A group of emerging leaders from the community heard impassioned pitches from six local nonprofit groups that are seeking new members to serve on their respective boards of directors.
The inaugural Select Six board talent search took place Wednesday night at the newly renovated Milwaukee Athletic Club.
Forward 48, a leadership development program supported by the Greater Milwaukee Committee and the Hoan Group, hosted the event. Dozens of alumni of the program, who comprise a capable and diverse talent pipeline for civic engagement in Milwaukee, gathered to hear the pitches.
The event featured leaders from the six nonprofit organizations, each of whom made brief pitches. A question-and-answer session with the leaders followed. The goal is for each nonprofit to select an attendee from the event to join its board.
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Those selected “will help shape the future of the city,” Hoan Group director Ian Abston said.
“We started getting a lot of phone calls from nonprofits around the city saying we need people on our boards. We need new blood. We need young blood,” he said.
Those pleas for help planted the seed for the Select Six event, Abston said.
Nonprofit organizations that make pitches included:
“We are looking for courageous curiosity,” said Samantha Maldonado, vice chair of MobiliSE, which works to unite regional leaders around shared strategies and actions to address Southeastern Wisconsin’s transportation challenges.
Promise Bruce, vice president of the board of directors for The New State, said a young, talented board member is needed to help direct the group in its effort to transform the old State Theater on Milwaukee’s West Side into a community music hub for all ages.
“This is a landmark,” Bruce said. “We want to preserve it.”
Acting Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson also made a pitch to community members to fill spots on the city’s various boards and commissions.
“I need people who are committed to Milwaukee and who want to see good things happen and are willing to roll up their sleeves in order to make it happen,” Johnson said. “I need people to step up and be part of the solution.”
