MILWAUKEE WATER COMMONS
MEET THE TEAM
BRENDA COLEY
Co-Executive Director
Brenda Coley is the Co-Executive Director of Milwaukee Water Commons. Over the years she has served in various positions in the non-profit and academic sectors and brings a long-standing commitment to social justice and community organizing. She has been a non-profit director, research coordinator and project manager with expertise in leadership development and organizational capacity building.
Before joining Milwaukee Water Commons, Coley was sole proprietor of Brenda Coley & Associates, helping local and national organizations build the cultural competence to approach marginalized populations around health, leadership development and social justice issues. In addition, she has served on many community engagement boards and public health initiatives, specifically focused on equality and health disparities within the LGBTQ and other minority communities in Milwaukee.
Coley is committed to exploring the influences of one’s own culture and understanding ways in which groups of people are treated in society, using that knowledge to develop strategies to effectively engage diverse groups of people in important community issues.
FELICE GREEN
Director of Programming
Felice Green joined Milwaukee Water Commons in a leadership role as Director of Programming. She has worked with non-profit organizations and advocacy groups on local, state and national levels and brings several years of diverse experience to MWC.
Her work has included advocating for education reform for low-income and working-class Black families, HIV prevention and awareness, health equity among Black women, and environmental public health. She has held professional roles in marketing, strategic communications, community outreach, and leadership development. She worked as civic engagement coordinator for Milwaukee Riverkeeper and now volunteers with the marketing and fund development board committee for the organization. In 2022, she was nominated for the Gain Power Inaugural Powerful Ideas Award for Transformational Talent and Leaders.
Felice has a passion for community service. She is committed to the community she lives in and it is no surprise that she is this year’s MilWALKee Walks Culture Ambassador in Sherman Park. She also volunteers with the United Way of Greater Milwaukee and Waukesha County annual fundraising campaign, and the Capuchin Community Services (House of Peace & St. Ben’s Meal Program) Community Advisory Ministry Council. She is a servant leader and enjoys summer gardening, visiting museums, playing golf, family time and long walks on the beach and river walks.
JOE
FITZGERALD
Water City Program Manager
Joe Fitzgerald began volunteering with Milwaukee Water Commons in 2016. He now works as a Water City Program Manager organizing initiatives to improve water quality and to advance inclusive pathways to blue green employment and water equity in Milwaukee and around the Great Lakes.
A product of the Milwaukee Public Schools, Fitzgerald graduated from Northland College with a double major in natural resources and geosciences, with an emphasis in ecological restoration and water sciences. Since graduating, Joe’s career has taken him throughout the Midwest to research the biological and chemical health of freshwater systems. Through his role with Milwaukee Water Commons, Joe has worked locally and with leaders around the country to reimagine and reform sustainable and intersectional water systems.
From a neighborhood, in the woods, or on a lake or river, Joe has always been interested in learning from the people and places around him. He carries those perspectives into his own work advocating for social and environmental justice.
ATON FOX
Administrative Manager
Aton Fox joined the team at Milwaukee Water Commons in July 2022 as the Administrative Manager. His duties include overseeing office expenditures, record-keeping, event planning, and providing general administrative support.
Aton is a born and raised Milwaukee resident. He has been involved in community-based environmental work from his youth onward, which began when he started working with Walnut Way Conservation Corp. as an intern in the Growing Youth Leadership program. His love for hands-on learning, and desire to grow, develop, and excel in his work landed him a position as the Environmental Stewardship Program Assistant at Walnut Way.
Aton has 6 years of experience in administrative support and facilities coordination. He has worked with several non-profit organizations, partners, and municipalities. His work has revolved around the fields of environmental conservation, urban agriculture, and landscaping construction.
As part of Milwaukee Water Commons, Aton is excited to provide his support and energy to aid his colleagues, and is happy to continue contributing to his neighborhood overall.
WATER
Central Team Member
Water is the central member of the Water Commons team. Water is 60% of most mammal bodies, 70% of the earth’s surface, and over 90% of most plants. Constantly in motion, water changes from liquid to vapor to ice and is part of every season. The water most familiar to us in Milwaukee is the 10,000 year old great lakes system of above ground rivers and underground aquifers connected to the southwest shore of Lake Michigan.
In the Anishinaabe language, all of the Great Lakes are known by one name, Michigami, the vast place. Although we conduct our business in English, Milwaukee Water Commons serves communities who use many languages and we recognize the names for water given by the Potawatomi, Ojibwe, Menominee, Ho-Chunk and Oneida nations who have been stewards of the water in this place for many centuries: Mbish Nibi Nepēw Nįįna and Ohnekanus. Like these nations, we recognize the role and the rights of water in our world.
Water is essential, it is spiritual. We are water.
