Leading Lady

Leading Lady

From civil rights-era Mississippi to modern-day Milwaukee, Thelma Sias has taken a deep interest in her community, supporting local causes while making a national splash. Not to mention rubbing elbows with everyone from the Obamas to Oprah.

Milwaukee Magazine, March 2013

Excerpt from original source:

There’s a subtle shimmer hovering over the hot pavement on North 17th Street as I pull up to Thelma Sias’ Lindsay Heights home. It’s caramel with cream trim, a new construction, subtle but relatively massive at just more than 3,500 square feet. It would fit perfectly in any upscale suburb, but its owners are deeply committed to their Johnsons Park community, and so it stands, proudly, here. Sias, 58 years old, greets me at the front door in a dress suit and heels, a short shock of salt-and-pepper hair worn natural, her carved chin held high, her long purple nails deftly gripping the door frame. She’s striking. I instinctively straighten my spine.

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Madison by Design

Madison by Design

Finding ourselves in the design of our city

Madison Magazine cover story series, August 2012

Excerpt from original source:

Maybe it’s that first glance of the Capitol from the hip-curve of John Nolen Drive, narrowing at the bridge-waist and blooming out again at Monona Terrace. Maybe it’s the sweetcorn yellow or dripping citrus of the Memorial Union Terrace chairs against the quietly lapping lake, or the way State Street suddenly seems irresistible anytime the air is thick with grass clippings and smoldering charcoal. There’s just something about Madison. People frequently say, “Oh, I love Madison!” though they can’t always tell you just why; it’s a feeling. But what if what you know and love about Madison isn’t by accident? What if it’s by design?

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Best Places to Work 2012

Best Places to Work 2012

Our exclusive survey reveals the top twenty companies in Madison

Madison Magazine, April 2012

Excerpt from original source:

Two years ago, while announcing the results of our third Best Places to Work survey, we wrote these words: “We know what you’re thinking: After two years spinning in an economic crisis, with national unemployment rates teeter-tottering toward ten percent ... any job is a good job. Every company is a Best Place to Work.”

Sigh.

There’s no point in sugarcoating it: things have been hard. In the four years since the economic downturn, many of us face tougher challenges than ever before.

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One Worker, One Vote

One Worker, One Vote

Madison cooperatives offer an alternative to a system of haves and have-nots

Isthmus Cover Story, 3 February 2012

Excerpt from original source:

Protesters flood the street, chants and song punctuated by drumming and the low, steady honk of a tuba. Sign after sign decries the attack against nurses, teachers and sanitation workers; others demand a living wage in bold letters. A man stands before a podium addressing the masses, crying, "Those who need the increases least get most, and those that need them most get least!" The crowd erupts in response.

Sound familiar?

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Kaleem Caire: Change Agent

Kaleem Caire: Change Agent

Growing up in Madison, he couldn't wait to leave. He came back with a new goal: to transform it

Isthmus, 23 December 2010

Excerpt from original source:

It's 8 p.m. on South Park Street, just off the Beltline, and the November night is dark and cold. But from the inside of the slick new Center for Economic Development and Workforce Training, home to the Urban League of Greater Madison, it looks and feels much warmer.

The first-floor library is packed, with men sunk into plush armchairs with laptops and books and kids gathered near the fireplace. Kaleem Caire looks around, pleased.

"It's nice to go from having very little interest in this part of south Madison to now having this many people coming through here," says Caire, the Urban League's president and CEO. "They feel safe. I'm here at night until 1 or 2 a.m. sometimes."

Caire, 39, is a native of Madison's south side, though he spent the last decade in Washington, D.C. He returned in March 2010 to take the Urban League job, with some trepidation.

"I love Madison," he says, "but I didn't know if it was ready for a creative entrepreneurial leader, let alone a young African American leader."

When Caire first left Madison for the U.S. Navy after high school, he was a disillusioned and angry kid who did poorly in school. Over the last 10 years, he's served on two federal government panels and is at the forefront of efforts to combat racial disparities in his hometown.

That will take some doing.

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