Laura Parrino is an Executive Career Consultant with LAK Group, a boutique consulting firm providing companies and individuals with expertise in transforming lives and organizations. She left a Fortune 500 company to be part of a team dedicated to working on purpose.

It’s been her life’s calling to help individuals move forward through career disruptions and transitions. Work is so important to everyone, and whether a disruption occurs by choice or force, we experience a deep need to uncover not only another job, but to also connect to our life’s purpose and mission on this planet. Laura has logged in more than 19,000 hours in one-on-one coaching conversations with individuals from all walks of life, and take great pride in sharing her network and connections to help others. 

Her favorite Professional Dimensions activity is utilizing the membership directory and getting to know other members. She loves having access to 400+ dynamic leaders making a difference in our community. 

Laura left Waukegan, IL to attend Marquette University and has lived in Milwaukee ever since.

Something about her that you can’t find on her resume is that she loves to play pool and sing karaoke. Her guilty pleasure is American Idol, and she’s watched 15 seasons!

Be sure to say hi to Laura at an upcoming Professional Dimensions event. 

Nikiya Dodd was elected to the Milwaukee Common Council in a special election in November of 2018. Prior to serving on the Common Council, Nikiya lead on key legislation authorizing the pilot for the Milwaukee County Emergency Detention Program to initiate a process for authorized mental health professionals to assist police officers with persons suffering from mental health in their custody. 

In 2010, she led on the separation of Milwaukee County House of Correction from the office of the Sherriff’s Department, resulting in the implementation of inmate treatment and diversion programming for non-violent offenders and increased evidence-based decision-making practices. 

Nikiya is an active member in the Milwaukee community, serving on the board of Visit Milwaukee and 30th Street Industrial Corridor. She’s served on numerous boards in the past, including the Wisconsin Housing Economic District Authority (WHEDA), Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District (MMSD), and Black Male Achievement Advisory Council. 

Nikiya lives in Milwaukee with her husband and is a proud mother of their son.

Be sure to say hi to Nikiya at an upcoming Professional Dimensions event! 

Ashley Mueller is an Assistant Vice President of Commercial Banking at Park Bank. She has over 12 years of experience in the banking industry, where her focus is on relationship management and business development of commercial clients. Her objective is developing personal relationships with her costumers to share their vision of success. 

Ashley has been in the Milwaukee area for nearly 12 years, after growing up and graduating from college in Eastern Iowa. Her favorite Professional Dimensions activities are the luncheons and the newly formed Rise and Roar morning events.

Something you might not find on Ashley’s resume is that she loves to stay active not only by taking barre classes, but also by chasing around her 4 year old son, Desmond, and 2 year old daughter, Sloane.

Be sure to connect with Ashley at an upcoming Professional Dimensions event! 

Kellie Sigh is the Executive Director for College Possible Milwaukee. College Possible is making college admission and success possible for low-income students through an intensive curriculum of coaching and support. This is a recent transition for Kellie, who served as the Director for the Strategic Partnerships & Customer Service department with Milwaukee Public Schools prior to her current service with College Possible.

Kellie has been in Milwaukee just shy of 25 years. Her favorite Professional Dimensions events are the luncheons and the conversation circles. She also looks forward to serving on the Racial Equity Committee and the Professional Leadership Breakfast Series Committee.

Something about Kellie that you couldn’t find on her resume are that her two words for 2020 are “thankful” and “purpose,” and her new motto is to live for an audience of One!

Be sure to catch up with Kellie at the next Professional Dimensions outing. 

JoAnne Anton is Director of Giving for Herb Kohl Philanthropies where she works to advance former U.S Senator and businessman Herb Kohl’s philanthropic goals, investments and community involvement. She and her husband also operate a small outdoor digital advertising company, Atlas Media LLC and formerly owned and operated several local restaurants. 

JoAnne was born and raised in Milwaukee and is very active in the community, serving on the boards of the Greater Milwaukee Committee and the Harbor District Inc. She is also past president of the Rotary Club of Milwaukee.

