Rotary Club of Milwaukee Tuesday Speaker Series

Damian Buchman grew up across Waukesha & Milwaukee County. A graduate of Brookfield East High School, Damian is an unlikely survivor of a rare childhood cancer. He is the founder of The Ability Center, Wisconsin Adaptive Sports Association and the RampUp movement. Damian is a recognized champion for Ability as: a 2019 Donald Driver Driven to Achieve Award recipient, a 2017 Milwaukee Business Journal 40 under 40, and a featured 2015 TedXUWMilwaukee presenter.

A pioneer in the adaptive recreation industry, Damian has delivered a vision for the future, transformed a community’s recreation, and has a passion for helping people realize their best self delivering his message of hope through the power of: positivity, possibility, passion and perseverance.

Dale Bormann Jr., President of the Milwaukee Police Association had a conversation with Rotarian Kent Lovern, Chief Deputy District Attorney for Milwaukee County.

Reggie Jackson, Co-Founder of Nurturing Diversity Partners, award winning journalist and Head Griot of America’s Black Holocaust Museum, and Rotarian Dr. Eve Hall, President & CEO of the Milwaukee Urban League discuss the causes of the current racial unrest.

What was intended to be a bridge that slashed infant mortality rates and made potable water more accessible also resulted in this Guatemalan community’s resiliency to COVID-19.

Please join Mike Paddock as he shares the stories of the Marquette University EWB-USA Team during his virtual author visit of Bridging Barriers. This program consisted of working with the community to build a water project and construct a bridge over a river nicknamed “The Assassin.”

As we approach the anniversaries of the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, former Defense Secretary William Perry and Tom Collina, Policy Director of the Ploughshares Fund will discuss their new book:  “The Button:  The New Nuclear Arms Race and Presidential Power from Truman to Trump.” Secretary Perry served as the U.S. Undersecretary of Defense for Research and Engineering in the Carter administration and then as Secretary of Defense in the Clinton administration. He is an Emeritus Professor at Stanford University. Tom Collina has thirty years of Washington, DC, experience in nuclear weapons, missile defense, and nonproliferation issues, and has held senior positions at the Arms Control Association, the Institute for Science and International Security, and the Union of Concerned Scientists.

Rotarian and Wisconsin Policy Forum President Rob Henken discussed his organization’s recent reports on how the COVID-19 pandemic is impacting the budgets of Wisconsin’s local governments and school districts, both in terms of hits to vital revenue streams and added expenditure pressures. The presentation also honed in on the pandemic’s effects on the longstanding fierce financial challenges facing the city of Milwaukee, Milwaukee County, and the Milwaukee Public Schools.

Due to a recording glitch, this podcast starts shortly after Jamie Reeve begins his introduction of our speaker.

Noah Williams, a Professor of Economics at UW Madison, discussed the impact of COVID-19 on the Wisconsin economy. The COVID-19 pandemic is leading to unprecedented disruptions around the globe. This talk discussed the impact on the Wisconsin economy from onset of the pandemic, through the statewide Safer at Home Order, and during reopening. The Center for Research on the Wisconsin Economy has been tracking the economic impact using new high frequency data on unemployment claims, consumer foot traffic, small business employment, and consumer spending. There was a rapid decline in activity from mid-March through mid-April, with varying impact across industries and locations. The economy has recovered substantially over the past several weeks, but many measures still remain depressed.

Fellow Rotarian and the Chief Deputy District Attorney Kent Lovern, had a conversation with Sheriff Earnell Lucas. Milwaukee County Sheriff Earnell Lucas discussed what inspired him to enter into the law enforcement profession, and what he is doing to help restore honor, integrity and trust in law enforcement in Milwaukee County and America.

We celebrate the end of the Rotary year with Past President Ed Krishok. We thank Steve Chevalier for his dedicated service this past year, and we welcome Darren Miller as the new Club President for 2020-21.

Due to recording issues, the initial 3 minutes of this program was not recorded. Dr. Eve Hall begins the recording by answering a question about the difficult conversations she has had recently. The full program is available on YouTube here.

Join us as three Rotarians share their views and stories on racial equity.  In light of current events and given Rotary’s role in the community, we felt that it relevant and timely to have this conversation.  The intent of our time is to have a conversation as a start or continuation of our Club’s work on racism. We invite you to listen in as Karen Hung will moderate and contribute to the conversation with Dr. Eve Hall, President, Milwaukee Urban League and Ed Krishok.