Paul Verdu, Managing Director for Asahi Beer USA
Rotary Club of Milwaukee Tuesday Speaker Series
Release Date: 08/21/2025
Mike Knetter, Economist & Senior Advisor, UW Foundation & Alumni Association
Rotary Club of Milwaukee Tuesday Speaker Series
This week in Memorial Hall, Rotarians heard from Mike Knetter, Economist and Senior Advisor for Investments and Business Development at the UW Foundation & Alumni Association, who shared an economic outlook for the U.S. economy, with special emphasis on the role of the AI innovation cycle and America First policies.
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Greg Borowski, Executive Editor, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Rotary Club of Milwaukee Tuesday Speaker Series
Yesterday, , Executive Editor, , discussed with Rotarians how he and his team are navigating today’s challenging news landscape. He shared how their focus on connection, relevance, and community partnerships is bringing stability and impact to their reporting.
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Tom Content, Executive Director of the Citizens Utility Board of Wisconsin
Rotary Club of Milwaukee Tuesday Speaker Series
This week, Tom Content, Executive Director of the Citizens Utility Board of Wisconsin, discussed CUB’s work to fight energy inflation and the growing challenges to energy affordability posed by the development of data centers in Wisconsin and around the country.
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Michael Ford, Director of the WI Institute for Citizenship and Civil Dialogue
Rotary Club of Milwaukee Tuesday Speaker Series
This past Tuesday, we kicked off our first Rotary program of 2026 with a presentation from Michael Ford, Director of the Wisconsin Institute for Citizenship and Civil Dialogue. Michael shared his talk, “Practical Tools for Navigating Difficult Conversations,” offering practical, evidence-based tools for engaging in disagreement without deepening polarization.
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Steve Vavrus, State Climatologist and Co-director Wisconsin Initiative
Rotary Club of Milwaukee Tuesday Speaker Series
This week in Memorial Hall, Steve Vavrus, Senior Scientist at UW–Madison, shared how Wisconsin’s climate is rapidly changing, with the past two decades being the warmest on record and the 2010s the wettest. Drawing on work from the State Climatology Office and WICCI, he highlighted major trends, extreme weather impacts, and what these shifts mean for the state’s future.
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Adam Procell, Director of Milwaukee’s Office of Community Wellness and Safety
Rotary Club of Milwaukee Tuesday Speaker Series
Yesterday, Adam Procell, Director of Milwaukee’s Office of Community Wellness and Safety, joined us for a moderated, in-depth conversation about his personal journey, his leadership in building Milwaukee’s collaborative reentry ecosystem, and his vision for the future of this work in our city. The discussion highlighted the systems-level approach he is advancing to strengthen community safety, coordination, and long-term stability across Milwaukee.
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Dr. Kimo Ah Yun, President of Marquette University
Rotary Club of Milwaukee Tuesday Speaker Series
This week in Memorial Hall Rotarians heard from Dr. Kimo Ah Yun, President of Marquette University, as he shared details about the momentum Marquette is experiencing and discussed the challenges facing higher education both locally and nationally.
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Veterans Community Project with Janice Bell and Ben Hendershot
Rotary Club of Milwaukee Tuesday Speaker Series
In honor of Veterans Day, Rotarians welcomed Janice Bell and Ben Hendershot from the Veterans Community Project to share their innovative approach to ending veteran homelessness. They also highlighted plans for VCP’s new Milwaukee campus, which will feature 40 tiny homes and onsite services on a 7-acre site along North 60th Street.
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Chris Corkery, Founder and CEO of Hundred Acre
Rotary Club of Milwaukee Tuesday Speaker Series
Yesterday, Chris Corkery, Founder and CEO of Hundred Acre, joined us to share the story of his state-of-the-art indoor hydroponic farm in Milwaukee, where fresh produce grows year-round—without soil, pesticides, and using 95% less water than traditional farms. Chris also highlighted how Hundred Acre’s vertical farming technology creates “endless summer” conditions to produce five times more food per square foot, redefining the future of local agriculture.
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Celebrating 80 Years of the United Nations with Jack Leslie
Rotary Club of Milwaukee Tuesday Speaker Series
This week in Memorial Hall, we marked the 80th Anniversary of the United Nations with an address by Jack Leslie, a renowned communications strategist and international development leader. Jack called for rebuilding trust and creating a new global framework that empowers local leadership and partnerships to better address today’s challenge around the world.
info_outlineThis week in Memorial Hall, Rotarians heard from Paul Verdu, Managing Director for Asahi Beer USA, who shared insights on the rapidly evolving beverage-alcohol industry. Paul also discussed how shifting consumer preferences and emerging trends are driving innovation and shaping Asahi’s approach to growth.