Keeshia Jones is a 3-year breast cancer survivor who believes in advocating for women’s health issues and is committed to providing education, advocacy and support to empower women going through breast cancer diagnosis and treatment. She is the current President of Sisters Network® Inc. Southeast Wisconsin Affiliate Chapter which is a breast cancer support group for African American women in Kenosha, Racine and Milwaukee counties. The group is part of a national organization committed to increasing local and national attention to the devastating impact that breast cancer has in the African American community. She also volunteers as a mentor with After Breast Cancer Diagnosis (ABCD) and is an advocate with the American Cancer Society-Cancer Action Network.

Professionally, Mrs. Jones works at Gateway Technical College where she assists students with applying for financial aid and finding resources to pay for college. Mrs. Jones has dedicated over 25 years helping students navigate the financial aid process and she has a passion for assisting first generation students achieve their dream of attending college. She believes every student deserves the opportunity to pursue their higher educational goals without the stress of financial barriers. Previously, she worked in Financial Aid at Trinity International University and Marquette University before joining the Gateway family.

Mrs. Jones earned a B.A. in Business Administration and is currently completing a Master’s Degree in Legal Studies with an emphasis in Human Resource Compliance. She has been devoted to community service and mentoring students; she currently serves on the Kenosha Public Library Foundation Board.

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Meet Brett Fuller, Curriculum Specialist for Health and Physical Education for Milwaukee Public Schools (MPS), and learn how he strives to orient students to a lifetime of physical activity.

Brett Fuller has been the Curriculum Specialist for Health and Physical Education within Milwaukee Public Schools (MPS) since 2007. MPS is Wisconsin’s largest district with 166 health and physical education specialists in 158 schools. He believes in improvement of health and physical education programs at the district, state and national levels. He has presented and been published locally, at the state level and nationally on topics ranging from bullying in physical education, sex education, equity, inclusion and diversity. Brett is a former President of Wisconsin Health and Physical Education, and the acting Past President of the Society of Health and Physical Educators (SHAPE America).

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Jenny Ovide, or “Nurse Jenny,” has spent 21 years of her career at All Saints Family Health Center as the Community Medical Clinical Coordinator on Milwaukee's north-side, combining creativity, health education, and community engagement. The clinic hosts a garden, greenhouse, workout track, and a collaborative farm with Mount Calvary Community Development Corporation (MCCDC) which is a nonprofit led by Reverend Dr. Daniel P. Czaplewski.

“Pastor Dan” is the pastor at Mount Calvary Lutheran Church in Milwaukee and works with Nurse Jenny in partnership with Ascension St. Joseph’s Hospital and Ascension All Saints Family Health Center to direct their signature program: Farm to Hospital and Community. In this program, interns are employed to operate an urban farm that provides fresh, naturally grown vegetables to at-risk communities while developing the workforce. Family Medicine Residents and medical students work alongside in the garden, delivering food, assessing patients for food insecurity, and holding healthy cooking/tasting classes in the teaching kitchen.

Nurse Jenny and Pastor Dan find it a humble challenge to listen to the community’s needs and help find ways to tackle the complicated and important issue of food insecurity and its effects on health.

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Azure’De Williams joined the Milwaukee Area Health Education Center (MAHEC) as the Executive Director in June 2017. She has the responsibility for recruiting and mobilizing a diverse pipeline of healthcare professionals; identifying, cultivating, and securing prospective sponsors and strategic alliances; partnering with advocacy groups to increase engagement within local health care clinics and systems; serve as liaison to governmental agencies focused on diversity and health disparities and managing the execution of MAHEC training programs.

