics.com and the Rotary Club of Milwaukee. After making her opening remarks, Kinser sat down for an interview with Jeff Mayers, WisPolitics.com president, and answered questions from the audience.  Incumbent State Superintendent Jill Underly was invited to speak, but was not available. Per our protocol, we invite the two main candidates and proceed with the candidate or candidates who accept the invitation.

Waukesha County Circuit Judge Brad Schimel, who is seeking election to the Wisconsin Supreme Court, spoke yesterday at a joint program hosted by the Milwaukee Press Club, WisPolitics.com and the Rotary Club of Milwaukee. Judge Schimel answered questions from the audience and from a panel of journalists that included Alison Dirr - Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Charles Benson - TMJ4 News, and Matt Smith - WISN 12 News. This was the second of multiple programs in conjunction with the Milwaukee Press Club, WisPolitics.com, and WisconsinEye featuring candidates running for election on April 1st. We have now heard from both...

Journalism has undergone a revolution in the past decade or two. Reporters are younger, media outlets are more integrated, and newsrooms are gathering information in novel ways. This week, in Memorial Hall Milwaukee Journal Sentinel columnist Dan Bice, a political reporter since 1987, addressed what these changes mean for consumers of today's news in a conversation with Rotarian David Haynes, the Co-lead of Wisconsin Alliance for Civic Trust and the former Ideas Lab Editor for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

Dane County Circuit Judge Susan Crawford, who is seeking election to the Wisconsin Supreme Court, spoke yesterday at a joint program hosted by the Milwaukee Press Club, WisPolitics.com and the Rotary Club of Milwaukee. Judge Crawford answered questions from the audience and from a panel of journalists that included Alison Dirr - Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Emilee Fannon - CBS 58 News, and Matt Smith - WISN 12 News. On Tuesday, March 18th we will hear from Supreme Court candidate Judge Brad Schimel.

Over time, Fr. Michael Simone, S.J., PhD, Pastor at Gesu, has identified several "keys to understanding" that help people in a polarized society apprehend and respect differing worldviews. This week Fr. Michael shared with Rotarians attitudes towards values of hierarchy and consensus, tradition and progress, and unity and diversity that underlie many of the fiercest debates in contemporary American society.

On this chilly Tuesday, Rotarians welcomed back former Milwaukee Mayor and U.S. Ambassador to Luxembourg, Tom Barrett. Tom joined Joel Brennan, President of the Greater Milwaukee Committee in conversation about his journey from mayor to ambassador, the issues that shaped his time in the small European country, and some interesting stories from his three years in Luxembourg.

Rotarians heard from Dr. Jeremy Kedziora, Endowed Chair of Artificial Intelligence at MSOE, for a data-driven exploration of three key AI trends shaping 2025. This insightful talk will covered the plateauing of large language model performance, the rise of agentic systems, and AI’s evolving impact on the labor market. He also highlighted how MSOE is leading in this space, offering a glimpse into the innovative AI initiatives happening on campus.

Our region has several award winning public and community radio stations broadcasting from Milwaukee. At a time when listeners have unlimited information and entertainment choices on air and online, the stations are working hard to retain current listeners and attract new audiences. Rotarians heard from leaders of local radio with Sarah Ashworth, Wisconsin Public Radio; Jordan Lee, Radio Milwaukee, David Lee, WUWM, and Tom Crawford, WMSE as they discussed the opportunities and challenges they face in a panel discussion hosted by Rotarian Tom Luljak.

Rotarians ventured into the cold this week to hear Michael Antonelli, Market Strategist and Managing Director at Baird Private Wealth Management, for an economic outlook in 2025. Michael, a frequent speaker and the author of the Bull and Baird blog, discussed the strong year that the stock market had in 2024 and the potential impact that the new administration’s policies could have on the economy in 2025.

This week at Rotary, Kevin Shafer, the Executive Director of the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District addressed MMSD’s 2035 Vision for a cleaner water environment through short term projects and collaborations.

