Creative Alliance Milwaukee
Press Release

Creative Alliance Milwaukee and Innovation in Milwaukee Announce Near West Side Neighborhood as Location for Walk the Talk TALK 2016, New Speaker Series

The partners today also announced the addition of a four-part Walk the Talk Speaker Series leading up to the fall conference.

By - Apr 27th, 2016 08:43 am

MILWAUKEE—April 27, 2016—Creative Alliance Milwaukee (CAM) and the Greater Milwaukee Committee’s Innovation in Milwaukee (MiKE) initiative are pleased to announce that the Near West Side (NWS) neighborhood will host Walk the Talk 2016. The partners today also announced the addition of a four-part Walk the Talk Speaker Series leading up to the fall conference.

“We are excited to showcase the assets of the Near West Side neighborhood to the hundreds of attendees of Walk the Talk 2016,” said Michael Hostad, executive director of MiKE. “The variety of cultural and entertainment venues, businesses and community assets in this neighborhood gives our planning committee a wealth of options to produce a blockbuster event in a Milwaukee neighborhood that is home to so much creativity and innovation.”

The inaugural Walk the Talk took place October 7, 2015, at more than 18 locations throughout the Historic Third Ward and Walker’s Point neighborhoods, including the Broadway Theatre Center, Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design, 88Nine Radio Milwaukee, Global Water Center, JCI Innovation Center, Cramer-Krasselt, PKWare, Translator, SURG on the Water, Next Act Theater, WHEDA and Material Studios.

“Walk the Talk is an intentionally designed experience, and its cool factor is as much about where we host it as it is about who attends and what goes on throughout the day,” said Sara Meaney, board chair of CAM. “The Near West Side was a natural next location for the event, as its diverse and eclectic assets and the action-oriented tone of its leadership personify what the event experience is all about: creativity, innovation, action. The Near West Side Partners definitely walk the talk.”

“The Near West Side is a neighborhood of neighborhoods and home to some of Milwaukee’s most innovative and creative institutions, attractions and businesses,” said Keith Stanley, executive director of NWS Partners. “We look forward to partnering with CAM and MiKE on Walk the Talk 2016 and showing Milwaukee what we’ve got.”

Walk the Talk, the annual conference produced by CAM and MiKE, explores the intersection of creativity and innovation in greater Milwaukee. The event draws more than 300 regional thought leaders and practitioners in the realms of creativity, innovation and entrepreneurship. The day-long event is hosted at multiple venues and features dozens of speakers, presentations and hands-on working sessions to bolster creativity, teach proven creative processes and foster innovative practices that attendees can apply in their workplaces. It is also the premier networking event for area creatives and innovators and those who employ or contract with them. Walk the Talk 2016 is scheduled for early October, with a date announcement expected in early May.

To build momentum and reconnect past attendees over the summer, CAM and MiKE will host a four-part speaker series leading up to the October conference. The first Walk the Talk Speaker Series, presented by Harley-Davidson and Southwest Airlines, will be on May 2nd at 88Nine Radio Milwaukee and features Paul Topolos, an artist from Pixar Animation, who will share his story of the intersection of creativity and innovation within his industry. More information and registration for this free event is available at innovationinmilwaukee.com.

About the Organizers

Creative Alliance Milwaukee exists to drive economic prosperity for all by fostering a more creative Milwaukee and a culture of innovation, ingenuity and entrepreneurship throughout the region.

Innovation in Milwaukee (MiKE) is an initiative of the Greater Milwaukee Committee that creates and supports programming that convenes corporations, universities and talent networks (entrepreneurs, students, independents) in order to create a collaborative ecosystem and foster the development of an innovative workforce in the greater Milwaukee area.

About Near West Side Partners, Inc.

Near West Side Partners, Inc. is a non-profit organization with a mission to revitalize and sustain the Near West Side as a thriving business and residential corridor, through collaborative efforts to promote commercial corridor development, improved housing, unified neighborhood identity and branding, and greater safety for residents and businesses. Near West Side Partners, Inc. is an organization of businesses and civic leaders from throughout the Near West Side, including the organization’s five anchor institutions – Aurora Health Care, Harley-Davidson, Marquette University, MillerCoors and Potawatomi Business Development Corp.

NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. It has not been verified for its accuracy or completeness.

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