In August, the African American Leadership Alliance Milwaukee named Deneine Powell, former executive director of Groundwork Milwaukee, as its first president and chief executive officer. Powell previously founded a small business, run the Small Business Development Center at the University of Wisconsin-Parkside and held leadership positions with Milwaukee Community Service Corps. and the Lilly & Hamilton Inc. Business Strategy Group. AALAM, which was founded in 2017 and launched publicly in 2019, is focused on growing and retaining the region’s pool of African American talent. Powell recently spoke with BizTimes associate editor Lauren Anderson about AALAM’s goals for a city that studies indicate has some of the nation’s largest racial disparities.
What was your reaction to the latest African American Wellness Index that again ranks Milwaukee as the worst on measures of African American well-being compared to other metros?
“When I read through it, there were no surprises there. As a Black resident, I know how bad things can be. But I also believe there are initiatives out there that directly tie back to some of the concerns. … There are a lot of organizations doing a lot of this work, but I think what is lacking and why it has been so slow, which is why it hasn’t changed much for Milwaukee, is that we’re very siloed. The key word has to be ‘collective impact.’ We have to work together on this. Otherwise it’s just the little boy with his finger in the dam. It’s just not enough. It has to be everyone pitching in to solve the issues.”
How does AALAM’s work tie into the (Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce) Region of Choice initiative?
“They have been an incredible partner up until now. We have focused on taking our strategy and aligning with the Region of Choice work that MMAC has done. Our 90-day plan even has some components of the Region of Choice so we can start to see action there. Our intention over the next year is to grow with MMAC and that initiative.”
What does Milwaukee need to do to retain African American talent?
“Most successful Black people with families don’t come to Milwaukee because they don’t want their families to be treated as second-class citizens and they themselves don’t want to be treated as second-class citizens. It becomes a difficult sell to bring (Black families) to a place where not only the quality of life for Blacks is low, but then you get into an organization that maybe beats the drum about diversity, equity and inclusion and yet doesn’t deliver on their promises. … Managers come in and then they simply cannot seem to break through a certain level. There are very few Blacks in the C-suite in Milwaukee. There are so many other (cities) where our blackness does not precede us into the room. …CEOs talk a lot about DEI and their commitment to it, but when you’ve got a rate of African Americans leaving your company that’s extraordinary and there’s nothing being done about it, there’s just a revolving door of people of color, you might want to consider why that’s happening.”
With you now at the helm, what’s next for AALAM?
“There’s been just years of conversation. I think what they’re really looking for me to do is to take those conversations and those strategies and actually kick them into action. My job is really to turn on the switch and get this machine rolling. We have a lot that has to be done … Between the economy, COVID, police brutality and murders of innocent black people, the community and society as a whole is fragile right now. And I think that there’s no time like the present to initiate these things because the work that we do will heal.”
