Attorney Vel R. Phillips (unable to attend) was born on Milwaukee’s South Side. Phillips won a national scholarship to attend Howard University, where she obtained her Bachelor of Arts degree in 1946. In 1953, Phillips ran for a seat on the school board of the Milwaukee Public Schools, and was the first black candidate to make it past the non-partisan city-wide primary election, though she lost the runoff. In 1956, Phillips became the first woman and the first African- American member of the Common Council in Milwaukee; since Common Council members were called “Alderman,” she was given the title “Madam Alderman” by local officials. Phillips resigned from the Common Council in 1971 and was appointed to the Milwaukee County judiciary, the first woman judge in Milwaukee and the first African American judge in Wisconsin. In 1978, Phillips made history as the first woman and first non-white elected Secretary of State in Wisconsin. Phillips currently serves on the board of the Vel Phillips Foundation, a charitable foundation created in 2006, whose mission is “to help establish equality and opportunity for minorities through social justice, education, equal housing opportunities, and jobs.”
Dr. Ollie Watts Davis founding director of the Black Sacred Music Symposium, is a professor of voice at the University of Illinois and an accomplished soprano who made her New York debut at Carnegie Hall in 1990. Davis has appeared with many leading symphony orchestras, including those in San Francisco, Pittsburgh, Minnesota, Houston, Dallas, and Milwaukee. Her international activities include a performances of Mozart’s C Minor Mass on tour with Orquesta Sinfonica Simon Bolivar of Caracas, Venezuela; performances at the celebration of the founding of the Pakistani American Cultural Center in Karachi; concerts in the Canary Islands with the Chicago Sinfonietta; recitals on the University Artists Concert Series in San Jose, Costa Rica; and performances of Handel’s Messiah with the Orquestra Sinfonica de Asturias in Oviedo, Spain.
Van Jones CNN Political Contributor Van Jones is the president and co-founder of Rebuild the Dream, a platform for bottom-up, people-powered innovations to help fix the U.S. economy. A Yale- educated attorney, Van has written two New York Times best sellers: The Green Collar Economy, the definitive book on green jobs, and Rebuild the Dream, a roadmap for progressives in 2012 and beyond. In 2009, Van worked as the green jobs advisor to the Obama White House. There, he helped run the interagency process that oversaw $80 billion in green energy recovery spending.
Van’s hard work has been acknowledged by a number of prestigious institutions and publications. His awards and honors include being named to Rolling Stones’s “12 Leaders Who Get Things Done” in 2012, TIME magazine’s “100 Most Influential People in the World” in 2009, Fast Company’s “12 Most Creative Minds on Earth” and Essence Magazine’s “25 Most Inspiring African Americans” in 2008. Van also served as distinguished visiting professor at Princeton University and a Senior Fellow at the Center for American Progress and American Progress Action Fund.
Van is also the founder of Green For All, a national organization working to get green jobs to disadvantaged communities. He was the main advocate for the Green Jobs Act. Signed into law by George W. Bush in 2007, the Act was the first piece of federal legislation to codify the term “green jobs.” Under the Obama administration, it has resulted in $500 million for green job training nationally. While best known as a pioneer in the environmental movement, Van has been hard at work in social justice for nearly two decades, fashioning solutions to some of urban America’s toughest problems. He is the co-founder of two social justice organizations: the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights and Color of Change. Van also finds the time to serve on the board of several organizations and non-profits, including National Resource Defense Council, Presidio Graduate School and Demos. Van currently splits his time between Los Angeles and Washington D.C.
Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker (R), is the 45th Governor of Wisconsin. He was first elected Governor in 2010 and was sworn in on January 3, 2011. Walker was re-elected to a second term on November 4, 2014.
Jadon Nathanael Colbert age 9, is a student at St. James Catholic School in Madison, Wisconsin and a member of the Madison Youth Choir. Jadon’s favorite subject is reading. His hobby is singing.
