Rotary Club of Milwaukee Tuesday Speaker Series

George Stanley, Editor of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and regional editor of USA TODAY Network Wisconsin, shared his insights on local and national trends in journalism. With advertising revenue declining, newspapers are seeking innovative strategies to fund critical public service journalism to insure an informed citizenry.

Kim Stoll, the Board Chair of Milwaukee Women Inc and Vice President at Badger Meter and Rotary member Mara Swan, President, Xceleration -Human Capital Consulting will provide insights on how to move forward on the critical issues facing women in leadership today.

On November 8th, Rotary held our Veterans Day Program with Dan Buttery, CEO of the War Memorial and Chuck Konsitzke, Team Lead for the University of Wisconsin Missing-In-Action Recovery and Identification Project (UW MIA RIP). Dan spoke on the recently opened Medal Of Honor exhibit at the War Memorial Center. Chuck explained how the UW MIA RIP’s primary mission is to recover missing U.S. military personnel from past global conflicts, while also educating students and communities on the importance of past national service.

Every Tuesday the Rotary Club of Milwaukee hosts speakers on important topics of the day. During election season, the Club routinely invites candidates to address the Club and answer questions from members. Lt. Governor Mandela Barnes addressed the club on November 1st.

The threat of nuclear way is looming large once gain. What does this mean? Ira Helfand, MD is co-chair of the Nuclear Weapons Abolition Committee of Physicians for Social Responsibility (PSR). He is also a member of the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN)’s International Steering Committee. He is a co-author of PSR’s report, Nuclear Famine: 2 Billion at Risk?, which outlines the global health consequences of regional nuclear war. Dr. Helfand has addressed national delegations at international conferences across the globe and at U.N. General Assembly negotiations in 2017.

This program was sponsored by the A.D. Robertson Fund for the United Nations in honor of 77th anniversary of the founding of the United Nations. Rotary and the United Nations have a shared history of working toward peace and addressing humanitarian issues around the world. Today, Rotary holds the highest consultative status offered to a nongovernmental organization by the UN’s Economic and Social Council, which oversees many specialized UN agencies. The Rotary Representative Network maintains and furthers its relationship with several UN bodies, programs, commissions, and agencies.

Every Tuesday the Rotary Club of Milwaukee hosts speakers on important topics of the day. During election season, the Club routinely invites candidates to address the Club and answer questions from members. Gubernatorial Candidate Tim Michels addressed the club on October 18th.

In partnership with the Milwaukee Press Club and WisPolitics.com, the Rotary Club of Milwaukee hosted Governor Tony Evers on October 11th. Governor Evers answered questions from a panel of journalists including: Molly Beck – Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Diana Gutierrez – WISN 12 Ryan Jenkins -- TMJ4 News During election season, the Club routinely invites candidates to address the Club and answer questions from members. Gubernatorial Candidate Tim Michels will speak on October 18th.

Senator Ron Johnson is running for re-election to the U.S. Senate to represent Wisconsin on November 8th. He was first elected to the Senate in 2010 and won re-election in 2016. On Tuesday morning, Johnson spoke about his focus on growing our economy, creating good jobs and economic opportunity for all.

Senator Johnson is the first of the Wisconsin Election candidates to speak to Rotary this month. We will hear from Governor Tony Evers on October 11th, Gubernatorial candidate on October 18th, and Lieutenant Governor Mandela Barnes on November 1st.

Among the stars on the faculty of the Medical College of Wisconsin, you’ll find John Kirby, PhD, the Walter Schroeder Professor in Microbiology and Immunology. Dr. Kirby and his team are engaged in leading edge research about how metabolic imbalances impact health.

Obesity, diabetes and hypertension are strongly correlated in humans. The American Heart Association reports that obesity and related metabolic disorders represent the single greatest challenge to improving cardiovascular health. Understanding the obesity epidemic and developing novel approaches to prevent weight gain and maintain weight loss is a challenge studied by Dr. Kirby.

On September 20th, we heard from Rotarian and City of Milwaukee Health Commissioner, Kirsten Johnson.

Kirsten addressed what Milwaukee’s Public Health 3.0 plan means in focusing on social determinants of health, racism as a public health issue and the overall priorities she and her team are working to address moving forward. Kirsten also shared the ins and outs of the Milwaukee Health Department’s new strategic plan which includes priorities such as multiple pandemic response, violence, lead, and infant mortality.