GMC 2021 ANNUAL REPORT
MEET
SAMANTHA
MALDONADO
Samantha is an alum of Forward 48 and FOR-M, a member of GMC’s Racial Equity and Inclusion committee, and a senior manager of diversity and inclusion at Kohl’s.
Samantha's commitment to professional development is aligned with the dedication the GMC has for creating a diverse leadership and talent pipeline for the region. By also incorporating civic engagement opportunities into a diverse professional pipeline we believe we can build equitable communities and sustainable businesses.
We are proud to announce that Samantha has also been chosen as a member of the Harvard Business School’s 2022 Young American Leader’s Program. GMC serves as the local convening and nominating partner for this HBS program.
THE COMMONS
We facilitate innovation, connection, impact, growth.
No matter your age or discipline, we’re building an active and diverse ecosystem of amazing people across the Milwaukee region. The Commons believes in developing and investing in talent, wherever they are in their journey, to empower them to grow within their career and impact the community around them. For emerging talent, The Commons is a direct connection to the great professionals and organizations doing meaningful work in our region. For local businesses, it’s a hands-on regional talent strategy that organizations need to attract, develop, and retain innovative and diverse leaders.
The pandemic continued to challenge traditional ways of learning and connecting with one another. It became necessary to resume developing programming that would meet people where they were at and lower barriers of entry, resulting in virtual programming for much of 2021.
Over 90% of participants feel more connected to the community
Over 80% of participants are more likely to stay/seek jobs in the region
Nearly 1:1 male-to-female ratio (40% participants of color, 30% first-generation students)
THE COMMONS
Across all of our programming, we tracked our learning outcomes through regular assessment to provide us insight into their growth.
Participants reported increased confidence in the following areas:
CRITICAL THINKING
+27%
COMMUNICATION
+35%
COLLABORATION
+27%
CREATIVITY
+33%
CURIOSITY
+22%
ADAPTABILITY
+21%
RISK-TAKING
+37%
PERSISTENCE
+21%
GOAL-FOCUSED
+27%
NETWORK CONNECTIVITY
+61%
FORWARD 48
The region’s premier leadership development program. Forward 48 builds a robust and diverse civic leadership succession strategy through experiential learning, professional development, and exclusive networking opportunities. Focused on working with professionals who are in emerging leadership positions. The fall 2021 program awarded over $5K in scholarships to program participants.
FOR-M
A program of the Milwaukee Tech Hub Coalition, facilitated by The Commons and We Pivot, is a free, virtual workshop series designed to help motivated founders solidify a startup concept and get connected into Milwaukee’s tech startup ecosystem. FOR-M has now worked with over 200 founders, engaged over 125 local mentors, and secured $120K in WEDC grants to provide to participants. Founders reported a 25% increase in their network connectivity, community support, and confidence as tech founders.
MKE TECH PRE-INTERNSHIP
A program of the MKE Tech Hub Coalition’s Talent Accelerator. The Commons and UW-Milwaukee collaborated to design the curriculum and deliver facilitation for this collegiate-level experience designed for students of any major to explore their role and voice in the world of technology. Program participants were awarded the Foundation in AI & Analytics digital learning badge, the first ever to be endorsed by the Higher Education Regional Alliance.
CAREER ACCELERATOR
Partnered with WINS Learning, The Commons provided a virtual career development program for 200+ Milwaukee area high school students from Employ Milwaukee’s and the City of Milwaukee’s Earn and Learn programs. Students were offered a balance between explicit learning outcomes with hands-on project work and meaningful professional development. They created real-world solutions, explored the creative problem-solving process, built their professional network, and grew as a career-ready worker.
CORPORATE INNOVATION & PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT WORKSHOPS
Customized innovation sessions designed to bring together cross-department, cross-organization teams to use design-thinking skills to both solve challenges while developing and strengthening new skills. Workshops vary from short pop-ups to multi-day sessions. Core partners for corporate innovation work include Kohler, ManpowerGroup, and Molson Coors.
CREAM CITY TALENT COLLECTIVE LEAD
Formerly the MKE Talent Consortium, the Cream City Collective is comprised of 50+ local talent development and support organizations throughout the Milwaukee area. The group has assembled to foster collaboration, share best practices, and advocate for the talent they all serve. The Commons serves as one of the lead conveners for the group, with Secure Futures, Learn Deep, PEAK Initiative, and Employ Milwaukee.