Rotary Club of Milwaukee Tuesday Speaker Series

This week, Tom Content, Executive Director of the Citizens Utility Board of Wisconsin, discussed CUB's work to fight energy inflation and the growing challenges to energy affordability posed by the development of data centers in Wisconsin and around the country.

This past Tuesday, we kicked off our first Rotary program of 2026 with a presentation from Michael Ford, Director of the Wisconsin Institute for Citizenship and Civil Dialogue. Michael shared his talk, "Practical Tools for Navigating Difficult Conversations," offering practical, evidence-based tools for engaging in disagreement without deepening polarization.

This week in Memorial Hall, Steve Vavrus, Senior Scientist at UW–Madison, shared how Wisconsin's climate is rapidly changing, with the past two decades being the warmest on record and the 2010s the wettest. Drawing on work from the State Climatology Office and WICCI, he highlighted major trends, extreme weather impacts, and what these shifts mean for the state's future.

Yesterday, Adam Procell, Director of Milwaukee's Office of Community Wellness and Safety, joined us for a moderated, in-depth conversation about his personal journey, his leadership in building Milwaukee's collaborative reentry ecosystem, and his vision for the future of this work in our city. The discussion highlighted the systems-level approach he is advancing to strengthen community safety, coordination, and long-term stability across Milwaukee.

This week in Memorial Hall Rotarians heard from Dr. Kimo Ah Yun, President of Marquette University, as he shared details about the momentum Marquette is experiencing and discussed the challenges facing higher education both locally and nationally.

In honor of Veterans Day, Rotarians welcomed Janice Bell and Ben Hendershot from the Veterans Community Project to share their innovative approach to ending veteran homelessness. They also highlighted plans for VCP's new Milwaukee campus, which will feature 40 tiny homes and onsite services on a 7-acre site along North 60th Street.

Yesterday, Chris Corkery, Founder and CEO of Hundred Acre, joined us to share the story of his state-of-the-art indoor hydroponic farm in Milwaukee, where fresh produce grows year-round—without soil, pesticides, and using 95% less water than traditional farms. Chris also highlighted how Hundred Acre's vertical farming technology creates "endless summer" conditions to produce five times more food per square foot, redefining the future of local agriculture.

This week in Memorial Hall, we marked the 80th Anniversary of the United Nations with an address by Jack Leslie, a renowned communications strategist and international development leader. Jack called for rebuilding trust and creating a new global framework that empowers local leadership and partnerships to better address today's challenge around the world.

This week in Memorial Hall, we were honored to welcome Serhiy Koledov, the Consul General of Ukraine in Chicago. The Consul General spoke about the current situation in Ukraine, sharing insights on the nation's economic recovery and the growing opportunities for investment in the country.

This week's program featured Rotarians Ian Abston, Maurice Thomas, and Joe Poeschl, who shared how the next generation of Milwaukeeans is intentionally building networks that strengthen both personal and community growth. They also shared inspiring stories of connection and collaboration through Forward 48, the region's premier leadership development program.