NOTABLE
LGBTQ EXECUTIVES AMY ORTA
JASON RAE
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
FOUNDER, PRESIDENT AND CEO
THE MILWAUKEE LGBT COMMUNITY CENTER
WISCONSIN LGBT CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
Amy Orta, executive director of the Milwaukee LGBT Community Center, is the first Latinx and person of color to be appointed to the position in the Center’s 22-year history. Under Orta’s direction, the Center has increased outreach, programming and services to communities of color, transgender and gender non-conforming individuals and individuals with disabilities. Previously she was a fixture at Centro Hispano, rising from social worker to director of operations and special projects. “Besides being known for her work at Centro Hispano, Orta is also known by some for her fierce advocacy for her son, who is transgender, when he faces hurdles related to his gender identity in high school,” said Natalie Zanoni, associate executive director for the Milwaukee LGBT Community Center. With a background in early childhood education, Orta left the area in 2014 to head a troubled Head Start/Early Head Start program for Pinellas County, Florida. There, she led a turnaround that took the program from federal findings of malfeasance by previous leaders to a “Program of Excellence” designation from the National Head Start Association in 2016.
Jason Rae, a partner with Milwaukee-based Nation Consulting, is also the president and chief executive officer of the Wisconsin LGBT Chamber of Commerce and the Secretary of the Democratic National Committee. Rae, 33, founded the Wisconsin LGBT Chamber of Commerce in 2012. It now has more than 700 member businesses. Rae leads a team of three employees at the chamber and is responsible for overall strategic vision and direction. Rae is also vice president of affiliate relations for the National LGBT Chamber of Commerce. “He is recognized across the country as a leader in business and in particular diverse business spaces,” said Miles Fernandez, director of the Office of the Secretary for the Democratic National Committee. “I work with Jason on a daily basis and cannot speak more highly of his passion and dedication,” said Fernandez. “He is a noted and well-respected LGBTQ leader here, one of the highest-ranking LGBTQ officials within the DNC. He represents Milwaukee and Wisconsin well on the national stage in this all-volunteer role.” Rae also is active on a number of community boards, including the Southeast Wisconsin Professional Baseball Park District Board, VISIT Milwaukee and is a United Way Campaign Cabinet member.
ADAM SCHLICHT
WESLEY SHAVER
PORT DIRECTOR
PRESIDENT
PORT MILWAUKEE
MILWAUKEE PRIDE, INC.
Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett named Oak Creek native Adam Schlicht to be the director of Port Milwaukee in 2018. Schlicht oversees and directs the port’s multimodal, commercial, and cruise ship operations, which generates over $100 million in local economic activity annually. He has a staff of 20 employees. A longtime employee of the Saint Lawrence Seaway Development Corp. at the U.S. Department of Transportation in both Washington, D.C. and Cleveland, Ohio, Schlicht has significant experience in marine transportation, international marketing, and Great Lakes shipping. He was involved in the effort to establish, and then led, the Seaway’s international trade office in Cleveland. Activity at the port has increased under Schlicht’s leadership. Total cargo handled at the port was up 11% in 2019, and Schlicht spearheaded the successful effort to secure more than $31 million in public and private investment to fund a new agricultural export facility at the port. The number of cruise ships stopping in Milwaukee rose from four in 2018 to 10 in 2019, and Viking Cruises recently announced its selection of Port Milwaukee as its turnaround home port for their new Great Lakes cruises, set to begin in 2022.
40 / BizTimes Milwaukee APRIL 27, 2020
Wesley Shaver is an independent branding consultant, servicing Milwaukee businesses, and is also the president of Milwaukee Pride Inc. He is also the former director of development for PrideFest Milwaukee and former director of marketing and sales for Wild Planet Hospitality Group. He has been an active member of Milwaukee’s LGBTQ community since he took on his board seat with PrideFest in 2014 at the age of 29. At the time he was the youngest on the board. By 2017, he became president of the board after several years of personnel and organizational transitions. By 2017, Milwaukee Pride Inc., the 501(c)(3) parent organization for the festival was formed, however there was no leadership in place to align the festival with a year-round, active organization. “Since 2017, Wes’ simultaneous work with the festival and Milwaukee Pride has shown strides in reinvestments back into the local community ($50,000 in 2019), creating partnerships with other groups such as UWM, and re-established relationships with past community partners that had been fractured,” said Richard Brammer, account executive for Insurance Management Consultants. “Wes’ work has shown a true commitment to champion the efforts of local representation, create outlets for people to participate and experience the PRIDE movement and most importantly show that strengthening the community starts with communicating and working together.”