KIRSTEN SHEAD
Co-Executive Director
Kirsten Shead is the Co-Executive Director of Milwaukee Water Commons. She has a B.S. in chemistry and broad experience in education, industry and environmental labs. She left the corporate world in 2009 for the nonprofit sector. Her previous work included building Muslim-Christian understanding, facilitating interfaith dialogue and leading an interfaith environmental network. She worked with MWC in varying capacities since its inception – as a community partner, serving on the Advisory Team, as a Community Organizer focused on lead in drinking water and access to blue-green jobs, and as Water City Program Manager. She stepped into the Co-Executive Director role in 2018.
Kirsten’s leadership extends to state, regional, and national coalitions while prioritizing local, community engagement and systemic change. In 2019 she was appointed to the Wisconsin Governor's Task Force on Climate Change charged with developing policy recommendations to meaningfully mitigate and adapt to climate change for the benefit of Wisconsin communities.
Kirsten has an unwavering commitment to social justice, anti-racism, women’s LGBTQ and multi-racial leadership, the Milwaukee community, and our sacred Earth. Her happy place is the natural world – identifying plants, watching wildlife and being on, in, or underwater.
RHONDA NORDSTROM
Water City Program Manager
Rhonda Nordstrom joined Milwaukee Water Commons in 2019 as a Water City Program Coordinator. She leads our Water School program and helps advance our Water City Agenda through her work on our Arts & Culture, Education & Recreation, and Drinking Water Initiatives.
Prior to joining Milwaukee Water Commons, Rhonda spent most of her career in public education and public health settings. Bringing education, advocacy, coalition, and equity building experience to work on behalf of our waters continues a career at the intersection of environmental, community, and personal health. Having always had a professional goal of working on water issues, she’s glad for the opportunity to widely engage with how people connect to, care for, and enjoy the benefits of our waters.
When not working, you’ll most likely find her biking, hiking, cooking, or dancing, ideally with friends and family.
ERIK DESOTELLE
Water City Program Coordinator
Erik Desotelle joined the Milwaukee Water Commons in April of 2022 as Water City Program Coordinator. His role is to facilitate the Green Infrastructure Initiative through the Branch Out Milwaukee campaign.
Erik graduated from the University of Wisconsin - Stevens Point with a B.S. in Urban Forestry and a minor in Economics. While in school, he earned his permaculture design certificate in Kenya, served as the Public Information Officer of the UWSP Fire Crew, and worked as an undergraduate research fellow at the Morton Arboretum.
Prior to joining the team, Erik spent 5 years working in the nursery industry in a variety of roles, including landscape design and installation, sales, and inventory. He remains an active member of the green industry. He serves as an adjunct instructor of horticulture at Gateway Technical College, is a member of the Wisconsin Arborist Association, and provides educational talks for organizations like Master Gardeners, UW Extension, Wild Ones, and more.
MELANIE ARIENS
Creative Arts Manager
Melanie Ariens is a Milwaukee area mixed media artist who uses creative work to communicate about issues surrounding the Great Lakes and freshwater access. She has been with MWC from the beginning, playing a leading role in our annual We Are Water event which celebrates the city’s diversity, highlights local creatives, and engages the community in care, keeping and celebration of water right at the shoreline. Melanie also designs promotional materials, coordinates our social media and website, and coordinates water themed art projects for our Water School program.
Her goal is to get people to think about water issues in a non-traditional way, by evoking a simple metaphor or tapping into a spiritual connection to water. She loves unexpected and surprising ways to insert watery artwork and creativity into the public sphere. You can find her work on the public boat docks along the Milwaukee River, and on the new manhole covers she designed for Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District. In addition, she has led many community art projects throughout the City, such as the Somos Agua mural on nine pillars under I-94 as part of the Watermarks project she facilitated with the United Community Center’s Acosta Middle School.
JESSE
AMBOS-KLECKLEY
Community Engagement Coordinator
Jesse Ambos-Kleckley joined Milwaukee Water Commons in March 2023 as the Community Engagement Coordinator. In this role, Jesse is responsible for facilitating a robust community engagement strategy through the expansion of strategic neighborhood outreach, working in solidarity with historically disadvantaged communities, and cultivating meaningful relationships with residents for leadership development.
A Milwaukee native and lifelong swimmer, Jesse is a proud product of the Milwaukee Public School system and double alumna of Alverno College, most recently earning her Masters of Business Administration (MBA) in 2018. With over a decade of experience in banking, furniture and financial planning industries, Jesse is a passionate, collaborative leader who thrives on continually challenging the status quo.
Jesse’s passion for water began early – A competitive swimmer since the age of 6, she swam on the varsity swim team in high school, became a lifeguard and taught swim lessons for over eight years. With representation at the forefront, Jesse requested placement in Black and Brown neighborhoods to invest her skill within communities most impacted by socioeconomic barriers limiting access to pools and water safety education.
Outside of work, Jesse has been ambassador of Milwaukee’s Black Girls Run! group since 2019 and enjoys all things local, especially coffee. She loves the outdoors and recharges through yoga, biking and hiking with her 8-year-old Pomeranian, Tucker.