Julia Taylor Bio
President, The Greater Milwaukee Committee
Julia Taylor was appointed as the first woman president of the Greater Milwaukee Committee in December 2002. The GMC promotes collaboration on regional issues and opportunities through its initiatives in education, economic development and effective government. It acts as a creator on initiatives like Teachtown MKE, Scale Up Milwaukee, Innovation in Milwaukee, creative placemaking and the Downtown Task Force. It is a collaborator on projects like Well City Milwaukee, BizStarts and regional transit. It is a catalyst for things like The Water Council and the Milwaukee 7. Many of the initiatives and projects of the GMC fall across two or three of these categories.
The GMC convenes and collaborates with other organizations and groups in the community on an issue-by-issue basis and leads by initiating projects and implementing strategies. The GMC membership is comprised of 200 CEOs and leaders in various sectors including business, labor, academic, philanthropy and nonprofit.
Before the GMC, Ms. Taylor was president of the YWCA of Greater Milwaukee for 16 years and managed a $40 million annual budget. During her tenure at the YWCA, she led initiatives resulting in national models for employment training and placement, affordable housing, women’s leadership and racial justice.
As the first woman elected to the St. Francis Bank Board of Directors in 1996 and to the St. Francis Capitol Corporation Board of Directors in 1997, she served as co-chair of Capitol Corporation Policy Committee and on the Bank Loan Committee and Audit Committee. St. Francis was a two billion-dollar high franchise value bank, which was sold to Mid America Financial Bank (MAFB) in 2003, creating a regional mid-cap bank.
Ms. Taylor has served on the boards of Aurora Health Care, Big Brothers Big Sisters, the Governor’s Glass Ceiling Commission, the Governor’s Work Force Investment Board, and the National Association of YWCA Executives. She serves on the boards of the United Performing Arts Fund, The Water Council, the University Club of Milwaukee and Milwaukee Film, and was co-chair for UPAF’s 2009 campaign.