Community Keynotes & Events

Dr. Jeanette Kowalik has two decades of progressive public health experience representing the life course.  She began her career as an intern at the City of Milwaukee Health Department in 2002; she returned in 2018 to serve as the Commissioner of Health until fall of 2020.

To fulfill Jeanette’s public health calling, she attended Northern Illinois University’s Master of Public Health (MPH) program while maintaining full-time employment in the field.  Post completion of her MPH, she attended the Management Academy for Public Health at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill and began her doctorate in health sciences at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee shortly thereafter.  Her initial research focus was eradicating infant mortality disparities among Black and Latina/x/e adolescents; this shifted after she realized the significant gap in research regarding recruitment and retention of a diverse public health workforce.

Dr. Kowalik’s diverse set of experiences continues to motivate her to represent and advocate for equity through policy and practice change at all levels. The highlights of Dr. Kowalik’s public health career to date are collaborating to Declare Racism as a Public Health Crisis in July of 2019 and prioritizing the impact of COVID-19 by race and ethnicity in Milwaukee, which motivated other jurisdictions to do the same thus shifting pandemic resources to those with the greatest needs.  Data sharing enabled the country to rapidly discover a disturbing pattern of COVID-19 morbidity and mortality in communities of color. This increased awareness led to recalibration of outreach strategies, policies, and resource allocation to save lives.

After serving as Commissioner of Health, Dr. Kowalik became the Director of Policy Development for the Trust for America’s Health, a national, non-profit, bi-partisan health policy organization. 2022 marked Dr. Kowalik’s 20th anniversary in public health. Last year, she transitioned to full time consulting at her firm, Jael Solutions Consulting Services, LLC.  In addition to being the President of her company, she continues to teach graduate public health students at Baylor University’s MPH program and Doctoral of Health Administration program at the Morehouse School of Medicine. Last but not least, she volunteers her time for several non-profit boards and serves as the Chair of the Health Administration section of the American Public Health Association.

As a transformational senior leader, Ninveh has focused her career on building B2B go-to-market strategies to fuel innovation and drive growth. She has been a champion of change during dramatic times of technology shifts, business model disruption, new market expansion and changing behaviors of B2B buyers.

She leads the Industrial segment for Accenture Song, where she partners with a variety of Fortune 100 companies to reimagine and activate digital experiences and customer engagement. Prior to Accenture, she spent 25 years at Rockwell Automation, where served as Vice President of Global Marketing, leading a team focused on driving awareness, demand, conversion and loyalty with customers and prospects. She also drove the company’s Digital Business Transformation organization, focused on digitally activating engagement with company’s sales, channels and customers.

She serves on the Dean’s Council for the College of Business Administration for her alma mater, Marquette University, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in journalism. She is also a powerful advocate for the advancement of women in leadership. She serves on the board for Milwaukee Women Inc., an organization focused on changing the face and quality of leadership in the Wisconsin business community by increasing the number of women corporate directors. She lives outside Milwaukee, Wisconsin with her husband, and has one a son in college.

Shona Lahiri is an accomplished and dynamic Transformation & PMO Leader with a proven track record of driving successful transformations, leading and managing complex programs. With a keen understanding of project management methodologies, strategic planning, technology, and change management principles. Shona possesses the unique ability to lead cross-functional teams and guide companies through complex transformation initiatives.

With over 20 years of experience in transformational & PMO roles, Shona has demonstrated her expertise in driving innovation and delivering measurable results. Her strong analytical skills allow her to identify opportunities for improvement, streamline processes, and optimize operations. She has a deep understanding of emerging technologies and their potential to disrupt industries, enabling her to develop innovative strategies for organizations to adapt and thrive in a rapidly changing business landscape.

Shona is known for her exceptional leadership skills, collaborating with stakeholders at all levels of the organization to align transformation initiatives with business objectives. 

Paula is the former President & CEO of the YWCA Southeast Wisconsin. She served the organization for over 20 years. After
retirement, she served as an Executive Advisor. Penebaker has extensive leadership and human resources experience having earned both Professional (PHR) and Senior Professional Human Resources (SPHR) certifications. During her career she developed diversity strategies, facilitated management training sessions infused with diversity principles and co-developed racial justice curriculum.

