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Thank you for joining us today as we talk with Peggy Williams-Smith, fellow Milwaukee native, highly accomplished veteran of the hospitality industry, leadership mentor, president and CEO of Visit Milwaukee… and so much more. Please find the landing page at: Peggy Williams-Smith: The Zenquest of Leaders with Jess Ollenburg — zenquest.online.

Our show enjoys worldwide listeners and the services of Ollenburg LLC are delivered worldwide as well. That said, many of our episode guests enjoy some connection to our hometown metro-Milwaukee.

Milwaukee and Wisconsin are together garnering so much positive attention, growth, success, tourism and honored among the best places to visit and best places to succeed.

It’s really exciting, and we recognize Peggy, Visit Milwaukee and some of our favorite hometown cohorts for shining a light on the exciting things happening.

Peggy joined Visit Milwaukee as the company’s first female president and CEO in 2019.

She credits her accomplishments to surrounding herself with a great team, and we’ve watched great humans jumping to collaborate with Peggy, because they trust her dedication to get it done.

Visit Milwaukee has launched exciting, dynamic marketing campaigns to increase economic impact to the community and elevate the city’s reputation.

Peggy’s focus on strategic partnerships has deepened the company’s local connections and allowed to develop a nimble team that is more responsive than ever to changes within the travel and hospitality industries.

This was none more apparent than during the pandemic when Visit Milwaukee became the go-to source for information for the hospitality industry and the industry’s No. 1 advocate on state and local levels.

Milwaukee boasts nearly 200 individually unique neighborhoods and nearly 200 independently owned and operated restaurants.

Our own company enjoys the good fortune of representing so many employers in the restaurant and hospitality industry, and we see the positive impact of Peggy’s work. It’s exciting!

From promoting the city to the nation during the Milwaukee Bucks’ championship run to leading the city’s bid to secure the 2024 Republican National Convention, Williams-Smith’s strategic leadership will ultimately result in economic gains for Milwaukee for years to come.

Prior to her work at Visit Milwaukee, she worked for Marcus Hotels & Resorts for over 22 years and held leadership positions at varying levels throughout the division.

Williams-Smith is a proud mentor of other women in business and uses her free time to support so many charitable causes.

Peggy resides in Milwaukee with her husband, Tim Smith, their fabulous niece, Jocelyn and their Boston Terrier, Tito Fenway.

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Today we’re talking Strengths Based Leadership, STEM Outreach, Leveraging Technology, Training Metrics, Critical Thinking, All Things Zen and The Spark of Watching Future Generations! We are talking with James Hischke, and we are so mutually excited to help the next generations succeed! The landing page for this episode is James Hischke: The Zenquest of Leaders with Jess Ollenburg — zenquest.online.

James brings over 20 years of experience in various leadership roles across business and technology. He builds high-performing lean/agile teams that solve business problems and advance business strategy, while ensuring the strengths of each individual are fully leveraged.

After starting his career as a Software Engineer for Strong Financial, he excelled in various roles during an 18+ year career at Northwestern Mutual that included project/program management, lean/agile IT transformation, IT vendor management, tech talent/workforce development, and lean process improvement.

He was instrumental in the work that led to the creation of the Milwaukee Tech Hub Coalition.

James is currently the Director of Consulting Services for Codeworks, LLC, serving exceptional nationwide clients. He serves on the advisory boards for i.c.stars Milwaukee and Pathways High School, and is a member of the Tech United (United Way) Advisory Council. James and his wife Beth have 4 children (Maddie - 18, Claire - 16, Owen - 13, and Simon - 11) and live in Muskego, WI. He spends his time outside of work traveling with his family, playing basketball, coaching youth sports, golfing, mountain biking, fishing, and just about any other activity someone wants to throw his way.

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Today we’re talking about art in education, art in careers and art in self-nourishment, and we’re talking with Joel Cencius, Executive Director of Arts at Large. Whether we’ve created or purchased the art, whether we deploy art in work, play or expression, the value is so strong in developing leaders, problem solving, communication, invention, wellness, mood optimization and so many strengths. We’re talking zen in art therapy, physical exercise and redirecting the human brain into re-energizing subject matter.

Enjoy the show's landing page at: Joel Cencius - The Zenquest of Leaders Podcast — zenquest.online

Here’s a little background on today’s guest…

• Joel Cencius is a Certified Fund Raising Executive (CFRE) with over 17 years of nonprofit management experience. He has held various direct-fundraising leadership positions as well as organizational management roles. Joel currently serves as Executive Director for Arts At Large, an arts education nonprofit committed to enhancing accessibility to the arts within the community.
• Prior to his current role, Joel served as the Chief Development Officer for St. Joan Antida High School, where he led the school's development and alumnae relations efforts. During his tenure, the school doubled its annual fundraising revenue, including securing the largest foundation gift in its 69-year history which led to the school’s first capital improvement project in more than 15 years. Joel's strategic initiatives extended to establishing the school's marketing and communications department, significantly elevating visibility and enrollment in a highly competitive high school market.
• Before rejoining St. Joan's, Joel served as the Vice President of Development for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Metro Milwaukee. In this role, he oversaw all fund development responsibilities for the agency that served over 1,400 children and their families annually.
• Joel has also held leadership roles at Cardinal Stritch University and the Betty Brinn Children's Museum.
• He is a member of Rotary serving as President for the Mequon-Milwaukee Diversity Passport Club. He has also been a long-time volunteer for Make-a-Wish of Wisconsin, the Arthritis Foundation, and the Washington High School Alumni Scholarship Foundation. He earned his undergraduate degree in communication arts and business at Cardinal Stritch University.