Kellie J. Sigh
Executive director, College Possible Milwaukee
1515 N. Rivercenter Drive, Suite 105
collegepossible.org/milwaukee
Industry: Nonprofit
- Kellie J. Sigh was hired in 2020 as the new executive director of College Possible Milwaukee, a local affiliate of a national nonprofit that works to close the degree divide by coaching students from low-income backgrounds in high school and through college.
- A Milwaukee native, Sigh comes from a family of educators. Her uncle, Grant Gordon, was the first Black principal for Milwaukee Public Schools, and her aunt, Lucinda Gordon, founded the former Lady Pitts School for Pregnant Girls in Milwaukee.
- “I come from a family that definitely placed squarely on us that we each stood on the shoulders of giants and that … there’s an expectation that we continue to sew into others.”
- She previously worked for MPS as its director of strategic partnerships and customer service.
- Sigh’s priorities for College Possible are forging strategic partnerships, refining its service model, growing its profile in the community and boosting fundraising.
- “We are helping to address the health … and vibrancy of the Milwaukee community because of the scholars who are coming out educated and many (of whom) are determining to allow their talent to remain here in Milwaukee. So, workforce development is a byproduct of what we’re doing.”
- Sigh is currently working on a doctorate in higher education leadership at Alverno College and holds an M.B.A. from Concordia University.
- In her spare time, she enjoys taking long walks on Milwaukee’s lakefront. “It’s where I do a lot of good thinking and that always takes me to a happy place.”
- After weaning herself off a “good amount of cream and sugar,” Sigh now takes her coffee black.