Her favorite Professional Dimensions activity is recruiting new members and she also enjoys getting to know other members at our Third Thursday outings. 

Something about JoAnne that you couldn’t find on her resume is that she is seriously trying to figure out how to raise chickens and/or bees. However, if she does finally manage to do it, she’s definitely putting it on her resume! 

Be sure to chat with JoAnne at the next Professional Dimensions outing! 

Carol Newell is an Organizational Development Consultant at Briggs & Stratton. Some of her responsibilities include creating and driving a diversity & inclusion strategy which involves developing and cultivating partnership with diverse organizations and leading the women’s employee resource group at Briggs.

Carol has lived in Milwaukee since 1982. Her mother moved her and her sister into the city after accepting a better job opportunity as a Milwaukee Public Schools teacher. 

Her favorite Professional Dimensions event has been Judge Derek Mosley’s presentation on Implicit Bias in the Judicial System. She had recently completed Jury Service, so the presentation resonated greatly with her as she observed bias, including her own, throughout the process. 

Something about Carol that we can’t find on her resume is that she served as a member of the Army Reserve for a total of one whole year. It’s a very long and interesting story, she says, but the short story is she did not pursue a career in the Army Reserve for medical reasons. 

Be sure to ask Carol about this story and more when you see her at the next Professional Dimensions function! 

K. Paige Engle is truly a woman of many dimensions. She is a travel entrepreneur and her company, Paris by Paige, celebrates the French lifestyle as she guides small group tours. She is a bestselling travel author and an international speaker who addresses women's groups by providing safe travel strategies. While she is traveling, she also supports entrepreneurs and executives as a brand strategist, helping them build their personal brands online. She has also created a Paris inspired stationery line to fill a gap in the market for multicultural cards. 

Regarding her involvement in Professional Dimensions, she is a huge fan of the Third Thursday outings because of the casual environment to get to know other members on a different level.

She indicated that the best professional advise she has received came from her first boss out of college. He advised that there may never be any surprises when it comes to mistakes and successes, extreme ownership is better than hiding the truth and to always provide a solution to a challenge.  Paige admires leaders who inspire action, especially if it is strategic and intentional. 

Paige is a wife and a mom who is always growing on the journey of life. Her son is eleven years old and is full of energy, keeping her young.  She is an avid reader, especially forensic mysteries and historical fiction. The last book she read is “Everything is Figureoutable” by Marie Forleo. Her guilty pleasure activity is watching her favorite TV Show, The Golden Girls.

To keep on top of current events, the media source Engle turns to is Feedly, an online app that supplies news media websites from the USA and Europe.

When she is looking for a local meal out on the town, she is am a fan of Tampopo Sushi & Ramen restaurant in Hales Corners.  The portions are perfect and the flavors are authentic.

When Paige was asked who she would like to meet, she reported that she would love to spend an afternoon with Archbishop Timothy Dolan.  He is the epitome of a worldly and diplomatic man and she would love to know his secret to success.

As a Parisian travel entrepreneur it is no surprise that she said her favorite travel destination is Paris, but she also admitted that she would love to visit Australia and the South Pacific as they seem interesting and enchanting.

Marci Boucher, President and CEO of IndependenceFirst, recently moved here from California. Why, you ask? She loves that “last call” is at 1:30am! Marci appreciates the monthly Professional Dimensions programs as well as the Bon Appetit get togethers. She sees it as a great opportunity to try new restaurants while getting to know people on a personal level.

Marci feels that the best advice she’s been given lately has been, “don’t ever say you’re a Bears fan!” When asked about leadership traits that she admires, Marci quoted Chae Richarson, “courage is not living without fear. Courage is being scared to death and doing it anyway.” She feels that advice applies to so many situations. 

Her guilty pleasure activity since coming to Milwaukee involves enjoying fresh cheese curds or Kopp’s Custard and then going for a nice hike or bike ride to burn it off. Milwaukee has so many good restaurants to choose from but when she is looking to feed the whole family dinner and have a cocktail in one, she goes to Sobelman’s for a gigantic Bloody Mary with a whole chicken in it. Only in Wisconsin!

