Beach Ambassador Program Returns for Fourth Year at Bradford and the Recently Restored McKinley Beach

For the fourth consecutive year you will find members of Milwaukee’s Beach Ambassador Program assisting beach goers on two of Milwaukee’s most popular beaches. In 2021 five organizations came together to address four individuals who tragically lost their lives by drowning at Milwaukee’s McKinley Beach. A pilot Milwaukee Beach Ambassador program was created in 2021 to help educate beach goers about water quality, the flag warning system, dangerous wave action and rip currents, and strategies to stay safe while enjoying the water.

Due in part to this innovative program and the temporary closing of McKinley Beach, no lives were lost during the summers of 2021, 2022 and 2023 when Beach Ambassadors were present. Initially five organizations came together to create, fund and staff the program including the Milwaukee Community Sailing Center, Wisconsin Sea Grant, Milwaukee Riverkeeper, Milwaukee Water Commons, and Coastline Services. Following the success of the pilot program, the Milwaukee County Board has generously helped to financially support the program through the summer of 2025.

Training a new group of “Beach Ambassadors” charged with equipping beachgoers with water safety strategies to enjoy Lake Michigan while building awareness of Lake Michigan’s changing wave and water quality conditions is underway for Summer 2024. “Beach Ambassadors are not lifeguards; they give beach goers important information about the water quality and health of the beach as well as highlight dangerous currents that could create unsafe conditions for swimmers,” said Cheryl Nenn of Milwaukee Riverkeeper.

Teresa Coronado, Outreach Director of the Milwaukee Community Sailing Center said that, “with the restoration by Milwaukee County of McKinley beach, we will be expanding our footprint in 2024 and will need to monitor conditions and educate the public about how the profile of the beach has changed to improve safety.”

Dr. Deidre Peroff, a social scientist with Wisconsin Sea Grant said, “It is great that so many beach goers have come out to enjoy our Lake Michigan beaches, but many come from different backgrounds and a wide variety of levels of swimming competency. Many are unfamiliar with how powerful the lake can be.”

Rhonda Nordstrom, Community Education Manager at Milwaukee Water Commons, said “Everyone deserves safe, fun, meaningful experiences at our waters. The Beach Ambassador Project is a community driven strategy toward that goal.”

Look for the Ambassadors pushing their information cart Thursday through Sundays from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. between McKinley and Bradford Beaches. For more information about Milwaukee’s Beach Ambassador program or to arrange an interview with one of our team members contact Teresa Coronado at the Milwaukee Community Sailing Center, Teresa@SailingCenter.org or 414.277.9094.

NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. While it is believed to be reliable, Urban Milwaukee does not guarantee its accuracy or completeness.