Leadership
Executive Director
As Executive Director of Walker’s Point Youth & Family Center, Audra O’Connell empowers her team to help youth and families in crisis overcome challenges they face and when done right, prevents them from ever happening. With her holistic perspective of homelessness, and her innovation-mindedness, O’Connell is a recognized expert in systematic ways to end homelessness, with national speaking credits to her name. She has been outspoken about the need for quality, consumer based service; as well as cross-systems collaboration.
O’Connell was named one of the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee Alumni Association’s Graduates of the Last Decade, 2016; Nonprofit Center of Greater Milwaukee & Young Nonprofit Professionals of Milwaukee’s Emerging Leader, 2016; and a 2017 Milwaukee Business Journal 40 under 40 recipient. She serves on numerous boards that look at addressing needs of the homeless in our community. She is currently a member of the Milwaukee Continuum of Care, the Shelter and Transitional Housing Task Force and the Wisconsin Association of Runaway and Homeless Youth. She was formerly in the State of Wisconsin Interagency Council on Housing and Homelessness; State of Wisconsin Homeless Management Information Services Advisory Board; Milwaukee Emergency Food & Shelter Program Board; and COPE Workgroup of the Milwaukee County Behavioral Health Division Mental Health Redesign. She is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee with a B.A. in Comparative Religion and an M.S. in Cultural Foundations of Community Engagement and Education. Audra is also a mother to five feisty girls and in her spare time operates an organic farm with her husband.
Staff Leadership
Executive Committee
Directors at Large
Advisory Council
John Barnes – Marcus Center for the Performing Arts
Alan Blaskowski – OneAmerica
Craig Counsell – Milwaukee Brewers
Gail Hanson – Aurora Health Care
Benjamin Levin – Foley & Lardner, LLP
Mary Lux – U.S. Bank
Carole Meekins – Today’s TMJ4
Brett Meili – U.S. Bancorp Fund Services
Gene Mueller – 620 WTMJ Radio
Chris Nashban
Jim Neubauer – OneAmerica Retirement Services
David Ryan – Foley & Lardner, LLP