Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway
I recently began my term on the Board of Directors for the Greater Madison Chamber of Commerce. This role presents rich opportunity to collaborate with a diverse group of business leaders focused on improving the community and economic climate of the region.
Case in point: the June session of the Chamber was a great meeting that included a presentation by Satya Rhodes-Conway, Mayor of Madison. She shared six priorities for the city:
1. Climate Change
2. Grow & Diversify Housing Stock
3. Implement Bus Rapid Transit
4. Address Disparities
5. Community Engagement
6. Collaboration
Of our global support for these priorities, the area that resonates most prominently is that of collaboration. We must join together to support wealth-building across the community, and help each other thrive.
During the meeting, the Mayor noted her support for the DreamUp Wisconsin initiative, which sent two teams to pitch Schmidt Futures for funding of their innovative ideas to raise the net income of middle-class households in Dane County. Traveling to New York City on behalf of the Madison business community were the Mayor, myself (TASC), and Scott Resnick of Hardin Design & Development.
Hardin was involved with the LIFT Dane team, and TASC was there with We Care for Dane Kids. Our team had a multi-pronged approach to alleviate the high cost of daycare, and TASC provided expertise on making dependent care benefits more accessible.
We Care for Dane Kids team with the Mayor
In an incredible win for DreamUp Wisconsin, both LIFT Dane and We Care for Dane Kids were awarded funding from Schmidt Futures.
Now that the competition is over, the real work will begin. And without a doubt, collaboration among the Madison business community will be key to sustaining these efforts.
TASC CEO Blog 