Amanda Braun is the first woman to be the athletic director at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. She was named to the post in 2013.
As UWM’s AD Braun played a major role in the moving the men’s basketball games back to downtown Milwaukee and in the university securing naming rights for UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena. She helped coordinate a partnership with ROC Ventures, which includes having the UWM baseball team play at the new stadium at Ballpark Commons in Franklin. She has been heavily involved in establishing a partnership with the Orthopaedic Hospital of Wisconsin, and in securing the largest donation ever to UWM athletics from OHOW. Donations to UWM athletics have reached new highs under Braun’s leadership.
“She lives her life as a role model by keeping her cool and making tough decisions, all the time knowing there are a lot of people observing and ready to critique her performance,” said Jim Mueller, president of mueller QAAS and a UWM supporter. “Dealing with pressure is crucial to success in both athletics and leadership, but Amanda has the added challenge of operating in a very political environment while surrounded by many people who may prefer the status quo over new opportunities.”
“With her positive, can-do attitude, Amanda has shown that she is multi-talented by recruiting other great leaders to the UWM team, managing them and others, and keeping politics away from staff,” Mueller said. “She has also shown that she is a marketing leader through her successes in public relations and donor recruitment.”
