Cream City Foundation's Board of Directors
Jim Schleif - Chairman
A top Shorewest Realtor, Mr. Schleif was the recipient of the Business Journal’s “Forty under Forty” award. He has 26 years of sales, marketing, new business development and communication experience. A strong community member, Schleif has vast experience in the nonprofit sector & fund development, including having worked with AIDS Resource Center of Wisconsin. A graduate of UW-Madison in International Relations and French, Mr. Schleif also sits on the board of the Urban Ecology Center and served as a former Board Member of the Alliance Francaise.
Gina Graham - Vice Chairman
Gina Graham is Director, Health Economics and Outcomes Research for GE
Healthcare, where she has worked since 2010. Prior to GE, she worked for
Aurora Health Care for 14 years where her last position was Director of Grant
Development and interim lead of the Philanthropy Operations team. She also
served as Director, Community Senior Services during her tenure at Aurora.
Previous experience includes community relations manager for the National Kidney
Foundation of Wisconsin, patient benefits specialist for a dialysis center, and
refugee resettlement worker in Casper, Wyoming. Ms. Graham grew up in
Denver, Colorado and earned a BA in Sociology from the University of
Denver. She is presently working on an MA in Sociology from UW-M.
Over the past 23 years, she has served the Milwaukee LGBT community in board
positions with SAGE Milwaukee and the Milwaukee LGBT Community Center.
Gina has been on the Cream City Foundation board for 7 years. She recently
moved into a cream city brick farmhouse built in 1880 near West Bend, Wisconsin
with her partner Cherie, and she is the proud mother of three young adult
children who live in Minneapolis and Milwaukee.
Healthcare, where she has worked since 2010. Prior to GE, she worked for
Aurora Health Care for 14 years where her last position was Director of Grant
Development and interim lead of the Philanthropy Operations team. She also
served as Director, Community Senior Services during her tenure at Aurora.
Previous experience includes community relations manager for the National Kidney
Foundation of Wisconsin, patient benefits specialist for a dialysis center, and
refugee resettlement worker in Casper, Wyoming. Ms. Graham grew up in
Denver, Colorado and earned a BA in Sociology from the University of
Denver. She is presently working on an MA in Sociology from UW-M.
Over the past 23 years, she has served the Milwaukee LGBT community in board
positions with SAGE Milwaukee and the Milwaukee LGBT Community Center.
Gina has been on the Cream City Foundation board for 7 years. She recently
moved into a cream city brick farmhouse built in 1880 near West Bend, Wisconsin
with her partner Cherie, and she is the proud mother of three young adult
children who live in Minneapolis and Milwaukee.
Paul Milakovich - Treasurer
Mr. Milakovich has a broad array of professional, non-profit management experience. He currently services as Associate Vice President for Advancement Services at Marquette University where he oversees all operational and administrative aspects of the university’s fundraising and alumni engagement activities. Milakovich held a similar position with Aurora Healthcare from 2005-2007. For the previous 14 years, Milakovich served as the Chief Administrative Officer and General Counsel for the AIDS Resource Center of Wisconsin, Inc. where he help grow the organization from a $2.4 million regional agency to a statewide $12.8 million non-profit when he left in 2005. Mr. Milakovich got his law degree from Marquette University in 1988 and was in private practice with von Briesen & Roper, S.C., before beginning his non-profit career. Milakovich received his BA in Business Administration and Political Science from Coe College, Cedar Rapids, IA, where he is a member of the Board of Visitors since 2007.
Susan Davis - Secretary
Ms. Davis is a financial advisor at UBS Financial Services specializing in financial planning for the LGBT community and social equality investing. She has the Accredited Domestic Partnership Advisor® designation, the nation's only professional designation specifically geared toward the LGBT community. She also attained her Accredited Wealth Management Advisor designation. She founded QShare, Milwaukee's LGBT Professional Network. Susan has a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in Accounting from the University of Wisconsin - Madison. She resides on Milwaukee's East Side and co-owns the Melthouse Bistro Restaurant.
Griselda Aldrete - Vice President
Aldrete is currently the Program Manager at the Hispanic Professionals of
Greater Milwaukee. Prior to that she served as Interim Executive Director for
the Cream City Foundation. She was also previously the Director of Corporate
Events at UMOS, Inc., a local non-profit in Milwaukee, WI. Aldrete is currently pursuing her J.D. and MBA from Marquette University and received her bachelor’s from Marquette University and
her Masters from the University of Nebraska-Omaha. She is a former Criminal Justice instructor at Bryant and Stratton College and worked formerly as a reporter and photographer for ¡Aquí!Milwaukee magazine. Aldrete is an avid community volunteer working with organizations such as Mexican Fiesta, Council for the Spanish Speaking and Journey House.
