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Rising Forward: Stories of Change

Rising Forward: Stories of Change

By: WUWM 89.7 FM - Milwaukee's NPR
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About this listen

Hosted by Shannon Sims, this podcast goes behind the headlines to explore the social entrepreneurs transforming Milwaukee and beyond. Shannon leverages her networks, resources and journalistic curiosity to uncover the stories of innovative changemakers who are building businesses that solve pressing community challenges.

Each episode features authentic conversations with entrepreneurs who are rising from their communities, leaning into social concerns, and creating sustainable solutions that move Wisconsin forward — embodying our state's motto. From Milwaukee neighborhoods to communities across the region and eventually statewide, these are the stories of people who refuse to accept the status quo.

Join Shannon as she discovers how business and social impact intersect to create lasting change.

WUWM
Episodes
  • Stephanie Melnick helping women entrepreneurs break barriers and make an impact

    Stephanie Melnick helping women entrepreneurs break barriers and make an impact
    Mar 24 2026

    Women are breaking barriers and rewriting the rules of entrepreneurship often in systems that weren’t built for them.

    Stephanie Melnick has been practicing law in Milwaukee for over 30 years.

    But in 2017, she realized her clients needed more than legal advice. They needed each other.

    So she founded She Stands Tall — a community for women entrepreneurs.

    Stephanie has highlighted dozens of women entrepreneurs and created events that teach marketing, brand protection, financial literacy and inspire the next generation of women leaders.

    In this episode of Rising Forward stories of change she shares what she’s learned about women building together instead of going it alone—and how that collective momentum is moving Wisconsin forward.

    Credits:

    Shannon Sims, host

    Bryce Richards, graphic designer/ grip

    Brianna Sitkowski, producer

    Junction Box Production, Dwight Cannon, audio editor/videographer

    LionArts Media, Laura Dyan Kezma, audio/video editor

    William Howell, photographer/ assistant editor

    Mic’d & Ready Media

    Show More Show Less
    24 mins
  • From 14 Moves to $1 Billion: Kevin Newell's Rising Forward Story

    From 14 Moves to $1 Billion: Kevin Newell's Rising Forward Story
    Mar 17 2026

    Kevin Newell moved fourteen times before he went to college. Today, he's transforming that instability into solutions — as founder and CEO of Royal Capital Group, Newell has built a billion-dollar portfolio proving that the people who lived the problem are the ones who can solve it.

    From redeveloping Phillis Wheatley School — the grade school he once attended — to creating the Good Hope Library, to building ThriveOn King, a $105 million "lifestyle campus" in the heart of Bronzeville, Newell is rewriting what's possible. He's the first African American to build and own multi-family commercial properties in downtown Milwaukee and Madison, and the first to partner with an NBA team on a commercial entertainment district. Now he's taking the Wisconsin model to Fort Worth, Texas.

    In this inaugural episode of Rising Forward, Shannon Sims sits down with Newell to explore how his mother's sacrifice, his aunt and uncle's sanctuary, and even his biggest setbacks became the foundation for a new model of community-centered development.

    Credits:

    Shannon Sims, host

    LionArts Media, Laura Dyan Kezma, audio/video editor

    Dwight Cannon, Junction Box Production, assistant editor/videographer
    Show More Show Less
    24 mins
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