Paula has served on several local Boards of Directors including the Rotary Club of Milwaukee, Professional Dimensions, Renaissance Theaterworks, and the Milwaukee County Federated Library System to name a few. Nationally, she served as Vice President and President of the Board of YWCA USA. She has also received numerous awards.

On a personal note, she is a member of the international service organizations Delta Sigma Theta Sorority and The Milwaukee Chapter The Links Incorporated. Paula has a son, daughter, three grandchildren and her beloved Chestnut, an Australian Labradoodle. She loves sports, especially Milwaukee Bucks basketball. In addition, she likes to read, travel and stream television shows and movies.

Kristen D. Hardy is Assistant General Counsel and Assistant Secretary at a Fortune 90 mutual company where she is a member of the Insurance Products and Operations team. Kristen is responsible for counseling on matters related to insurance products, transactions, anti-money laundering compliance, and special investigations. In prior years, she has served as Legal Counsel and Integrity Manager at two separate multinational manufacturers. Most recently, Kristen led the global corporate compliance function, including third party program management, anti-bribery/anti-corruption (FCPA), international trade and sanctions, and the integrity program. Her practice also included internal investigations and counseling on various
international business issues. She has also served as an adjunct professor at Marquette University Law School.

Kristen is the currently Chair of the Board of Governors for the State Bar of Wisconsin, and holds director positions on the boards of several local organizations, including the Milwaukee Bar Association and LOTUS Legal Clinic. She is also Chair of the Bronzeville Center for the Arts Board of Directors, an African-American arts and cultural museum in the heart of
Bronzeville, Milwaukee. In 2019, Kristen was appointed by Governor Tony Evers to serve as a member of the Judicial Selection Advisory Committee, a group responsible for interviewing and recommending candidates to the governor for judicial appointments. Additionally, Kristen is a Wisconsin Supreme Court appointee to the Wisconsin Lawyer Regulation System’s Preliminary Review Committee. She is a past-president of the Wisconsin Association of African-American Lawyers (WAAL), where she served in various roles between 2014 and 2020.

Kristen has been recognized as a Milwaukee Young Power Broker, Milwaukee Business Journal’s 40 Under 40, Top Corporate Counsel: Rising Star, Wisconsin Fellow, Wisconsin Law Journal’s Up and Coming Lawyer, Wisconsin Law Foundation Fellow, Wisconsin’s Most Influential Black Leader, and a Milwaukee Time’s Black Excellence honoree.

Kristen holds a BA from Seton Hall University and a JD from Marquette University Law School.

Gerry Howze is the recently former Executive Director of PEARLS for Teen Girls. She has also just launched her own business, Gerry Howze Enterprises (GHE). Through GHE, Gerry has a vision to expand her impact in the sphere of Transformational Leadership and Growth by sharing the wealth of knowledge she has learned throughout her career through Consultation and Coaching to Nonprofit Leaders, and Educators; Public Speaking; and a Podcast aimed to provide space for women to be affirmed, heal, and grow through the power of storytelling.

As the former Executive Director of PEARLS, Gerry led the organization to cultivate a national and international presence through the impact made in serving thousands of girls and building an entire movement of young women prepared to lead Milwaukee, our nation and the world into a vibrant new future. Her inspiration for PEARLS grew from years of experience as a teen mom on welfare, PEARLS first Program Coordinator, first Director of Program Services, and most recently, Executive Director for close to eight years.

Gerry is an involved community member and is a current Board member for TEMPO Milwaukee where she serves as the Chair for TEMPO’s Emerging Women Leaders. She has also attended Harvard Business School for Strategic Perspectives in Nonprofit Management and Georgetown University’s Global Social Enterprise Initiative – New Strategies Program. In February 2020, she received a Milwaukee Times Black Excellence Award and was recognized as a “Standout Sister” in Milwaukee Magazine’s Betty Awards in December 2020.

Gerry is passionate about developing partnerships to create positive and transformational life changes for our community and the world, by ensuring all, especially the underserved, are included and treated with dignity and respect.