Women's History
The Women’s History Milwaukee initiative will highlight seven iconic local figures in history—one each day over the course of a week. During this informational campaign, photos and facts about the women of Milwaukee’s history will be featured on this page, and these same informational vignettes will also run regularly during City Channel programming.
Florence Hanna Dukes
Florence Hanna Dukes passed away after a brief illness on August 20, 2023. She was surrounded by her loving daughters, sons-in-law, grandchildren, and friends. She moved to Milwaukee in 1971 and quickly became involved in the community. After obtaining a master’s degree at Cardinal Stritch University, she held several senior roles in City administration. These include Employee Benefits Director, Deputy of Employee Relations, and Safety Director of the Milwaukee Police Department. Mrs. Dukes was also Manager of Career Planning and Staff Development at Milwaukee Area Technical College. Over the years, she was a member of many organizations including The Links, Inc., Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority, Inc., and was a longtime parishioner at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church. She is survived by daughters Karlicia Dukes Gilbert (Martin) and Enica Dukes Russell (Jason), and grandchildren Madison, Logan, and Emory.
Dr. Valerie Daniels-Carter
Dr. Valerie Daniels-Carter is a Milwaukee native has been involved in business opportunities for over 40 years. She graduated from Lincoln University in Missouri and has a MBA from Cardinal Stritch University. During her school years, she developed a love of basketball that culminated in her being drafted by the Milwaukee Does in the Women’s Professional Basketball League. She merged her history in basketball and involvement in business in 2014 by joining the prominent group of Black leaders in Milwaukee called Partners for Community Impact and by joining the new Milwaukee Bucks ownership group. This is in addition to being an Executive Board member for the Green Bay Packers since 2011. Dr. Daniels-Carter is the only Black woman in the Bucks ownership group, but she is used to being a trailblazer in the field of business, a field dominated historically by white men. She has tried to use her success to create a path for those in Africa by funding wells, an orphanage, and medical clinic. This culminated in the 2017 establishment of a women’s empowerment program.
Patricia Luévano Mayorga
Patricia works at Sixteenth Street Community Health Centers as a Community Health Leadership Coordinator and as a leadership development coordinator for Lideres Por la Salud. Through her past and present occupations, she has worked to narrow the gap of health disparities across different community groups that live in the south side of Milwaukee. Patricia has assisted in the implementation of various community initiatives such as the south side Biking, Walking, and Exercise Community clubs, nutrition and cooking education in schools, and community engagement activities for the new Washington Bike Boulevard. Patricia has a bachelor’s degree in education from Mexico, where she worked for several educational institutions advocating for improvements in schools and rural communities. Those who know her personally say the kindness and compassion radiate off of her and touch everyone she comes into contact with, and that the organizations she is a part of would not be what they are today without her hard work and passion.
Nickie Rouleau
Nickie Rouleau is a lifelong resident of Bay View who wears many hats in service to her community. Currently serving as the President of the Bay View Neighborhood Association, she helps to organize fan-favorite events including Chill on the Hill and the Bay View Classic Bike race. She loves being out in the community and meeting her neighbors. Since 2011, Nickie has also been spearheading the Bay View Bash near-zero waste street festival which has raised over $100,000 over the past decade for other local nonprofits right in the 53207 neighborhood. Some example projects include the restoration of the Pryor Street well, funding for scholarships for local students, improvements at the Second Hand Purrs Cat shelter and much more. Nickie's commitment to her community goes beyond organized events. Her compassion is evident in her volunteer work at St. Augustine Church and Larry Under the Bridge, where she directly supports those in need.
Nikki Purvis
Nikki Purvis, a lifelong Milwaukee resident, currently has the pleasure of serving as President and Chief Executive Officer of the African American Chamber of Commerce of Wisconsin, Inc., a non-profit membership organization that focuses on economic and business development of Black businesses. She has previously served as the inaugural chief equity officer for the City of Milwaukee, and was part of the City’s internal Democratic National Convention planning team. Throughout her career she has focused on allocating resources to small and underserved businesses in order to help them grow and succeed. This includes including these businesses in multimillion dollar development projects such as the Fiserv Forum or Northwestern Mutual Tower. Nikki is a graduate of Marquette University with a masters from Cardinal Stritch University, and an active member of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc.