FUEL Milwaukee Leadership Luncheon w/ Colleston Morgan, Jr. 9/24/2026 12:00 Noon - 9/24/2026 1:00 PM

Tue, 11 Aug 2026 17:40:34 GMT

Leadership Luncheon W/

Colleston Morgan, Jr.
Executive Director, City Forward Collective

If you want to understand Milwaukee’s future, start with its children. Nearly 109,000 Milwaukee students receive a publicly funded education. Today, only about one in four are proficient in English language arts and about one in five in math—less than half the proficiency rates seen across the rest of Wisconsin. And by City Forward Collective’s measure, 61% of Milwaukee students attend schools performing below expectations. That’s not a school-system problem. It’s a Milwaukee problem.

For Colleston Morgan, Jr., those numbers are personal. A Milwaukee native, former teacher and now Executive Director of City Forward Collective, Colleston has built his career around improving what comes next for Milwaukee kids. His work brings together data, policy, parents, educators and community leaders to push beyond the politics of which kind of school a child attends and focus on something more fundamental: whether that child is getting a great education. And he’s seen what organized action can accomplish. In 2023, City Forward Collective worked alongside hundreds of Milwaukee parents in an advocacy effort that helped secure an additional $140 million in state funding for Milwaukee students. Big issue, real stakes—and real movement.

You don’t have to work in education to have a stake in what happens next. Join us over lunch as Colleston takes us beyond the headlines and politics to understand what’s really happening in Milwaukee’s schools, what’s working, where we’re falling short and what it will take to move the needle. Whether you’ve called Milwaukee home your entire life or are building your life and career here now, this is one of those issues worth understanding—and a conversation worth having a seat at.

More About the Speaker:
Born and raised in Milwaukee, Colleston Morgan, Jr. was appointed President & Executive Director of City Forward Collective in 2023 after previously serving as the organization’s Vice President of Strategy and Policy. He began his career as a social studies teacher at G.W. Carver High School, where he was named Teacher of the Year.

Colleston later worked at the Louisiana Department of Education and New Orleans Public Schools, ultimately serving in a Cabinet-level role as Chief Strategy Officer. There, he played a key role in developing and implementing the plan that returned New Orleans’ public charter school system to local governance after more than a decade of state control. He has also been recognized nationally for his work in charter school authorizing and school accountability.

Colleston earned an A.B. in Government from Harvard University and a Master of Public Policy from the University of Chicago. He is an alum of the Pahara Institute, Cambiar Catalyst Fellowship and New Leaders Council.

About the Leadership Luncheon Series

The Leadership Luncheon Series connects early- to mid-career professionals with the influential leaders shaping Milwaukee’s future. These fast-moving, 60-minute conversations are designed to deliver practical leadership lessons, local insight, and meaningful connection before sending you back into your workday energized and ready to lead.

Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce Events Newswire

FUEL Milwaukee Leadership Luncheon w/ Colleston Morgan, Jr. 9/24/2026 12:00 Noon - 9/24/2026 1:00 PM

Leadership Luncheon W/

Colleston Morgan, Jr. Executive Director, City Forward Collective

Colleston Morgan, Jr.
Executive Director, City Forward Collective