WED AM News: Leadership program for Black professionals in Milwaukee kicking off 15th cohort; Baldwin touting tech hub designation

August 14, 2024

— A leadership program for Black professionals in Milwaukee is kicking off its 15th cohort this year, helping more participants advance their careers and sharpen critical skills.

That’s according to Angela Adams, interim president of the African American Leadership Alliance of Milwaukee. She spoke yesterday alongside Hispanic Collaborative President Nancy Hernandez during a meeting of the Rotary Club of Milwaukee.

The discussion highlighted persistent disparities for both Black and Hispanic Milwaukeeans compared to other top metropolitan areas in the United States, along with efforts to improve the economic outlook for these underrepresented groups.

Abrams referenced a well-being index that ranks how Black residents of Milwaukee are faring on measures of health, income, poverty, employment, homeownership, education and business leadership. While cities such as Austin, Phoenix and Atlanta top the list, “unfortunately Milwaukee still remains number 50,” she said.

“On the 14 of 44 indicators comprising the index, Milwaukee ranks last or next to last, and it was the worst-performing of any of the metro areas in the index,” she said yesterday. “The worst results are income and poverty, employment, educational attainment and measures of racial disparity.”

She noted Black professionals “remain underrepresented in the top echelons of the Milwaukee private sector,” but added “the data doesn’t tell the whole story.”

Her presentation touted the impact of the African American Leadership Program in the city, which has graduated more than 250 alumni since launching in 2008. Of that number, 85% opt to stay and work in Milwaukee and “be a part of the change,” while 69% of graduates say they’ve progressed in their careers since participating, she said. And more than half are serving on company boards.

Adams, a graduate of the program’s fifth cohort, currently holds a position on the UW Board of Regents.

“So this work does matter, and it is working,” she said. “We do have progress.”

Meanwhile, Hernandez highlighted a similar index for Hispanic residents of Milwaukee. She noted this population is seeing modest improvements in measures of poverty, female employment, homeownership rates and health insurance. But Milwaukee is still dropping in the rankings — from No. 39 to No. 45 between 2017 and 2024.

“While we’ve had positive progress, incremental progress on some of the outcomes related to our Latino population, we aren’t moving as fast as all of these other 50 metros,” she said. “When we think about our region, when we think about the competitiveness of our region … This is an anchor for us. Because we have to be moving at least as fast as they are.”

Based on the seven categories in both well-being indices, Milwaukee ranks in the bottom 10 for employment, income and poverty, education, health and business indicators for Hispanic residents, Hernandez said. Still, she emphasized the “important positive trends” being seen despite the relative decline.

“With further investment and intentionality, we can reach a much more different norm here for our Latino communities and reach regional prosperity,” she said.

Both the AALAM and the Hispanic Collaborative are part of the Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce’s Region of Choice initiative, which aims to make the region’s workplaces more inclusive and diverse.

Watch the video and see more on the AALP program.

— U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D-Madison, says Wisconsin’s federal designation as a regional tech hub will help the state move toward more individualized health care and create jobs.

She made the remarks yesterday after touring a cancer treatment technology manufacturer in Madison.

Baldwin joined WEDC Secretary and CEO Missy Hughes at Accuray, one of 17 tech hub partners in the Wisconsin Biohealth Tech Hub consortium led by BioForward Wisconsin. Employees gave demonstrations of the company’s radiation treatment technologies, including the CyberKnife and Radixact, which target radiation at specific areas.

Wisconsin’s tech hub, one of 31 regional tech hubs in the United States, is expected to generate about $9 billion in the first 10 years and create 30,000 direct jobs and 110,000 indirect jobs. The state was previously allocated $350,000 in planning funds for the public-private partnership, and an additional $49 million was announced last month.

“Wisconsin’s tech hub designation and the $49 million investment will impact Wisconsin patients, Wisconsin workers, and our Wisconsin economy,” Baldwin said. “This tech hub designation will grow our state’s personalized medicine and biohealth sector and really move the needle on how people get health care.”

Baldwin said a new focus on personalized medicine will move the state away from a “one-size-fits-all” approach to health care and toward tailoring care based on individual characteristics.

Jim Dennison, Accuray senior vice president and chief quality and development officer, said the company is excited to be part of the tech hub consortium and further technology and innovation.

He noted Accuray moved its headquarters from the Silicon Valley in California, “a pretty innovative place,” to Madison last year.

“And what we’re finding here, and what we’ve found for years, is that the talent is tremendous,” Dennison said.

The Tech Hubs program was established under the federal CHIPS and Science Act signed into law by President Joe Biden in 2022. Designees include groups focused on advanced manufacturing, autonomous systems, biotechnology and more. Wisconsin’s effort focuses on personalized medicine, which incorporates genetics, AI, advanced imaging and data analysis to match medical treatment to specific patients.

Listen to a recent related podcast.

— Gov. Tony Evers has announced the first phase of Marshfield Clinic Health System’s partial hospital replacement in Park Falls is complete, with the overall project set to finish next year.

The $35 million overhaul of the Marshfield Medical Center-Park Falls Critical Access Hospital began last year, as the health system started to modernize elements of the facility that was built in 1966.

Evers yesterday touted the $20 million in support from the state’s Healthcare Infrastructure Capital Grant Program, going toward improvements to patient rooms and urgent care facilities at the hospital as well as adding a sleep study area and retail pharmacy services.

“My administration was proud to be a partner in supporting the construction of this facility, which bridges an important gap in healthcare access and will allow Marshfield Clinic to continue providing the highest quality of care to folks in the Park Falls community and surrounding areas,” he said in a statement.

See more in the release.

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— A Colorado business called PAGE Technologies has won the Water Council’s spring 2024 Tech Challenge, the Milwaukee organization announced.

PAGE Technologies, based in Boulder, has a water and soil monitoring platform based on research from the University of Colorado-Boulder and University of California-Berkeley. Its chemical sensors can monitor factors including pH levels, nutrient concentrations, salt content and more.

The company’s manufacturing process can produce these sensor arrays in a way that’s “100 times more cost-effective than competing products,” according to the release.

The Tech Challenge program connects “water innovators” with more established companies working in this area, with a goal of fostering partnerships and exposing the industry to new technologies. Sponsor companies A.O. Smith Corporation, Badger Meter and Watts Water Technologies choose the topics and contest winners.

Karen Frst, vice president of economic development and innovation for the Water Council, says “the search for water technology solutions is critical” as water-related challenges arise around the world.

PAGE Technologies receives $10,000 as the contest winner, and gets the chance to present to the research and development teams of sponsor businesses. Since launching the challenge in 2019, the Water Council has awarded $190,000 to 19 winners from nine countries.

See the release.

— The state Department of Financial Institutions has named Craig Heilman as deputy secretary.

The agency yesterday announced DFI Secretary Cheryll Olson-Collins appointed Heilman to the position effective Monday, elevating him from the position of division administrator for the Division of Corporate and Consumer Services.

Previously, he was the director of business architecture for Total Administrative Services Corporation in Madison, the release shows.

“Craig is known for his ability to motivate staff and create inclusive environments,” Olson-Collins said in a statement. “I’m confident he will do a great job leading the agency’s daily operations.”

See the release.

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