Living Legends
The Sias Group
Founder and CEO | Milwaukee
A retired high-profile executive and community leader, Thelma Sias spent three decades with We Energies, where she ultimately led its community engagement efforts. In 1986, Sias joined Wisconsin Gas Co., which was later acquired by Wisconsin Electric and parent company Wisconsin Energy Corp. By 2003, she had risen the ranks to become vice president of local affairs, where she worked with community leaders and local government officials to further the company’s business initiatives and lead multimillion-dollar projects. She also served on the We Energies Foundation board.
A native of Mississippi, Sias grew up on her family farm and watched her parents’ involvement in the civil rights movement, which she has cited as a motivator for her work. Early in her career, Sias was the supervisor of the Ethnic Heritage Recruitment Center at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay, serving the needs of African American and Native American students. In 1982, she moved to Milwaukee to work for an alderman before joining Wisconsin Electric.
Later in her career, she founded and continues to serve as chief executive officer of consulting firm The Sias Group LLC.
Sias serves on many boards, including the Wisconsin Economic Development Corp., United Way of Greater Milwaukee & Waukesha County, the Boys & Girls Club of Greater Milwaukee, the Sojourner Family Peace Center and the African American Women’s Project. Sias is also a member of The Links, a social and service organization of prominent Black women in the U.S.
She has won numerous accolades. Savoy magazine named her on its 2016 list of Top Influential Women in Corporate America. In 2017, the Greater Milwaukee Foundation recognized Sias with the Doug Jansson Leadership Award, the Milwaukee Fellowship Open gave her a Civic Leaders Award, and she was added to The History Makers’ Collection at the Library of Congress. Milwaukee Urban League established the Thelma A. Sias Fellows of Distinction Award in her honor.
Education: Bachelor’s, Clark Atlanta University
