In 2023, Brandon Ramey and Braylen Stevens had an idea: to create a social event that celebrated, empowered and connected young professionals in Milwaukee. Ramey, the site director at Quad MKE, and Stevens, who works in product finance at Google, wanted to develop and nurture a community that could help address the ongoing depletion of talent in Milwaukee, as young professionals leave the city for other locations.
The idea led to “Seat at the Table,” an annual event and quarterly meetup for those young professionals to network, socialize and ultimately grow their careers in Milwaukee.
“This started as an idea,” Ramey said in 2023. “One of the biggest things that I always think about is how can I give back to the city? How can I take some of my experiences I’ve had and bring that back home?”
It’s time to pick your Milwaukee favorites for the year!
In August of 2023, Ramey and Stevens launched the first “Seat at the Table” event, a dinner, cocktail reception and panel discussion at Saint Kate – The Arts Hotel. And after a successful showing, they brought it back this year.
On Saturday, Aug. 3, “Seat at the Table” returned to Saint Kate for a night of dinner, drinks, entertainment and discussion. The event was sponsored by Ascension and Quad, which owns Milwaukee Magazine, and MBRACED CULTURE LLC acted as managing consultant for the event. The planning committee included Amira Adams, Terrel Crisler, Shela Grant, Jalen Greenlee and Kendall Means.
“I’m grateful to see the vision come to fruition for year two, and to see how we’ve been able to grow this thing,” Stevens said.
The evening began with a cocktail hour in the Saint Kate’s lobby, before the coterie of young professionals went to the ballroom for dinner. The dinner brought together people from across multiple industries, including health care, public relations, the arts, manufacturing and much more – and random seating at the event encouraged discussion between participants who didn’t know each other beforehand.
The dinner included three speakers – Quentin Prince, the executive director and chief sports office of the Milwaukee Youth Sports Alliance; Kim Somenske, the director of HR operations at Fiserv; and Brad Bertler, the tax managing director at BDO USA. Each speaker shared advice and wisdom from their career for the young people in the room.
“Be patient, appreciate the journey,” Bertler said to the attendees. “Be flexible, be willing to accept new opportunities and challenges, even if doesn’t exactly fit into the plan. … [This is] a fantastic event. … I’m really excited to see where this goes. … I have full confidence that the people in this room are going to continue to make this city great.”
After dinner, Ramey and Stevens presented Seat at the Table’s new “Rising Young Leader Award” to Kendall Means, an attorney with First, Albrecht & Blondis, and a member of the Seat at the Table planning team. “One of the biggest things Seat at the Table is dedicated to is amplifying one another,” said Stevens. “I have had the privilege of watching [Means] grow from a law clerk to a competent attorney who … is a fierce advocate with a strong sense of community and a passion for fighting for access to justice and a more equitable world.”
“I’m so grateful to each and every one of you for showing up to support us tonight,” said Means.
After the event, attendees enjoyed an after party sponsored by Whitetail MKE. Ramey and Stevens are planning next year’s annual event, as well as Seat at the Table’s quarterly meetups.
“We’re all in Milwaukee, and we know that outside of those doors, there are a lot of things that need to be done – service is going out and being that example. Service is talking to someone you may have not talked to before. … Service is showing up for someone feels even when you feel like you can’t show up for yourself.”
