Vincent Lyles Will Lead Milwaukee Succeeds Initiative

Vincent Lyles will become the new executive director of Milwaukee Succeeds, a “cradle-to-career” education initiative focused on racial equity and systems change.

In January, Lyles will succeed Danae Davis, who announced her retirement earlier this year after leading the initiative since 2015. Milwaukee Succeeds is housed within the Greater Milwaukee Foundation.

“Vincent is an undisputed changemaker in Milwaukee, and his undeniable passion for supporting Black and Brown children of all ages in reaching their full potential is perfectly aligned with the foundation’s generational commitment to racial equity,” said GMF CEO Ellen Gilligan in a press release.

Lyles will leave his role as system vice president of community relations at Advocate Aurora Health. From 2011 to 2018 he served as the CEO of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Milwaukee.

“I’m very appreciative of the Greater Milwaukee Foundation and Milwaukee Succeeds in conveying their trust in me. It is both an honor and a privilege to follow in the footsteps of leader and friend, Danae Davis,” said Lyles. “The work that has been accomplished is quite impressive. I look forward to working with the Milwaukee Succeeds team and coalition of community collaborators in taking this work further on behalf of our children and Milwaukee’s future.”

Milwaukee Succeeds coordinates a coalition of more than 100 member organizations to deliver long-term, equitable results for children through a shared, community vision for allocating resources and advocating for policy changes. Its focus extends from early childhood education to post-secondary education.

“As we further invest and engage in our connected vision to make education work better for our city’s youth, Vincent’s deep relationships, experience and love of community will take our impact to the next level. We are thrilled he is joining our foundation family,” said Gilligan.

The initiative includes the MKE Early Childhood Coalition and the Youth Forward MKE Coalition. The early childhood effort was successful in securing $7 million from the city’s American Rescue Plan Act to develop more early-childcare workers and in working with the state and others to keep childcare providers operating during the pandemic.

A 22-member “leadership table” helps guide the initiative.

In addition to his recent leadership roles, Lyles has a diverse background of prior work experiences. He was an assistant district attorney and, later the executive director of the Milwaukee Election Commission, before taking a vice president of public finance role with Baird and a community development corporation role with M&I Bank. Amongst many other appointments, he’s served on the board of Delta Dental of Wisconsin, Marquette University, Badger Mutual Insurance Company and BMO Mutual Funds.