The Future Milwaukee Experience

The class typically meets every other Monday from 6 - 9 p.m. at a different Milwaukee location over an nine-month period. In the past we have met at universities, Independence First, the Journal Sentinel, the Urban Ecology Center, Children's Hospital, and more.

The Future Milwaukee Leadership program is a unique opportunity for participants to improve leadership skills and become more involved in the community. There are four main areas of learning and discussion:

• Leadership skill development: working in a leaderless team environment on two projects within the class year provides experience in taking ownership and succeeding in a team environment. Participants are formally assessed prior to and after the program to measure the development of their leadership skills.
• Understanding community issues: a number of class sessions each program year are devoted to exploring the issues facing our community, covering such topics as education reform, economic and business climate, racism and diversity, and community image. Topics change as community issues shift.
• Practical experience working with community issues: participants work in teams for the final four months of the program, implementing a real-life project for existing community-based organizations.
• Interact with diverse points of view: the mix of class participants and the program’s emphasis on issues contribute to a better understanding of diverse viewpoints.

The projects developed as part of the Future Milwaukee program have themselves had lasting impact; for example:

• A Community Health Advocate program was designed and developed by classes over two class years, and has been implemented in pilot form by its sponsoring organization, Fortis Insurance Foundation.
• A successful credit union was established to be run by and for participants in local Boys & Girls Clubs.
• A fund raising event held on behalf of St. Ann Center for Intergenerational Care was instrumental in the capital campaign for a new building.

Future Milwaukee has helped to place its graduates on boards as diverse as Ebenezer Day Care Centers, Renaissance Theater Works, and the Center for Teaching Entrepreneurship.