MKE Roots, Marquette University

Check out our first community nonprofit spotlight! “Our Next Generation.” Which focuses on supporting the youth of Milwaukee through academic enrichment and life skills development. They have truly done amazing and long lasting work.

Checkout our May ecosystem spotlight! This spotlight was made to focus on APPI heritage month. Swipe to learn more about some of the communities history in Milwaukee and check out its pin on our ecosystem to learn more in depth.

Mario Rubio will be speaking at our panel (TOMORROW) on behalf of Comité Sin Fronteras. Comité Sin Fronteras is a collective of young adult and immigrant leaders, organizers, activists, and abolitionists dedicated to advancing fair and equitable immigration policy. Their mission is to create a program of political education to organize the voices of immigrant and undocumented adults who have long endured uncertainty and broken promises. With Wisconsin playing a pivotal role in shaping national policies, they are committed to holding leaders accountable, celebrating victories, and driving the progress our communities deserve.

Eloisa Gómez is a member of the League of Women Voters of Milwaukee County’s Speaker Bureau and is also a public speaker on the topics of Latina activism in Wisconsin and Latino voting rights in Wisconsin. With the League of Women Voters (LWV) of Milwaukee County, she helped found Comité por el Voto Latino/Latinx Voter Outreach Committee in 2017 and remains an active member; At the state level, she became chair, then co-chair of the League’s statewide Community Alliances Committee for five years. She currently serves on its Spanish Language Access Committee called Ballots without Barriers/Votos sin barreras. In 2025, Eloisa received the Meg McClane Award from the LWV of Wisconsin for “leadership on the Community Alliances Committee and your dedication to bilingual ballot access in Wisconsin.”

Matthew L. Mixon is a seasoned media executive and content creator who currently serves as Principal and Content Creator at Mixon Media, working with organizations including Milwaukee NAACP, and Souls to The Polls Wisconsin; and for both organizations, Matthew writes and produces video elements to promote voter related segments and other community initiatives. Mixon is a proud alumnus of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and La Crosse State University. He will be one of the community panelists at the A250 panel next Wednesday, 4/29 at the Alumni Memorial Union!

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Happy Earth Day! Check out our community spotlight on Walnut Way!

This week we are highlighting our speakers for our America 250 panel next Wednesday (4/29). Sheila Badwan has worked for more than a decade in the healthcare field across multiple specialties. She helped build Hanan Refugees Relief Group into a refugee resettlement agency serving the Wisconsin community. She is a cofounder of Open Arms, an interfaith women’s group in Milwaukee, and has worked extensively with refugee and immigrant communities throughout Milwaukee and across Wisconsin. She currently serves as Board President of the Wisconsin Muslim Civic Alliance, and is also the Co Chair of the Wisconsin State Refugee Advisory Council. Her work focuses on building bridges among diverse cultures, communities, and faiths to address refugee and immigrant issues.

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Meet our March teacher spotlight, Heidi Hegwood! Heidi is a high school history teacher at Wauwatosa West who took part in our 2025 summer teacher institute. Recently, she took her students on a bus tour all over Milwaukee to visit many Black historical sites and to help her students experience their city in an new way. Read her spotlight on our blog to learn more about Heidi and the way she is incorporating Milwaukee into her classroom!

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Check out our April ecosystem spotlight, the Gerald L. Ignace Indian Health Center! Swipe to learn more, and check out its pin on our ecosystem!

MKE Roots and CURTO will be hosting a panel for the MKE Roots’ America 250 series. The title of the panel is “We the People” of Milwaukee: Rethinking citizenship in our city, and the conversation will focus on the role of democracy and citizenship in Milwaukee. Join us at the AMU 4:30-6:30 on 4/29!