Greater Milwaukee. Prior to that she served as Interim Executive Director for
the Cream City Foundation. She was also previously the Director of Corporate
Events at UMOS, Inc., a local non-profit in Milwaukee, WI. Aldrete is currently pursuing her J.D. and MBA from Marquette University and received her bachelor’s from Marquette University and
her Masters from the University of Nebraska-Omaha. She is a former Criminal Justice instructor at Bryant and Stratton College and worked formerly as a reporter and photographer for ¡Aquí!Milwaukee magazine. Aldrete is an avid community volunteer working with organizations such as Mexican Fiesta, Council for the Spanish Speaking and Journey House.
Jose Milan - Director
Mr. Milan is a retired sales and marketing executive of Miller Brewing.
A resident of New Berlin, he is a current Board Member for the Food Pantry
of Waukesha County and a member of the AIDS Resource Center's (ARCW) Development
Committee. A graduate of the Pennsylvania State University, he has
extensive background in nonprofit oversight as a former staff member of Aspira
of America and, having also served as a board member of ARCW, the Puerto Rican
Health Organization of New Jersey, and the Taller Puertorriqueño of
Philadelphia.
A resident of New Berlin, he is a current Board Member for the Food Pantry
of Waukesha County and a member of the AIDS Resource Center's (ARCW) Development
Committee. A graduate of the Pennsylvania State University, he has
extensive background in nonprofit oversight as a former staff member of Aspira
of America and, having also served as a board member of ARCW, the Puerto Rican
Health Organization of New Jersey, and the Taller Puertorriqueño of
Philadelphia.
Jason Plowman - Director
Mr. Plowman is a resident of Wauwatosa who earned his law degree, cum laude, from Washington University School of Law in 2008. He obtained his B.A. in political science, cum laude, from Miami University in 2001. He is an associate at Littler Mendelson, P.C., the largest U.S.-based law firm exclusively devoted to representing management in employment and labor law matters. In addition to CCF, he also serves on the National LGBT Bar Association Board, the board of trustees for the LGBT Alumni Association of Miami University, and the board of Friends of Milwaukee Repertory Theater.
Joseph Riggenbach - Director
Mr. Riggenbach is currently pursuing his undergraduate degree in Music Performance at the the University of Wisconsin -Milwaukee. He served as a facilitator for the Other America Tour, a program focusing on providing training to high school students on the isseus of race, gender, sexual identity, ability, religion, class, and civil rights. He has also participated in the Milwaukee Symphony Chorus.
Tim Clark - Fund Development Chair
Tim Clark has spent his career in the financial sector and currently works as a Senior Manager of Business Development for Discover Financial Services. He has served on the Cream City Board in the past as its Treasurer and President. He currently serves on the Phi Kappa Theta National Education Foundation and also the Pathfinders Board which is dedicated to serving homeless and traumatized youth in Milwaukee. Mr. Clark is involved politically and serves on a Finance Committee for a member of Congress. He received a bachelor of arts degree in Economics and a Certification in International Business from the University of Iowa
Terri Coughlin - Director
Terri Coughlin has worked for Harley-Davidson Motor Company for the past 20 years in various functional areas, including Information Technology, Sales Operations, and Marketing. Prior to Harley-Davidson, she has also worked at United Healthcare and Johnson Controls. Ms. Coughlin is a native Wisconsinite, with a Bachelor’s in Information Technology and Public Accounting from the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, an MBA from University of Wisconsin-Whitewater and Six Sigma Green Belt Certification from University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. She has returned to the Cream City Foundation Board in early 2012 after serving three years and a three year absence, is Treasurer of the Washington Heights Rainbow Association, has held board positions over the years with Pridefest and Lesbian Alliance of Metro Milwaukee and taught English as a Second Language for a local literacy organization.
Dr. Robert Starshak - Emeritus Board Member
A Radiologist in the Milwaukee area, Mr. Starshak & his partner, Mr. Ross Draegert, are key Wisconsin LGBT philanthropists and serve as trustees of the Cream City Foundation’s Birch Lodge Fund. They have been involved with Cream City Foundation since its inception in 1982.
