Rotary Club of Milwaukee Tuesday Speaker Series

Dede Petri discusses the national celebration, Olmsted 200, marking the bicentennial in 2022 of the birth of Frederick Law Olmsted. She explored Olmsted’s significant contributions – from coast to coast — and concludes with an examination of Olmsted’s heritage in Wisconsin and a call to action.

On June 14th, we welcomed Rotarian Joel Brennan, the new president of the Greater Milwaukee Committee, for a sit down interview with Rotarian and Editor at the Ideas Lab for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, David Haynes. Joel shared his vision for the GMC as it enters a new phase of strategic planning that will create and support community-wide solutions leading to a more prosperous and equitable Milwaukee.

On Tuesday, Jerry Jendusa spoke on his story of starting an aerospace company in his basement and growing it into an international 100M+ business, and what proven advice he gives to individuals and teams on how to grow. He also discussed 7 concepts that contribute to growth in people, innovation, customers, productivity and of a financial enterprise.

A woman of many accomplishments, Janan Najeeb is the President and CEO of the Milwaukee Muslim Women's Coalition, the editor-in-chief of the Wisconsin Muslim Journal, founder of the Milwaukee Muslim Film Festival, —and the list goes on. Most recently, she helped mobilize community support and shipped truckloads of new supplies to For McCoy for Afghans detained there. On Tuesday, Janan was recognized for her work in building bridges and helping people to understand the gentle nature of the Muslim faith and identity.

For our Armed Forces Day Program, we welcomed Janine Sijan-Rozina, the director of Sijan and sister of Vietnam POW & Medal of Honor recipient, Capt. Lance Sijan. In 1967, 25 year-old Lance Sijan avoided capture in the jungle of Vietnam for 45 days without food or water, and was determined to find his way home. On Tuesday, Janine will share the incredible story of her brother and the journey she went through when creating the documentary Sijan to honor his legacy.

To achieve racial equity in Milwaukee, systems need to be developed to support 32,000 new Black & Latino homeowners. Through the Collective Affordable Housing Plan we can meet this goal through intentional, collaborative, data-based strategies. Teig addresses the lack of inventory of entry level homes for working families and strategies to address the shortage.

On May 3rd, we welcomed the Chief Product and Innovation Officer at Palermo's, Nick Fallucca. As a 3rd generation leader of the Palermo family’s Milwaukee-based business, Nick addressed a range of topics including Palermo’s history, its family of brands, the partnership with Funky Fresh Spring Rolls, and managing labor and inflation challenges.

On April 26th we welcomed Bob Babisch, Summerfest's Vice President of Entertainment.

A 46-year veteran of Milwaukee World Festival, and highly respected member of the entertainment industry, Bob manages tens of millions of dollars in the entertainment budget and helps book the world's biggest acts for Summerfest on an annual basis.

Hear from Bob during his last year as VP of Entertainment, and his 4 decades of stories from the Big Gig!

Milwaukee County is blessed with 15,000 acres of public green space—one of the largest holdings in urban America. It wasn’t always that way. Historian John Gurda gives a fresh look at the evolution of our stellar—and much-endangered—park system from the days of tiny public squares and private beer gardens to the celebrated beauty spots and abundant challenges of the present.

On April 12th, we welcomed Milwaukee Police Chief Jeffrey Norman to Rotary.

Chief Norman was appointed to the Milwaukee Police Department in 1996. Before being sworn in as the Chief of the Milwaukee Police Department in 2021, he was the executive commander of the Criminal Investigation Bureau, which oversees the Homicide, Special Investigation, Violent Crimes, General Crimes, Sensitive Crimes, Fusion and Forensic Divisions.