By Kathy Gaillard
Life has come full circle for Chytania Brown who in 2020 became the first African American female to be appointed President and CEO of Employ Milwaukee, Inc., an organization she worked at on two different occasions.
Brown began her career as a parole agent followed by advancement into numerous senior and executive leadership roles in workforce development, including 18 years at Employ Milwaukee, which was previously known as both the Private Industry Council (PIC) and Milwaukee Area Workforce Investment Board (MAWIB). Prior to rejoining Employ Milwaukee in 2020, she was the Administrator of the Division of Employment and Training at the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development (DWD) under two gubernatorial administrations.
“As an undergraduate college student I thought I would become a psychologist. In fact, all my degrees are in psychology. While I’ve spent the majority of my career in workforce development, I believe my psychology studies have helped me navigate and understand relationships and people,” said Brown.
While she is currently pursuing a doctorate degree, Brown is responsible for overseeing the administration of federal, state, county, city and philanthropic funds and creating effective programs that ensure alignment between the skills demanded by a changing economy and those offered by the region’s labor force. Brown has the degrees and professional experience to meet and exceed those responsibilities, but she also has a not-to-secret advantage and gift—a servant attitude.
“This is my purpose and I know that I am capable of doing it. I was born to be a servant. I love serving, starting out with the Department of Corrections. Instead of sending people to jail, I wanted to be on the prevention end. That’s where I found my niche. I love helping people become their best selves, and helping them find their place in the world,” she said.
Brown also believes that Employ Milwaukee must become more ‘outward facing’ and she is committed to doing just that with new initiatives and activities.
“We had never held a fundraiser to support or expand our programming. Last year, for the first time, we did that and it was a ‘sold out’ event. Hank Aaron’s wife, Billye, was the keynote speaker and the event was phenomenal. We plan to host a fundraiser again this October,” said Brown.
Expanding programming for youth is also a priority for Brown. Last year Employ Milwaukee launched a new program geared to 10 year olds, where they learned life and leadership skills and received weekly stipends.
“People say our youth are our future, but they are our today. We must begin grooming them now, for the future. We have to teach them life skills such as health-related issues, banking and saving. We had youth engage in neighborhood clean ups to remind them that this is their community.
“This seven-week program had 200 participants last year. It was so successful that we are expanding it this year to include girls, ages 10-13. They will receive stipends of up to $200 a week and we are increasing the program to 250 youth,” said Brown.
Brown is hopeful for Milwaukee’s future and she has surrounded herself with like-minded staff who share her vision.
“When the COVID-19 pandemic occurred, Milwaukee rose to the occasion. Whenever we are in a crisis, we always do. We have organizations and people who are committed to this community. We need to continue to harness the notion of becoming one community—one Milwaukee. That is how we take the negative and turn it into positive. There are hundreds of people trying to do good things in our community and we need more of that,” said Brown.
Milwaukee can be assured that Employ Milwaukee, under Brown’s capable, servant leadership, is doing its part to help make Milwaukee shine even brighter.
For more information about Employ Milwaukee, visit the website at www.employmilwaukee.org/.