Talking with Rae is challenging. Not because it’s difficult to talk with them, but because there is SO MUCH to talk about and it’s all very interesting. Rae has lived in Milwaukee all their life, and life experiences here have made them quite worldly…while never leaving the county. They’ve been part of the Chapter 220 program which encouraged racial integration in Milwaukee schools; they’ve worked in the non-profit world, in county government, and in Big Tech; they’re an active and inspiring runner, and they just bought their own house. There’s a LOT to talk about.
Rae was raised in Milwaukee, near the Havenwoods State Forest, but went to school in Menomonee Falls, from kindergarten through high school. They were part of the Chapter 220 program, which was created to encourage racial integration across Milwaukee’s city and suburban schools. Rae said it was “a pretty good experience for the most part” and that the only weirdness was how long the daily bus rides were. After high school, Rae attended Cardinal Stritch University, and got a degree in English (this makes me darn happy, as Stritch is also my alma mater). Rae moved away from mom and step-dad when they were 22, to Milwaukee’s South Side, “cuz that’s the furthest I could get away.” While that was a significant and important move for them, “I did not understand anything when I moved out at 22…I did a lot of impulse-buying…there was no concept of “thinking about the future” when I was 22. I shouldn’t have (moved out); there was no need. I think it was to see if I could do it, and I COULD…but it was not easy, and then I had a baby two years later.”
That “baby” is now nearly 13 years old, and Rae now owns a house that is just 4 blocks away from their mom. Rae says, “Oh my gosh, there’s so many (advantages to living close); I can just show up for dinner, ‘you got room for two more?’” But there’s more to it than free dinners – “my mom and I go walking together some mornings; we got this accountability relationship…we keep each other motivated for walking and exercise and to get some fresh air…I like my family; they’re good people.”
And Rae has learned a lot from their family. “I would say that education has always been stressed”. When they were a teen, Rae wasn’t allowed to have a job – “mom was all ‘SCHOOL is your job!’” And this emphasis on preparing for the future is a value that Rae is passing on to their son. They say, “because we are the first home-owners in my family…it’s about safety, it’s about setting up for the future…I tell my son, it’s not just about today, think about tomorrow, think about six months from now, think long-term. The decisions you make today will impact the next day, and I remind him to be mindful about that.”
Rae has been busy building the future they wants, but like Chris Larson remarked to me years ago, “it’s never a straight line…”. When I met Rae, they were working for Artists Working in Education (A.W.E.), an arts education non-profit, whose board I served on for a number of years. A change-up in the leadership there led to an employment status change for Rae, and they found themself unemployed. While looking for a new job, Rae began volunteering at the Empower Yoga studio, and for their work, could attend free yoga classes. Rae had tried yoga before, but never taken it too seriously. At this moment in their story, though, “yoga and hot yoga changed my LIFE.”
In a short while, Rae found work with then-Milwaukee County Executive, Chris Abele, as a Constituent Services Director, doing a LOT of constituent-facing work. Abele, though, decided not to run for re-election, and Rae continued in their role, when David Crowley became the new County Executive. This happened right around the height of covid, and by this point, Rae was the Director of Communications for the County Executive. It was a very intense time, “we were working seven days a week”…and then Rae transferred to the Office of African American Affairs (now called the Office of Equity), doing communications work for them. They were soon to start another new job, though, one whose seeds had been planted during their time as the Director of Communications.
In the Spring of 2021, Rae was contacted by ESRI, a geo-spatial software company. ESRI makes the software that MKE County was using in their Covid dashboard. Rae had been a co-presenter at an ESRI conference, talking about how Milwaukee was utilizing the software. ESRI was so impressed that they contacted Rae with a job offer. Starting in May 2021, Rae had another career change, and began working for ESRI as a 100%-remote marketing content writer.
Working remote has had a HUGE impact on Rae’s life. They have a lot of great things to say about the experience…
“I really love my job at ESRI. I get a lot of autonomy and can really make my own career path. And I get to work from home; I don’t have to commute, well, I DO have to walk upstairs to my office. That’s pretty easy, and I get a lot of flexibility – and this morning I made my son breakfast, and it was HOT, and I’m home when he gets done with school. It’s really changed my connection with my family, and with my community…that flexibility, it’s so refreshing…”.
There have been other unexpected benefits for Rae in working remote. When they were working for the County, it was very exciting…but it was also nonstop; there was no “turning it off.” Now though, they has more freedom to choose when and where to engage with the community. And that freedom has led into a new way of serving the city of Milwaukee.
“I miss aspects of the workplace, but I do try to have relationships with people in the community; I set up coffee dates when I can; I have my running group…I have things I’m involved in and that makes it really good for me.”
Working remote has brought fulfilling work for Rae, and a refresh of how they engage in the local community. Not having such an intense work-life allowed them to be open to a bit of social media Rae saw, asking for people to help with Milwaukee’s elections. They mentioned, “(since working remote), I have a different appreciation for my community, and I want to contribute to those positive things I see…and being an election worker is part of that.”
