As director of community engagement and inclusion at Visit Milwaukee, Tony Snell Rodriguez has redefined how a destination marketing organization can serve its community, according to Visit Milwaukee’s president and CEO Peggy Williams-Smith.
“His leadership has reshaped relationships, centered inclusion and ensured that Milwaukee’s story is told by and for everyone who calls it home,” Williams-Smith said.
In 2024, Rodriguez represented Visit Milwaukee at 90 community events across the region. He also spearheaded the organization’s sponsorship of nearly 70 events throughout the year.
Rodriguez grew up in South Carolina, where he co-founded the National Equality Federation and helped pass the City of Columbia Human Rights Ordinance — one of the first pieces of legislation of its kind in the South.
Here in Milwaukee, he has led volunteer operations for the 2020 Democratic National Convention, managed statewide coalition outreach for the Biden-Harris presidential campaign and launched Visit Milwaukee’s mobile visitor center.
He has served as chair of the City of Milwaukee Equal Rights Commission since 2016.