Azure’De Williams received a Bachelor of Science degree in Behavioral Science & Law, Psychology, and a Criminal Justice Certificate from the University of Wisconsin – Madison in 1997. Next year, she celebrates 25 years working in the non-profit sector identifying two areas she felt most impacted quality of life - Health and Education. She uses her skills in program development, civic engagement, and program evaluation to support efforts in addressing health disparities and achievement gaps. Under her leadership at the American Heart Association, she received several awards including the Cass Wheeler Integration Team Award for her leadership initiatives and improving hospital care and outcomes for minority and underserved populations. Recently, Mrs. Williams received the 2021 MCW (Medical College of Wisconsin) President's Award for her exemplary community-engaged work with MCW and partners.

She is ardent about Community Service while allocating time to be an active member of Pilgrim Rest Missionary Baptist Church's Sunday School. Azure’De has four children - ages 19, 15, 12 and 8 who are often seen accompanying her on volunteer-related and community service projects. In her spare time, Azure’De enjoys filling up the pages of her passport.

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For the last 20 years, Kathy Gale has served as Executive Director for Eras Senior Network, a senior advocacy organization that serves both Waukesha and Milwaukee counties. Kathy is responsible for day-to-day management of the agency including 30 employees and six programs leveraging more than 2,000 community volunteers. Among her many duties, she works to develop partnerships to address system-level changes for older adults and family caregivers.

Kathy’s partnership with MCW includes work through an Advancing a Healthier Wisconsin Endowment grant supporting research to implement a scalable system to improve coordination among organizations that interface with caregiving units.

Kathy is an Adjunct Instructor at Concordia University of Wisconsin and a third-year doctoral student in the College of Education, Literacy, and Leadership at Cardinal Stritch University researching the lived experience of volunteering during the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Cecilia García is of Mexican nationality and has lived in the city of Milwaukee for 17 years. She is a community health worker and has worked for the Latino community for more than 8 years, seeking basic resources and direct connection with organizations that can provide services to low-income families. Serving her community has always been her passion. When the pandemic started, Cecilia and her family overcame difficult challenges and uncertainty to provide help for many families within her community. The masks, food and diapers that Cecilia collected and distributed became essential for the safety and needs of these families. Cecilia also worked to distribute culturally tailored informational flyers about COVID-19 and facilitated access to healthcare.

“It is hard to describe the level of activity and velocity of the Community Health Workers in responding to the pandemic, working through phone lists, dropping supplies at individual homes, and offering hope and assurance to those in desperate need.” – Zeno Franco, PhD, Associate Professor, Family and Community Medicine, MCW-Milwaukee

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Otis Winstead, Jr. is the Executive Director of Great Lakes Dryhootch, a Veteran nonprofit organization based in Milwaukee. Otis is a Vietnam-era Veteran who has dedicated his life to serving the community. His heart can be found walking alongside other Veterans and providing peer support. Over the past several years, Otis has served in multiple leadership roles in the community, including serving as an essential partner with the Medical College of Wisconsin.

"Otis epitomizes the ideal of Community Engagement, continuously advocating for Veterans, for the African American community, and serving as an important thought partner for a number of our faculty." – Zeno Franco, PhD, Associate Professor, Family and Community Medicine, MCW-Milwaukee

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With Menominee Indian Reservation roots, Wade Fernandez (Walks With The Black Wolf) is a “deeply authentic” multi-award-winning international touring artist from the Menominee Nation. Both his music and his message are firmly grounded in his Menominee Reservation roots and love for the land, animals, and people. His passion to educate, share music and culture, and honor Grandmother Earth is reflected in his international presentations and work in schools and workshops, with the elderly, the mentally disabled, elders, and youth. Wade is committed to social justice, environmental justice, community health, and promoting the benefits of music and education.

During the recent pandemic Wade was instrumental in delivering COVID-19 messaging and care to underserved communities through film, music, and livestreaming while also delivering basic needs on the ground with the Creative Health Collective. This group of community health workers was supported through the AHW-funded STOP COVID-19 project which focused on community-generated, equitable response strategies to COVID-19, and was facilitated by Dr. Zeno Franco, MCW, and the City and County of Milwaukee. 

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