MILWAUKEE – Jeanette Kowalik, Milwaukee’s Health Commissioner, will be the featured speaker at a Newsmaker Luncheon on Wednesday, January 16.

Kowalik, who was confirmed to her position in September, returned to Milwaukee after working as associate director of the Association of Maternal & Child Health Programs in Washington, D.C. She had a previous six-year stint with the health department, and also worked for the Wauwatosa Health Department, Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Milwaukee and served as the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s director of prevention and campus health initiatives. Kowalik holds a doctorate in health sciences from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

She took over a department that has been reeling since January 2018, when former Health Commissioner Bevan Baker was ousted over the revelation that the agency had failed to notify and provide services to the families of thousands of children who tested positive for lead. Other agency problems include allegations of hostile work culture under Baker and mismanagement in family planning services and breast and cervical cancer screenings.

Kowalik will take questions from a panel of journalists and from the audience at the luncheon, set for 11:45 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at the Newsroom Pub, 137 E. Wells St.

The panel:
LaToya Dennis – Reporter, 89.7 FM Milwaukee Public Radio
Ted Perry – Anchor/reporter, FOX6 News
Mary Spicuzza – Reporter, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

The Milwaukee Press Club’s Newsmaker Luncheon Series is sponsored by the Medical College of Wisconsin.

Press club Newsmaker Luncheons are held to shed light on issues of the day. The cost to attend is $20 for MPC members, $25 for non-members and $15 for students. Lunch is included. Seating is limited.  Advanced registration and payment are required and may be done online at www.milwaukeepressclub.org.  Checks may be mailed to the MPC at PO Box 176, North Prairie, WI  53153-0176. Cancellations will be accepted up to 48 hours in advance for a full refund.

Please contact Joette Richards at the Milwaukee Press Club at joette@milwaukeepressclub.org with any questions or call 262-894-2224.

Special thanks to the Safe House/Newsroom Pub, home of the Milwaukee Press Club, for hosting the Newsmaker Luncheon Series.  Think of the Newsroom Pub for your next private party!  MPC members can book a room at no charge. The Newsroom Pub has FREE wireless internet service compliments of the Safe House.

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