If Marci could meeting any person, living or dead, she replied that she would like to meet the original Bernie Brewer Mascot so she could slide down into a vat of beer. The book she last read was “How to Survive a Wisconsin Winter.” When asked if she could go someplace she has never been, she said she would go to the Wisconsin State Fair to enjoy some infamous Cream Puffs. It is apparent that Marci has jumped into Wisconsin living with both feet and we are delighted to welcome her! Please introduce yourself to Marci when you see her at a Professional Dimensions activity. 

Constance Palmer is the President and CEO of Outreach Community Health Centers, one of five federally qualified health centers in Milwaukee that are set up to make sure that everyone, regardless of income, insurance status or ability to pay has access to high-quality healthcare. The organization started as Healthcare for the Homeless, and still provides  homeless services and other community-based programs that extend beyond primary care and behavioral health services. Outreach is a large organization with many moving parts. Most of Constance's day gets spent in meetings and on phone calls with the leadership team, outside collaborators, board members and other supporters. 

Constance says that one of her favorite Professional Dimensions activities is the Race Relations Conversation Circles, because they create space where people can candidly talk about race, and this has given her the opportunity to build relationships with people who don't look like her.

She has always followed this piece of advise given to her regarding professional career: don't chase money, find a mission that is important to you and will make you happy. "When I was in banking, I felt I wasn't making a difference in the community," Constance says, "now I feel like Im making a difference in the world." An important leadership trait she admires is the ability to build relationships. Her mother had that trait as well as other great leaders Constance admires. 

Constance is a proud mother of two sons and a proud grandmother of four grandchildren. They live in Florida, but she can FaceTime with them frequently. She also has two dogs: Miles and Neko. 

When asked who she would most like to meet, dead or alive, she responded Jesus. She would have so many questions! Most importantly, she wold ask him "How did you make people love the way you did?"

She recommends the book, "The Five Dysfunctions of a Team: A Leadership Fable," by Patrick Lencioni. She thought it was a very good read and is looking at ways to apply with current leadership here at outreach community health center involving training. 

It is has been a lifelong dream of hers to go to Africa and spend 1-3 years doing mission work with young girls and young women teaching empowerment skills. 

Constance Clark is the Program Development Specialist of Arts@Large. As a career professional with 30 years of experience in theater, her role helps to provide financial opportunities for artists and develop visual, performing and culinary programming for schools that have lost arts funding. The existence of Arts@Large is very important to the Greater Milwaukee community. With a 16-year history, the organization pays much needed stipends to artists in specific communities and delivers program development that is central to the continued success of the fine arts.

As a lifelong resident of Milwaukee, Constance's immersion into theater was derived from family tragedy which highlighted the overwhelming need in her community for adult-directed nurturing, creative arts for youth. What began as a families' attempt to cope with their tragic loss grew into the African American Children's Theater (AACT), an organization funded on grants, donations and sponsorships that epitomized successful youth programing in urban space. For decades, under Constance's leadership, the AACT was the source of escapism and survival for Milwaukee youth. 

As an artistic woman, Constance partakes in live productions whenever possible and spends a great deal of time exploring literature. Recent titles include Isabel Wilkerson's The Great Migration and Terarai Trent's The Awakened Women. Through these avenues, she is able to remain engaged with the prevailing themes that connect artists with the long tradition of theater in the United Sates. 

Storytelling in theater has allowed her to evolve into a person who uses theater to render vulnerable and unintelligible voices in disparate communities relevant. She describes herself as a proud member of the village vanguard. Constance enjoys several Professional Dimensions special interest groups including the West Side Lunch group and member meetings. She also travels throughout different parts of the United States and is currently interested in visiting New Orleans to conduct family research. Someday she would like to visit Africa.

Please make sure to introduce yourself to Constance when you see her at one of our upcoming events or pick up the phone and give her a call!