O'Connor Connective, LLC

We enjoyed the opportunity to attend the 43rd Annual Marketplace Wisconsin conference hosted by WEDC in Milwaukee last week. Michelle attended the WI Indigenous Business and Economic Development session, along with the construction and healthcare roundtables, and Holly staffed our booth. It was great to be there to support our partners Bay Bank and First American Capital Corporation, Inc., and to make new connections.

Happy birthday week to Linda! She is central to all the work we do – masterfully managing the details of our projects and keeping each of us on track.

Lights, camera, action! Our space morphed into a makeshift studio this week as part of a storytelling campaign to raise awareness of and support for the important work of CollegeReady.

Not even a squall could keep the Women's Fund of Greater Green Bay advisory board – past and present – from gathering around O'Connor Connective's signature red Christmas tree for the annual holiday party in celebration of the year's accomplishments. Of special note, reaching over $4 million dollars in the Women's Fund endowment. This is in part because of outstanding individuals like Melinda Morella-Olson, who raised over $137,000 through Dancing With Our Stars! All of this was made possible by the tenacity and commitment of women in support of local women and girls. Here's to all of you who make magic happen!

The Heart of the Valley Chamber of Commerce hosted another wonderful Meet the Media event today. I appreciated the insight that each member of the panel shared and look forward to putting it to use on behalf of our clients at O'Connor Connective, LLC.

Join us in welcoming Danielle N. Taylor (Shea), account manager, to team OCC!

Gratitude. It was the theme of the evening as we toasted a job well done—and offered a challenge to keep advancing Wisconsin women in leadership. Sharing stories of professional women through a program we called “Stories from Experience” began in 2019 at The Connective, a social enterprise of my strategic communications and marketing firm O'Connor Connective, LLC. After a couple of years of heavy lifting, we merged our women's leadership programming with the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay. Then Schreiber Foods stepped up in a big way to support our work. We now proudly have the Schreiber Institute for Women's Leadership, UW-Green Bay offering programing, certificates in leadership, networking and support for women professionals. "Stories from Experience" began with a simple idea: let's bring women together to learn from someone who has been there and done that. I asked women I knew and believed in to be our featured guests, to be vulnerable in sharing what worked and what didn’t along their professional journey. I promised as the program's moderator to take good care in how questions were posed and the audience engaged. They said yes. Over 40 times, speakers said yes to my call. And the stories they shared were profound as hundreds of women over the years have learned from what’s been said during these events.   It's time that I pass the moderator baton / microphone. The Institute will carry this tradition forward now. Perhaps in a different format and approach but stories will continue to be told. I’m grateful beyond words for the 40+ women who said yes when I called—and I’m grateful for all the support our work has received to advance Wisconsin women leaders. To all of you who have helped. Thank you. I'll remain engaged but I look forward to sitting in the audience next year. I will smile proudly from my seat in the back knowing that the lessons given by women for women will keep on coming. Thank you to those I moderated for the Stories from Experience series: Gail McNutt Sharon Hulce Carol Van Vreede Patti Habeck Donna Gehl Mary Hosmer, CPCU Laurie Radke Kathi Seifert Carol Bruess, PhD Brighid Riordan Karmen Lemke Chris Woleske Robyn Davis, J.D. Michelle Schuler Terri Trantow Renita Robinson, EdD Ashley Prange Terri Jacke Melissa Borowicz Emily Rademacher Sue Vincent Barbara LaMue Christina Jensema Kim Bassett Barbara A. Nick Kristin Jacobs Cate Zeuske Wendy Woodward Diane Roundy, MBA Laurie Butz Jill Enos Jenene Calloway Gabrielle Valdez Dow Amanda Garcia, MA Sabina Singh Jamie Pagel-Witcpalek Pa Lee Moua, Ph.D. Vicki Fabry Susan Garot Dr. Omobolade (Bola) Delano-Oriaran Mary Goggans Christina Turner #Grateful #StoriesFromExperience #WomenLeaders #PurposefulConnections

Happy birthday to our driven, visionary and community-focused CEO, Bridget Krage O'Connor! Your leadership inspires us to continually think bigger and aim higher to generate impact.

Last night marked the 44th(!) session of Women Rising: Stories from Experience. The Trout Museum of Art museum was a beautiful backdrop for a dose of inspiration from Christina Turner, the executive director, who challenged us to shoot for the moon, do our best work and always be kind.   This was the last session moderated by our own visionary leader, Bridget Krage O'Connor. Bridget played a founding role in the development of the Schreiber Institute for Women's Leadership, UW-Green Bay, was the inaugural executive-in-residence and serves as a member of the advisory board.

Our partners at CollegeReady are doing critical work to ensure that local first-generation students can achieve their educational goals. In the context of current and projected workforce shortages, the impact of this work extends beyond the students in the program to local employers seeking skilled workers. We’re excited to help CollegeReady share the impact of their programs more broadly.