Judie Taylor is a local business leader, mentor, advisor and philanthropist who serves on the boards of Journey 21, ProHealth Care, St. Camillus Health Center, United Way of Milwaukee & Waukesha County and the Waukesha County Community Foundation.
Taylor in 2022 started her own consulting and executive coaching firm, DUECO, specializing in family business management and transitions. She is also still board chair of Utility Equipment Holding Co., which is the parent company of the former 400-employee, third-generation family businesses of DUECO and Utility Equipment Leasing Corp.
Taylor has been involved with the St. Camillus Health Center, a continuing care retirement community in Wauwatosa, for the past 18 years. She spends about 20 hours per week working as the chairwoman of the organization, which has doubled in size over the past five years with the addition of the 15-story East Tower, completed in 2022. The facility now has more than 500 residents and 600 employees.
“We believe in the power of learning, educating ourselves and others to better understand the challenges we face and the solutions we can create.”
– Judie Taylor, president and CEO, DUECO
Corporate Volunteer of the Year Finalist: John Kissinger, GRAEF
Through his civic leadership, John Kissinger, longtime president and chief executive officer of Milwaukee-based civil engineering firm GRAEF, exemplifies dedication to serving others and building a stronger, more vibrant community for all.
Kissinger serves on the boards of The Zoological Society of Milwaukee, United Way of Greater Milwaukee & Waukesha County, the UW-Milwaukee Foundation and the Milwaukee Development Corp., an affiliate organization of the Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce. He is also involved with the Milwaukee Athletic Club, MobiliSE and the Greater Milwaukee Committee.
In addition to board service, Kissinger lends his expertise and support to the campaign cabinet of the United Way of Greater Milwaukee & Waukesha County and the United Performing Arts Fund. Thanks to his personal belief in giving back to the communities where GRAEF employees work and live, Kissinger leads firmwide campaigns for both United Way and UPAF on an annual basis. Since 2020, GRAEF has donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to United Way, tens of thousands of dollars to UPAF and substantial amounts to various other organizations.
In addition, Kissinger played an instrumental role in developing GRAEF’s “volunteer time off” policy, in which employees can volunteer at a nonprofit of their choice during the workday while still receiving compensation.
Corporate Volunteer of the Year Finalist: Robert Landwehr
Robert Landwehr has dedicated countless hours to Junior Achievement and is passionate about helping children learn about financial literacy and leadership. He began volunteering with the organization in 2012 and has been a member of the Junior Achievement board since 2015.
Landwehr is also a board member for Wellpoint Care Network and a volunteer for the Stars and Stripes Honor Flights.
Landwehr has served on Junior Achievement’s executive board and has been chair of the HR committee since 2023. Beyond being the top volunteer for the nonprofit’s capstone education programs, he has been asked to speak at several events in the past.
Beloved by the Junior Achievement team – from the executives staff down to the high school interns – Landwehr is known as someone who can connect with students of all academic levels and backgrounds and is a warm presence in the office.
“His ability to speak to any individual is what stands out to anyone that has a chance to get to know him. You will walk away feeling like you have met a lifelong friend,” said Carla Ritzman, capstone education manager at Junior Achievement.
Corporate Volunteer of the Year Finalist: Max Stephenson, Gimbel, Reilly, Guerin & Brown LLP
Max Stephenson, a partner with Milwaukee-based Gimbel, Reilly, Guerin & Brown LLP, has been recognized for his family law practice as well as his support of the LGBTQ+ community. He has worked on countless cases – either pro bono or at an extremely reduced rate – to fight for his clients.
Last year, Stephenson served as chair of the American Cancer Society Gala. This came after one of the firm’s partners, Pat Knight, had lost his wife, Tricia Knight, to cancer and one of the firm’s original partners, D. Michael Guerin, had passed away after an eight-year battle with cancer. In early 2023, Pat Knight himself was diagnosed with two types of cancer. When Stephenson was appointed to chair the gala, he vowed to make the 2023 event a huge success in honor of Tricia Knight, Mike Guerin, Pat Knight and everyone else at the firm who had been touched by cancer.
Stephenson is a frequent speaker on various family law topics, has served on the coaching staff for the National Moot Court competition and is past president of the Milwaukee Young Lawyers Association.