Rae is a relative newcomer to being a poll worker, but has enjoyed it so far – “I’ve met people I probably wouldn’t not have met otherwise…it’s a really fun thing to do. The elections are really well run and well organized.” They also recognizes the importance and seriousness of the role, saying, “I’m coming up on my third election now…we take an OATH at the beginning of the shift. In our small way, we’re protecting democracy, this tiny piece of it. It really feels good; it’s like I’m a superhero for a few hours.”
I asked Rae what they’d say to those people who try to cast doubts on Wisconsin’s elections, and Rae said, “I would tell these people…that they do NOT have to believe everything they think. The elections ARE very well run. People are really friendly and they want to be there.”
Their experience as an election worker has made Rae think about whether or not they’d like to run for public office someday. The only office that interests them right now is MKE School Board and Rae does have thoughts on that…
“MPS is trying hard, but it’s difficult to make changes when the funding is not where it should be, because school districts’ funding is determined by property taxes, which is inequitable, and I think the state legislature could be doing more about that. But I think they’re actually trying to do the OPPOSITE.
I think they’re trying to decrease access to public education, which is not how we should be thinking about our students and about our teachers. And teachers aren’t paid what they should be…”.
A lot of Rae’s life has been about the pursuit of equity, of balance…whether in school integration, or in work and personal life, or in making sure everyone’s vote counts…and, too, in their pursuit of developing family wealth through home ownership. Rae is a homeowner, and has achieved that by working with the fine people at Acts Housing, a local nonprofit.
Acts was started by a church 25 years ago (though it no longer has any religious affiliation), to help immigrants buy homes. Since they started, Acts has helped over 3000 families to buy homes! Their mission declares that they strive to “make it possible for families with barriers (credit, savings, financial, language, etc.) to become homeowners.”
Rae got involved in 2017 and it’s all their son’s fault. He was asking and asking if he could get a dog, and Rae had to tell him and tell him “no” because they lived in an apartment, and dogs were not allowed. Rae made the “mistake” of telling him that if they ever owned a house, they could maybe get a dog, “which is something you should never do because a kid will neeeeeeever forget. If you want an accountability partner, ask a child…”.
Rae attended an Acts orientation, started working with one of their home-buying coaches, delved into understanding their credit score, and paid off personal debts (around $12000 in one year: “It was difficult but I did it. It was a lot discipline, and thinking about the future.”).
Acts has a number of staff members working with the people who work with them – Rae had that home-buying coach, a home-buying agent, house-rehab counselors, and various contractors. Acts does an impressive job of helping their clients along every step of the way! Through the Acts process, Rae learned every aspect of home ownership – and what they feel comfortable taking care of, and when they need to call a contractor – “…you can only watch so many YouTube videos,” Rae says.
Owning their own home has been HUGE for Rae, transformational, even. They say, “…as a black person, as a queer person, as a single parent, home ownership provides a safety net; I have a 15y mortgage, and I hope to pay it off early…I know where those numbers are; I know that’s my house; my son knows this is our house and his friends can come over now. Before, our apartment was too small to host sleepovers, but now, I’ve had, like, 4 pre-teen boys hanging out…it’s been a really positive experience for us…being the first homeowner in my family, it’s important for my son to see what’s possible and to see it normalized. We have a construction project – but it’s MY OWN.”
There are aspects of our lives that seem seasonal…they are with us for a time, then get replaced by something else…and then maybe those things come back again. For Rae, one of those “things” was running. They ran track in high school, and cross country in college, but then Rae’s son was born, and their “life season” changed. They didn’t have time to run, was too busy being a single parent.
Now though, their son is 12, nearly 13, and “seasons” are changing again. Recently, Rae, their mom, sister, and grandma all decided to undertake an 8-week weight-loss challenge, and there was money on the line! The women would all update their progress each week, and Rae kept a spreadsheet tracking it all. At the end of the 8-weeks, it was Grandma who won the challenge, but the benefits of those two months, re-started something in Rae. “We stopped the challenge after the two months, but I was feeling better, just moving my body.” Rae saw that the Milwaukee Recreation Department had a C25K (“Couch to 5k”) class starting at Riverside High and signed up.
The class was great, they met some great people, including her instructor, Marty, who was “hilarious”. Marty set up a 5k in Greenfield park for Rae and their classmates, and “I did it, I ran the whole way, and I was so proud of myself!” At that point, friends were suggesting they check out the FEAR MKE group (Forget Everything And Run) and their weekly group-runs. Rae resisted, saying that she wasn’t a runner…but after that first 5k, Rae started showing up, and three months later, they were still running with the group.
In September, Rae went with FEAR to run a 5k in Chicago, …and is now training for a 10k, and has hopes to run a thirteener in the future. They’re re-taking the C25K class to meet more people and to keep training momentum. The class coincides with Rae’s son’s swim-team practices, so they are getting miles while their son is getting laps.
Rae has a real healthy attitude towards their son’s swimming and their running: “I always ask him after he swims, ‘did you have fun?’ That’s my goal for him – as long as he is having fun, he will keep swimming. It’s not about being super-competitive, and that’s how I feel about running. I’m not trying to win first place (just trying to be proud of myself).”
In identifying as a homeowner, an election worker, and re-identifying as a runner, it has gotten Rae thinking, ”I’m really inspiring myself…and it just makes me wonder what ELSE could I be or identify as? I just turned 37, and it feels like my life is just blossoming lately.”
