This week’s episode of “WisBusiness: the Podcast” is with Tony Snell Rodriguez, VISIT Milwaukee’s first director of community engagement and inclusion.
The regional convention and visitor’s bureau earlier this month announced Rodriguez has been elevated to the new role, leading efforts to connect and align tourism activities with community-level priorities. He started with VISIT Milwaukee in 2017 as a volunteer coordinator, and has since led the organization’s internal culture committee, among other roles.
Rodriguez has also served on Milwaukee’s Equal Rights Commission since 2017, and has chaired the commission since 2019.
“In my life, I have been a longtime advocate,” he said. “My role for years has been human rights and advocating for my community, the LGBTQ community, and I’ve been invested in doing that… No matter where I am in life, what position I hold, that’s always dear to me and dear to my heart.”
He emphasizes the importance of inclusion for both VISIT Milwaukee and the greater Milwaukee community, as well as its role in economic development.
“To create economic impact, it’s important to be a more inclusive community, and by promoting the greater Milwaukee area as a premier tourism destination for all … We want residents to know what we do,” he said. “Because if they love their city and they understand tourism, they’re going to be our biggest ambassadors. And they’re going to embrace that, and we’re going to be able to reflect who they are in our storytelling.”
Rodriguez also touches on the upcoming 2024 Republican National Convention, being held in downtown Milwaukee this summer.
“Not only are all these people coming here, but there’s going to be like 500 plus journalists … from around the world, and when they come here they’re going to be looking for stories,” he said. “They’re going to have their cameras on all kinds of areas, and people and events and happenings that are going on, which I think will shine a special light on Milwaukee.”
Listen to the podcast below, sponsored by UW-Madison:
