Crowley Makes New Appointments to Museum Board, Baseball District

Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley made two new appointments in December to boards that have long been meeting grounds for Milwaukee’s power brokers: the Milwaukee Public Museum and the Southeast Wisconsin Professional Baseball Park District.

The duties of the museum board are self-evident. The baseball district board, on the other hand, is the powerful quasi-governmental body that oversees the finances and maintenance of the American Family Field and the surrounding property.

Both appointments are being made to fill positions previously held by Michael Best & Friedrich managing partner Alec Fraser, and are subject to confirmation by the Milwaukee County Board of Supervisors.

Hardy to Museum Board

Kristen D. Hardy, assistant general counsel and assistant secretary at Northwestern Mutual, has been appointed to a three-year term on the board.

Hardy serves as the board chair of the State Bar of Wisconsin, as acting president of the Bronzeville Center for the Arts and on the board of the Milwaukee Bar Association.

She is a graduate of Seton Hall University and Marquette University Law School. The latter of which where she previously served as an adjunct professor.

In addition to Northwestern Mutual, her resume includes stints at Rockwell Automation (2014-2019) and Briggs & Stratton (2019-2021). At the latter she was the Global Compliance & Integrity Manager, working on anti-bribery and corruption, international trade and the development of a global compliance program.

Crowley has made five appointments to the museum board since taking office in 2020. In addition to Fraser, Crowley has appointed Thad Nation, Mike Tate, Jason W. Allen and Patricia Hoben to the board.

Bergner to the Stadium District

Danielle Bergner, an attorney and partner at Hall, Render, Killian, Heath & Lyman, has been appointed to an indefinite term on the baseball district.

Bergner’s law practice has focused on commercial real estate, and she has been involved in some of the biggest real estate deals of the last decade in Milwaukee. She represented the Wisconsin Center District on the Milwaukee Bucks arena deal. Bergner has also worked on deals in the complicated area of the law involving tax credits and government financing of private real estate projects.

From 2011 to 2018, Bergner worked at Michael Best & Friedrich, rising to serve as managing partner for three years. From 2018 to 2021 she served as chief operating officer and general counsel at J. Jeffers & Co.

A resident of Wauwatosa, Bergner is a graduate of UW-Milwaukee and Marquette University Law School. She previously worked in the Milwaukee City Attorney’s Office as an assistant city attorney (2009-2011) and deputy city attorney (2014-2015). While in the city attorney’s office she worked infrastructure deals related to baseball district real estate.

This is Crowley’s first appointment to the baseball district. It comes at a time when the district is believed to be considering new revenue streams and development options following the expiration of the five-county sales tax.