BizTimes Milwaukee | December 14, 2015 by BizTimes Media

best

COMMUNITY LEADER OF THE YEAR:

BIZTIMES

THE RAMIREZ FAMILY

 I N B U S I N E SS 

CONTRIBUTED

Commun

BACK: Moses, Austin, Heather and Anna Ramirez with Abby, Page and Omar Andrietsch. FRONT: Gus and Becky Ramirez.

ustin Ramirez, Anna Ramirez and Abby Andrietsch blossomed through childhood under parents who set leading examples of ambition and community involvement. The three siblings were “lucky” their parents backed them in charging ahead toward their passions, said Andrietsch, executive director of the nonprofit Schools That Can Milwaukee. “My parents encouraged us to pursue what we were passionate about and to find meaning in our work, but to also give back,” she said. A passion for quality education surfaced for each of them and has driven both Anna and Andrietsch’s careers, as well as a share of community efforts taken on by Austin, president and chief executive officer of Waukesha-based HUSCO International. The trio largely inherited their interest in education from their parents, Gus Ramirez, executive chairman of HUSCO, and Becky Ramirez, who devoted part of her career to teaching. For its commitment to excellence in education, the family has been named the BizTimes Best in Business 2015 Community Leader of the Year.

BY ERICA BREUNLIN, staff writer

The Ramirez family took on its largest financial venture in education earlier this year as Gus unveiled plans to pour $60 million into the development of a private K-12 school, Augustine Prep, on Milwaukee’s south side. Gus said construction for the new school, which will provide about 2,000 students with a Christian education, will likely break ground in March, with the immediate focus centered on hiring key leaders, including a superintendent and one or two principals. His daughter Anna, who has seven years of teaching experience, has been by his side, assisting with community engagement and planning for the school. The Ramirez family is investing in Milwaukee education because of how much the region has given back to it, according to Gus. “Our family has been extraordinarily blessed from a business perspective,” he said, adding that the family concentrates its community work on areas where it feels it can inspire a lasting impact. Gus, Becky and their children also aim to take a more direct role in priming the future workforce for job demands at its company and others in the region, acw w w.biztimes.com

cording to Austin. If the region does not produce high school graduates with relevant skills, HUSCO International is going to be in “big trouble,” Austin said.

it y Leader of t he Yea

So will the broader community, he added. “There is no single issue that can address the issues of poverty and segregation and crime and drug use more effectively than education can in Milwaukee,” Austin said. The Ramirez clan’s persistent support of education has also ballooned beyond Milwaukee, as Gus and Becky have spent more than 16 years contributing to the development of Christian schools in Central America, including in Honduras, Guatemala, El Salvador and Nicaragua. Along with gifting financial support, the couple has consistently visited the schools it has aided. There is a “beauty” in seeing children’s love for their school and “the pride of learning,” Becky said. That beauty and pride is complemented by a hope that better educational opportunities for Central American students will build a stronger base of nextgeneration leaders, according to Gus. The couple’s mission work has impacted 50,000 to 100,000 students to date, he estimates. n

NEW S BR IEFS

CG Schmidt will lead $55 million Medical College project The Medical College of Wisconsin has chosen Milwaukee firm CG Schmidt to construct its new 225,000-square-foot professional building in Wauwatosa.

Mandel Group moves into Kansas City market Milwaukee-based developer Mandel Group Inc. has continued its expansion outside the metro Milwaukee Market, completing the acquisition of two apartment buildings in Kansas totaling 918 units.

The project will cost $55-$60 million and will be built on the north side of Connell Avenue between the college’s medical education building and Wisconsin diagnostic laboratories.

Mandel Group purchased Highland Ridge, a 370-unit property, and The Lodge at Overland Park, a 548-unit property. Both properties are in Overland Park, Kan., a suburb of the Kansas City metro area and the second largest city in Kansas.

Once completed in fall 2017, the six to sevenstory building will house up to 1,200 Medical College faculty and staff members. The building will not be used for patient care.

The acquisition was completed by Overland Park Equity LLC, an affiliate of Mandel Group. Mandel Group is not disclosing the purchase price.

Madison-based Flad Architects will lead the architectural and engineering design team. Groundbreaking for construction is set for spring of 2016.

D ecember 14 - 2 0, 2 015

B i zT i m e s M i l w a u k e e

The seller was a fund sponsored by Resource America, Inc. In addition to Overland Park and the Milwaukee area, Mandel owns and manages properties in Eagan, Minn., Madison and Chicago.