In these unprecedented, difficult times, we reached out to some of our community leaders across the state and gave them the opportunity to speak directly to you. We are so grateful that 20 leaders from all over Wisconsin and from many communities — Black, Asian American, Latinx, Native American — came through with messages of resilience and hope. Super Bowl Champion and former Green Bay Packer George Koonce might have said it best — we are Wisconsin Strong.
We wove their messages into the video that you’ve probably seen on social media already, but we also wanted to share their full messages. Here they are, from our community’s leaders direct to you.
Wisconsin Lieutenant Governor Mandela Barnes
Ajamou Butler
Founder, Heal the Hood Milwaukee
Karen Menendez Coller
Executive Director, Centro Hispano of Dane County
Jessica Cavazos
President, Latino Chamber of Commerce
Griselda Aldrete
Executive Director, Milwaukee Fire and Police Commission
Jack Daniels III
President, Madison College
Erik Kennedy
Community Relations Coordinator, Advocate Aurora Health
Shiva Bidar
Chief Diversity Officer, UW Health
State Senator Lena Taylor
Ho-Chunk Nation President Marlon WhiteEagle
State Representative David Crowley
Michael Johnson
CEO, Boys and Girls Club of Dane County
DJ Hines
Chief Operations Officer, Christian Faith Fellowship Church
Super Bowl Champion George Koonce
Senior Vice President, Marian University
Angela Russell
VP of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, CUNA Mutual Group
Tenzin Rampa
Former player, Milwaukee Wave
Head Coach, Tibetan National Soccer Team North America
May Yer Thao
Assistant Deputy Director, Wisconsin Housing and Economic Development Authority
Shary Tran
Director, Diversity & Inclusion, Froedtert Health
Mai J. Lo Lee
Director, Multicultural Student Affairs Director, UW-Green Bay
Justin Cruz
Vice President of Diversity Recruitment, American Family Insurance