The new hire will replace Anne Reed, who came out of retirement to serve as interim CEO following the January departure of Jonathan Jackson, who had led the organization since its founding 16 years earlier.
Reed, who spent nearly three decades as an attorney followed by 13 years leading the Wisconsin Humane Society, agreed to fill the job on a permanent basis in May.
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Reed’s “impactful leadership helped stabilize the organization at a critical time in our organization’s growth and development,” Milwaukee Film said in a statement.
Milwaukee Film received backlash from the community in September for cutting educational programming and artist services.
Reed told Milwaukee Magazine in June that she didn’t plan on being in the top leadership role at Milwaukee Film for the long haul.
“I felt like I could be helpful. I told everybody that I probably have a couple years left in me to do this job,” Reed said at the time. “I definitely want a full retired life again. So, when people hear in a couple years that I’ll be retiring again, they shouldn’t worry that there’s something wrong at Milwaukee Film. That’s the plan here from the start. When you hire me at this point in my life, you’re not getting 15 years of service.”
Reed will remain in her role and assist with the transition to new leadership, once a hire is made, according to Milwaukee Film.
Reed told Milwaukee Magazine this week that the timing of the search for her successor is “right on time as we’ve been envisioning it.”
“I expect to be around for quite a while yet,” she said. “The reason we’re launching the search now is that a good search takes time, and we wanted to be sure to allow enough. Unless something falls into place unexpectedly quickly, I’ll be in place through the 2025 Milwaukee Film Festival, when I’ll have been in the role for almost a year and a half. I’m grateful to our board for taking on this planning so far in advance. I’m confident that decision is wise.”
The 2025 Milwaukee Film Festival will be held April 24 through May 8.
“While we are energized by the prospect of a new leader and future vision, please know it is business as usual here at headquarters and, as you can imagine, the team is already ‘heads-down’ and deep in preparations for the 2025 Milwaukee Film Festival as well as continuing to present great cinema every damn day at the historic Oriental and Downer theatres for our beloved members, patrons and friends,” Milwaukee Film said in its statement.
