Programs

Creative Community Champion Awards

Create Wisconsin’s Creative Community Champion Award to be presented to
City of Milwaukee Alderwoman Milele A. Coggs
at the League of Wisconsin Municipalities Annual Conference
September 18, 2025, Baird Center, Milwaukee

The annual Creative Community Champion Awards are presented by Create Wisconsin in partnership with the League of Wisconsin Municipalities. These awards honor civic leaders as champions and communities in Wisconsin focused on creativity as integral to economic, educational, and community vitality.  Create Wisconsin has presented these awards to these champions - individuals, organizations, businesses, and local government agencies - since 2009.  

In 2025, the award will be presented to City of Milwaukee Alderwoman Milele A. Coggs, for her outstanding advocacy and support of arts and cultural investment, engagement and access for all Milwaukeeans.  The award will be presented at the League of Municipalities Annual Conference, on Thursday, September 18, 2025, at the Baird Center in downtown Milwaukee.

Alderwoman Milele A. Coggs was born and raised in Milwaukee and has long been actively involved in the city’s arts scene.  She serves as the Chair of the Milwaukee Arts Board, the city’s public arts committee, and champions initiatives such as the Arts Redevelopment and Community Hub (ARCH) Loan Program, which provides support for arts-related uses of City-owned properties. She is the founder of Bronzeville Week, the City of Milwaukee's annual celebration of African-American culture, history, art, commerce, and entertainment.   Her advocacy helps to strengthen Milwaukee's vibrant arts scene by recognizing, fostering, and investing in creative workers and community engagement with the arts.   “It is the responsibility of us all to give back to the community that helps to make us who we are,” says Ald. Coggs.   

Growing up in one of Wisconsin’s most prominent political families and being exposed to the idea and value of a legacy of public service has influenced Alderwoman Coggs in her choices of community service and aspirations for public office. She sees public service as her passion and her legislative office as a way to pursue that passion in assisting in the improvement of the quality of life for all, a basic value she carries into all of her legislative initiatives.  Alderwoman Coggs’ election to office marks the Coggs family’s fifth generation of members having served in public office with three members currently in different areas of government.  Ald. Coggs is the youngest woman ever elected to Milwaukee’s Common Council.  She is a graduate of Fisk University and UW-Madison Law School.

“We are honored to recognize Alderwoman Coggs as an outstanding advocate for Milwaukee’s artistry and creativity,” says Carolyn Nelson-Kavajecz, Create Wisconsin Board President.  “As an active civic champion, she helps honor the voices and visions of artists who contribute to the city's cultural richness and authentic sense of place, and makes sure that everyone in the community has the opportunity to participate in and benefit from involvement in the arts and culture.”

The Awards are sponsored by the League of Wisconsin Municipalities, Ruth Foundation for the Arts, and the Kohler Foundation.

For more information about the awards, Create Wisconsin’s advocacy, service, and development work, and the arts, culture, and creativity in Wisconsin, contact Anne Katz, Director, 608 255 8316 | info@createwisconsin.org | www.createwisconsin.org.