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1989 Ed Holmes
1990 Darlene Hancock
1991 Joann Griffin
1992 Melva McShane
1993 Frank Brown
1994 Pia Kenny-James
1995 Dora Silva
1996 Hermetta Williams
1997 Milele Chikasa Anana
1998 Mona Winston Peter Munoz, Leotha Stanley
1999 Darlyne J. Barlow, Betty Franklin Hammonds, Milwaukee’s CDLCU William Ney
2000 Milwaukee’s MPCM Mark Fraire, Mattie Belle Woods
2001 Bessie Gray, Carlos Reyes, Habitat For Humanity, Int’l
2002 Romilia Schuelter, Paul Barrows, Midge Miller, United Migrant Opportunity Services
2003 Marlene Cummings
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2004 Valarie Daniels-Carter, Steve Braunginn
2005 Milt McPike, Sr.
2007 American Jewish Committee - Milwaukee Chapter
2008 Ferne Yangyeite Caulker, Gloria J. Ladson-Billings, Clarence Garrett
2009 Will Allen, Madison-Area Urban Ministry
2010 Sharyl Kato, James Gramling, Jonathan Gramling
2011 Ricardo Gonzalez, Mary Louise Mussoline, Paul Higginbotham
2012 ESTHER-Faith Communities United for Justice, Michael Reyes, Debra H. Amesqua
2013 Dr. Howard J. Fuller, Father James Groppi, Posthumously
2014 Anita Herrera, Ronald C. Dunlap, Dr. Luiz “Tony” Baez, Dr. Eugene Farley, Posthumously
2015 Vel R. Phillips, Dinorah Márquez
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2015 MLK Sponsorship
Principle Sponsorship
American Family Insurance
Jack Salzwedel, Chairman & CEO Dan Schultz, President & COO The Evjue Foundation, Inc.
Major Sponsorship
Alliant Energy
Patricia Leonard Kampling Chairman, President and CEO United Way of Dane County Leslie Ann Howard, President and CEO
Support Sponsorship
Wisconsin Public Television
James Steinbach, Director
Wisconsin Public Radio
Mike Crane, Director
WPT & WPR
Malcolm Brett, Director,
Broadcast & Media Innovations, UW-Extension
CUNA Mutual Group
Robert N. Trunzo, CEO
Contributing Sponsorship
Concourse Hotel and Governor’s Club
Steve Zanoni, Manager
Heartland Litho
Support Services
Office Of Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker
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Wisconsin Public Television Production Crew
Russell Awe, Tommy Bruno, Lynn DeRolf, John Gerbig, John Goodwin, Gregory Happ, Cassie Kienert, Mike Remington, Curt Sorensen, Jessie Brandmeier, Donna Crane, Mike Foley, Marcus Germain, Mike Hansen, Billy Johnson Veronica Plum Taylor Shiff, Ben White
Wisconsin Public Radio Production Staff
Tim Allen - Manager, Radio Operations Control - Joe Hardtke, Engineer/Stage Manager - Aubrey Ralf, Radio Operations Control - Dave Potratz - Network Operator - Sheryl Gasser, Ideas Network Director, Peter Bryant, News & Classical Music Network Director - Dr. Jonathan Overby, Executive Producer & Director
Public Address System
Intellasound Productions
Realtime Captioning
Riverside Captioning Company
2015 MLK Planning Committe
Oscar Mireles, Chair Rev. Vern Visick, Vice Chair Amy T. Overby Karen Martin Debbie Biddle, Dr. Jonathan L. Overby
A 2015 Africasong Communications Production All Rights Reserved
Special Thanks
Senator Tammy Baldwin • John Gerbig • Associate Producers Debbie Biddle and Karen Martin • Sue Barica • Carola & Clyde Gaines • The Women of Delta Sigma Theta sorority • Leotha Stanley • Rev. Jackie Colbert • Mt. Zion Baptist Church • Molly Stenz • Norman Stockwell • W.O.R.T. Radio • Marketing Departments of WPT & WPR • Erin McConnell, Asst. Stage Manager Stage Hands - Ramaun Harris and Dwight McDonald • Erik Norin • Michael Phillips • MSgt USAF Richard Cater • Leotha Stanley, Jr. • Mallory Wipperman • Kelly J. Bradley • Edgewood High School’s Julia Slotnick & Student and Parent Volunteers: Michael Elliott, President, Robert Growney, Principal www.edgewoodhs.org • MLK 2015 Production Crew: Ryan Helgeson, Ian Benton, Steve Scott, Ramaun Harris • Canaan Media Solutions • Donta Brown.
Visit www.wpt.org to view the entire event online. If you'd like a souvenir program booklet, send your full mailing address to: MLK2015, 82 University Ave. Madison, Wisconsin 53706 or by e-mail: overby@wpr.org (Supply is limited).
