Q&A: Mark Williams
Mark Williams retired in December after handling more than 700 murder cases as Milwaukee County’s top homicide prosecutor. He’s done with death.
Q&A: Mark Bucher
Having closed his Boulevard Theatre space in Bay View, Mark Bucher begins a second act as traveling Gypsy, going from theater to theater to stage his plays. Growing up, were you the kid putting on skits in your neighborhood? I would stage things in my head, type up plays on my mom’s old Remington 1930 typewriter – wish we still had that! – and re-enact movie scenes by myself. My brothers and I used to relive bad Hollywood B horror flicks on Saturday afternoons. Such innocence, when you thought the horrors in life were so clearly marked. Who were your…
Q&A: Tom Ciula
Tom Ciula, 66, known as Grynder, became a beer judge after retiring from Rockwell Automation. Now, he pens an authoritative beer newsletter.
Q&A: Milwaukee Archbishop Jerome Listecki
A lawyer and native Chicagoan, Milwaukee Archbishop Jerome Listecki heads up the area’s largest, and most talked about, religious group.
Q&A: Athan Theoharis
Athan Theoharis is an author who specializes in the FBI. Government spying on its citizens has a long history, he says, and no one is immune.
Q&A: Darienne Driver
Darienne Driver is the first female superintendent of MPS – and one of its youngest. It’s a pressure-cooker job, but she is prepped for the test. What has prepared you to be the superintendent of a major urban district at age 36? I started my career as a teacher in Detroit Public Schools. Having experiences at the classroom level, and seeing what worked and what didn’t work, is really what sparked this idea that I could do something about this. That’s what led me to the Urban Superintendents Program at Harvard University, and then to Philadelphia, where I did a…
Q&A: Ricardo Diaz
Hispanic leader Ricardo Diaz, once a vocal critic of the Old Guard, is now part of it. His voice may be softer, but his passion can’t be quelled.
Q&A: Sid McCain
Sid McCain is a former bigwig in the music industry and the daughter of a world-famous politician. What’s she doing in Milwaukee? You worked as a VP at major record labels like EMI, promoting and signing bands. Now you’re the promotions director of WMSE-FM radio. It has been a big change. I’m learning a whole new skill set. I love it. Station manager Tom Crawford is an amazing man. His knowledge of music surpasses anything I have ever been around. My previous job was almost like selling widgets. Music wasn’t creative; it wasn’t fun. It was about how many records…
Q&A: Mary Isbister
Mary Isbister and husband Eric run GenMet Corp., a mequon fabricating firm. But just who wears the pants? A female president of a manufacturing company is uncommon. Do you think the glass ceiling has been broken, or at least cracked? Personally, I have never had that problem. What surprises me is when I hand someone a business card – we don’t have titles on our business cards – they look at it and say, “What is your role in the business? Are you in HR or do you help out in the office?” In the Midwest, there is still a…
Q&A: Frank Gimbel
In his 50-year career, attorney Frank Gimbel has prosecuted the mafia and overseen the city’s arenas and convention center. He’s used to the hot seat. There are a lot of big plans on the drawing board for Downtown Milwaukee. One is to expand the convention center north to Kilbourn Avenue. Why? We’ve fallen behind. Our number of events and attendance has gone down because our peer competitors have changed their practical profile. The meeting planners are looking for more exhibit space. Columbus, St. Paul, Minneapolis, Pittsburgh, those are cities we compete with. Indianapolis has gotten to be almost like Chicago…