Rotarians returned to Memorial Hall for the first meeting of the new year to hear from Micaela Bomhack, President and CEO of Rite-Hite.  Micaela shared the story of how Rite-Hite came to be, and how their move to downtown Milwaukee fits into the company’s long term plans to better serve customers, increase innovation, attract and develop key talent, and accelerate corporate growth.

Port Milwaukee is known for being multimodal, but the current team and business partners are working to make it multifaceted. This week, we heard from Port Milwaukee Director, Jackie Q. Carter, as she shared the vision to grow the reach and reputation of this regional asset.

This week in Memorial Hall, Rotarians heard from Tom Boldt, Chairman of The Boldt Company as he provided insights about his employees, customers, and community from the 135-year history of The Boldt Company. Tom also shared his thoughts on how an organization can innovate for a sustainable future and be purpose-driven.

In conjunction with the Milwaukee Press Club and WisPolitics, attendees in Memorial Hall heard from Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley on Tuesday. Executive Crowley shared details on the 2025 budget, other current issues in Milwaukee County and answered questions from a panel of journalists including Aaron Maybin of Fox 6 News, Edgar Menendez of Neighborhood News Service, and Vanessa Swales of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

On November 5th, Kent Lovern won the Milwaukee County District Attorney election. Kent, a prosecutor for 26 years, has served as the Chief Deputy District Attorney since 2008, where he managed the attorneys and staff in the District Attorney’s office and worked closely with law enforcement and community leaders.   This week at Rotary, Kent shared his vision for Milwaukee County’s future and the public safety challenges and opportunities in our community.

On Tuesday, Chip discussed his latest book, A Different War, which uses poetry to help articulate the horrors of the war in Ukraine and to help demonstrate the impact the war is having on the lives of ordinary people.

This week, Rotarians heard from James Mathy, the Administrator for Milwaukee County Housing Services, and manager of a number of homeless and real estate programs. James discussed Milwaukee’s current homeless crisis, his commitment toa  long-term vision for affordable housing, and how his team's initiatives have garnered attention on a national scale.

Rotarians celebrated the United Nations 79th anniversary on Tuesday with Dr. Emma Belcher, President of the Ploughshares Fund. As the world faces a polycrisis, a simultaneous convergence of multiple global challenges at once, Dr. Belcher emphasized the need of working together and negotiating good faith to build peace across states.

This week at Rotary, Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson shared an update on public safety, city fiscal issues, and the importance of upcoming elections. He also addressed Milwaukee's future and his optimism surrounding what's ahead.

In partnership with the Milwaukee Press Club, WisPolitics.com and WisconsinEye, Rotarians and guests heard from Republican Eric Hovde in Memorial Hall Tuesday.  Hovde, who is challenging incumbent U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin in the November 5 election, took questions from a panel of journalists that  included Charles Benson – TMJ4 News, Emilee Fannon – CBS 58 News, and Matt Smith  – WISN 12 News. An invitation for a future program is pending with Senator Baldwin.

On Tuesday, we launched a campaign to raise $250,000 to invest in the B-Line Park, a world-class, one-mile linear park, that runs from Richards St. to Keefe Ave. on the Beerline Trail. Rotarians from our B-Line Park Cabinet shared how this community space will unite the economically divergent Harambee and Riverwest neighborhoods, connect eight neighborhoods along the Beerline Trail, open economic opportunities, improve the quality of life for residents, and serve as a regional destination for visitors across southeast Wisconsin.

This week at Rotary, Peter Jest, longtime Milwaukee concert promoter and operator of Shank Hall, and author Amy Waldman discussed their new book, We Had Fun and Nobody Died: Adventures of a Milwaukee Music Promoter with Jim Nelson of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.  They shared stories of Peter's friendships with artists that have come through Shank Hall, how their book came together, and how Peter continues to look past the profit-driven aspect of the music industry and celebrate his love for music.

Milwaukee Film Executive Director Anne Reed shared with Rotarians on Tuesday the impact the organization has had both on Milwaukee’s film lovers and on Milwaukee itself. In addition to highlighting the importance of preserving the magic of the shared cinematic experience, Anne explored the vital role theaters play in fostering community and supporting the local art scene.