Raquel Filmanowicz will serve as Chief Executive Officer of the Milwaukee 2020 Host Committee, the Host Committee Board of Directors announced in a press release today.
Filmanowicz will oversee and guide the Committee’s fundraising operations, volunteer recruitment efforts, and venue organization plans. Filmanowicz works as Director of U.S. Community Giving for BMO Harris Bank and previously served as Health Operations
Administrator/Deputy Chief of Staff at the City of Milwaukee Health Department in the Mayor Tom Barrett Administration. She also serves as Chair of the Board of Directors of Hispanic Professionals of Greater Milwaukee. She was named one of Wisconsin’s most influential Latino leaders by Madison365 in 2016.
She will take a leave of absence from BMO Harris to lead the Host Committee.
The Board also announced that Paula Penebaker will join the team as Chief Operating Officer, responsible for administering operations of the Milwaukee 2020 Host Committee, as well as managing the Host Committee staff. Penebaker has previously served as Chief Executive Officer of YWCA Southeast Wisconsin, where she spent 20 years with the organization. She has also previously served on the Board of the Rotary Club of Milwaukee, as a Trustee for the Public Policy Forum, and as a Trustee for the Milwaukee County Federated Library System. She currently serves on the Board for the Milwaukee World Festival, Inc.
Both will begin their new roles next week.
The announcement comes after the Board fired former CEO Liz Gilbert and COO Adam Alonzo amid allegations that they created a toxic work environment for Committee employees.
“The convention is a terrific opportunity for Milwaukee and our region to showcase our diversity, our inclusiveness, and all of our many strengths to 50,000 global visitors,” Filmanowicz said in a statement. “I can’t wait to get to work with the incredible Host Committee staff, who every day perform at the highest level, to secure the resources, recruit the volunteers, arrange the local venues, and partner with local vendors to make this convention the best in history.”
Filmanowicz relocated to Milwaukee from Chicago almost 26 years ago. She earned her business degree from Cardinal Stritch University, and she has raised her three children in Milwaukee.
