Mary Lou Young, former chief executive officer of United Way of Greater Milwaukee & Waukesha County, will be the recipient of the 2019 BizTimes Woman Executive of the Year Award, to be presented at the BizExpo conference on May 30.
Young retired from her role with United Way in January after leading the organization for a decade.
As CEO, Young oversaw the merger of the former United Way of Greater Milwaukee and the United Way in Waukesha County in 2015. The organization also saw substantial growth during her tenure, culminating in its record $60 million campaign in 2017. Young also facilitated a $1 million gift from Johnson Controls to launch the Johnson Controls Volunteer Engagement Center in 2018.
Prior to her role with United Way, Young led global community relations for Rockwell Automation, where she managed the company’s annual $7 million philanthropic budget.
She’s gained national recognition as a thought leader, and was invited twice to the White House to talk about United Way’s successes.
Young continues to serve as a consultant on special projects for United Way and has established MLY Consulting, LLC to manage other business priorities.
Young is a longtime member of United Way’s Tocqueville Society and founding member of United Way’s Women United in Milwaukee. She is also a founding member of the United Way-led Teen Pregnancy Prevention Initiative and Collaborative Fund in Milwaukee, which has gained national recognition for its successful efforts to reduce the rate of teen births.
Previous recipients of the BizTimes Woman Executive of the Year Award have included: Juli Kaufmann, president of Fix Development ; Wendy Baumann, the president and chief visionary officer of the Wisconsin Women’s Business Initiative Corp.; Paula Penebaker, president and chief executive officer of YWCA Southeast Wisconsin; Dr. Eve Hall, president and CEO of the African American Chamber of Commerce of Wisconsin; Nanette Gardetto, founder of Baptista’s Bakery Inc.; Maria Monreal-Cameron, former president and CEO of the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce Wisconsin; Gail Lione, a former Harley-Davidson Inc. executive; and Cynthia LaConte, president and CEO of Dohmen.
The BizTimes Woman Executive of the Year Award will be presented to Young at the Women in Business breakfast at the BizExpo conference (presented by BizTimes Media) on Thursday, May 30, at Potawatomi Hotel & Casino.
The Women in Business breakfast will also include a panel discussion of women executives. They include: Deborah Allen, president and chief executive officer of DNA Network LLC; Maggie Fernandes, software developer at MacGregor Partners, Kathy Thornton-Bias, president and chief executive officer of Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Milwaukee; and Julie Waterman, owner of Indulgence Chocolatiers.
Click here to register to attend the Women in Business breakfast event.
