DNC host committee appoints local business leaders to senior staff

Two local business industry veterans have joined the ranks of the Milwaukee 2020 Host Committee, the local group charged with funding, organizing, and hosting the Democratic National Convention taking place in downtown Milwaukee next summer.

Lafayette Crump, CEO and COO of Milwaukee-based multidisciplinary management consulting firm Prism Technical Management & Marketing Services LLC, has been named vice president of diversity, vendor accountability and growth; and Jim Milner, owner and president/CEO of Milwaukee-based business and professional services provider Sector Management Consulting Group, has been named chief diversity and intentional inclusion advisor, the committee announced Wednesday. 

Crump has served in his roles at Prism Technical for almost 16 years. In addition, he currently is a managing member at Crump Law Firm LLC, an advisory board member at The Salvation Army, and adjunct professor of law at Marquette University.

Under Crump’s leadership, Prism has led supplier and workforce diversity initiatives for major development projects including Fiserv Forum, the Northwestern Mutual Tower & Commons and the streetcar. 

“I’m excited to join the Host Committee, an organization deeply committed to intentional engagement throughout the Milwaukee community,” Crump said. “I look forward to working with diverse businesses and organizations in and around the city to build a convention that reflects our communities’ values of diversity, inclusion, and hard work.”

Milner has led Sector Management for almost 17 years. He has sat on the boards of Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin, African American Chamber of Commerce, Marquette University National Alumni Association and Milwaukee Downtown Rotary among others, and currently is chair the Governance Committee for the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Economic Development Corp. 

With several certifications in leadership and executive coaching, Milner has worked with a range of local businesses and organizations including WEC Energy Group Inc., Milwaukee Public Schools, Medical College of Wisconsin, ManpowerGroup and Associated Bank.

“I’m pleased to serve as the chief diversity and intentional inclusion advisor with the Host Committee,” Milner said. “I am committed to ensuring that the convention benefits as many members of our diverse communities as possible. We will work with vendors to develop innovative approaches to engaging a wide range of partners to build long-term success.”

Milwaukee 2020, which is registered under its non-profit operator Good Land Committee Inc., also disclosed details about efforts to recruit local, diverse businesses– meaning minority-, women-, LGBT-, service disabled-, or veteran- owned businesses to contract products or services with the convention and its committee, and said it is currently working to determine necessary steps to meet the party’s diversity and inclusion goals. 

The committee said it plans to vet vendors and suppliers via digital and in-person outreach in the coming weeks. Requests for proposals will be made on a rolling basis as needed. 

Vendors will be evaluated based on technical expertise, community engagement, environmental efforts, including carbon neutrality and recycling, and labor policies, including a $15 minimum wage and paid sick leave.

“The Host Committee will place an emphasis on collaboration, alliances, and partnerships,” according to the announcement. “The objective is to create capacity-building projects that align small business growth and market sustainability.”

“We are proud that this will be a convention in and with Milwaukee. And we will go further—extending beyond downtown and beyond the city,” said Liz Gilbert, president of the Milwaukee 2020 Host Committee. “We will focus on engaging all minority communities, as well as people with disabilities, veteran, and LGBTQ communities serving in a leading role, not as an afterthought. We will also hold our vendor partners accountable to our strong, working family values, and we will express that organized labor is a gateway to a stronger middle class. That’s why I’m thrilled to have Lafayette and Jim join the team. They will be intentional with their efforts to ensure that this is the most inclusive, diverse, and meaningful convention in history.”

The DNC will take place July 13-16, 2020. The event is expected to attract about 50,000 visitors and generate about $200 million in economic impact to the Milwaukee area.