Day 1
The first week of Dec. brought cold to Wisconsin, but us 1000 Friends staff brought our warm hearts and minds to Milwaukee for our first retreat as a new staff! With a quick meetup at MKE’s Intermodal train station, our feet took us east along I-794 to chat about some of that advocacy work Raphie is leading (Rethink 794) as part of WisDOT’s Lake Interchange Study, and of course, fun discussions on non-work-related items. The Public Market was a perfect space to hang out mid-afternoon, with 2 of us never seeing this place before. A delicious late lunch led to good conversation and a deck of cards. Thanks to Rory for leading us in some new card games! I’d say Jen & Raphie dominated!
After discussing next steps, we headed east to the Milwaukee Art Museum (MAM). It’s worth mentioning, some of the most valuable and important pieces of land are covered in concrete laid down for cars/trucks. This ‘fun-to-cross’ intersection/confluence of roads (E Clybourn, N Lincoln Memorial, and both on & off ramps for I-794) pictured below was telling. I like to call these public spaces ‘Anywhere America’.
We then spent an hour or so perusing tons of exhibits and pieces from a wide range of periods. Lots of beautiful pieces – styles, medium, and premises considered. Part of the visit landed us back at the MAM atrium for a Pint-Sized Concert with Peter Thomas and he was fantastic. A cellist for the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra and former band member of the alt-pop band I’m Not a Pilot, Peter blended genres using his e-cello and loop machine, hitting everything from cover favorites (Beatles, Radiohead, The Pixies, etc.) to classical pieces we’ve never heard before. It was definitely a real treat.
A little bit of hunger snuck in, leading us to dinner at a tasty ramen restaurant called Artisan Ramen. I’ll admit, I was a bit skeptical due to my past experience with ramen, but this place was top-notch quality. Bellies full, we hiked north to the Knickerbocker lounge called The Knick for some beverages and cards. This time, I got to share a family-favorite called Cadaver. With the focus on raising the dead, we had a few laughs and some seriously competitive moments. Turns out, Jen was the best at building a strategy to manage corpses and raise the dead (a bit of necromancy). 🙂
Day 2
Good morning … and coffee time!!! With the location, ambiance, and very tasty menu, our day of strategic sessions kicked off at the Fairgrounds Cafe. This was my third time there – I’d highly recommend it to anyone! We mapped out the day with discussing what we wanted to accomplish – ya know, the tofu/meat of the retreat? There was a good sense already and prepped a bit beforehand, individually as a staff, but we did hone in on discussing & walking through 3 major components – evaluate our 2026 workplans, map out & evaluate our new org chart, and propose edits to the personnel manual & bylaws (all of which need Board approval). We were a bit ambitious …
Navigating Milwaukee’s streets isn’t an easy task for outsiders, non-drivers, or those with a disability. Our little mile-and-a-half walk to our next destinations was only a tiny challenge for us privileged peeps, but it’s no wonder we hardly saw anyone walking. True, the temps were frigid, but if you were to use that as an excuse with another able-bodied individual living in a walkable/bikable & transit-friendly non-U.S. city, they’d most likely laugh. Raphie brought up a funny point that Ronny Chieng made while on tour, stopping for a show in MKE – “Where is everyone?” Ronny said. Before that show, Ronny hit the streets to meet people and learn more about this cool city, but he struggled a bit since hardly anyone was walking (even though the weather was much nicer than ours). It’s a not-so-funny reminder of why we do the work we do!
Thanks to a recommendation from our friend and partner, Montavius Jones (principal at Narvarte Development), in advance, Raphie secured a private meeting space at ThriveOn King. Wow, if you haven’t been, you must go! From the thoughtful architecture and art, to the kindness and hospitality of staff, this place was incredible!
We nestled into our new strategic venue – a small conference room on the 4th floor – and started our discussions. It wasn’t difficult to get into the weeds since we’re all passionate about our work, but we did manage to stay on task (mostly). After finishing up workplans and the new org chart, we headed downstairs to the Kinship Cafe for lunch and our final stretch of planning. Besides an awesome worker training model and comfy dining area, the food was scrumptious! It’s another must eat in MKE!
We wrapped up our retreat with ‘almost’ getting through the entire personnel manual. 😉 Making sure we made it to the bus stop in time, we packed up, and hit the street. Even though we were wired from coffee, screens, and strategies, and cherish the nice connections and new way forward, it was nice to hop on an MCTS bus and say our goodbyes.
Thanks for an awesome retreat, staff!!! I can’t thank you enough!
P.S. There was talk of possibly kayaking during a summer retreat in 2026! 🙂
Peace, Trevor
