Milwaukee is a place rich in history, community and diversity. The Greater Milwaukee Foundation prides itself on honoring these values by welcoming volunteer leadership who share that knowledge and experience. Earlier this year, the Board welcomed several individuals who share in the Foundation’s vision to build a Milwaukee for all: Derek Mosley, James A. Schleif and Gail Yabuki.
Derek Mosley is the director of the Lubar Center for Public Policy Research housed in Marquette University Law School. Mosley graduated from Marquette University Law School in 1995 before serving as an assistant district attorney for Milwaukee County. In 2002, Mosley was appointed Municipal Court Judge in Milwaukee, where he was the youngest African American in the state to be appointed judge. After 20 years as a judge and with 10 of those years as chief judge of the Milwaukee Municipal Court, Mosley returned to Marquette. He continues to serve on many boards and committees including Wisconsin’s Judicial Education Committee. Mosley is also known for his talks about unconscious bias and Black history as well as for being a Milwaukee foodie (he served as a judge for the James Beard Foundation in 2022).
Jim Schleif has been an award-winning realtor since 2003 with Shorewest Realtors and currently holds the distinction of being among the nation's top 1 percent of all real estate agents (per Real Trends). Formerly the chief development officer for the AIDS Resource Center of Wisconsin, Schleif brings a unique blend of nonprofit management, fund raising, sales and communications skills to the Board. As a University of Wisconsin-Madison graduate in international relations and French, he has routinely been recognized for his work and philanthropic efforts. Currently he is chair-elect of The Nature Conservancy - Wisconsin Chapter, a Blue Lotus Center trustee and former trustee of the Urban Ecology Center, Immanuel Presbyterian Church, among others. In 2019, Schleif and his husband of 32 years, Bill Morley, launched the William H. Morley and James A. Schleif Fund at the Greater Milwaukee Foundation to advance conservation, protect human rights and alleviate poverty in all its forms. When he’s not working or volunteering, he enjoys global adventure travel, silent sports, mission service, trekking and spending time at his Northwoods home.
Gail Yabuki is the director of the Yabuki Family Foundation, which was established to support innovative initiatives with a focus on mental and emotional health, education, arts and social justice. As director, Yabuki researches, partners with and actively participates in a number of the investments the foundation makes. In 2021, the Yabuki Family Foundation made a $20 million gift to Children’s Wisconsin to confront a growing pediatric mental health crisis. Prior to this, Yabuki was an entrepreneur. She co-founded the Monona Medical Equipment Company and founded the Concussion System LLC. Yabuki serves on a number of nonprofit boards and committees locally and across the country including the Milwaukee Public Museum and the Rock n’ Roll Hall of Fame.
Meet our full Board of directors.
