Our Staff

Adam Braatz is Imagine MKE's Executive Director and fearless leader in advocating for the role of arts and culture in our region to drive growth, improve the quality of life for all Milwaukeeans, and to help support Milwaukee's burgeoning reputation as an arts destination. In his role, Adam is is charged with leading the organization in forming and investing in partnerships across the arts, public and private sector, contributing to strategic content to shift the demystify the elemental role of the arts in driving economic growth, supporting and developing programming that convenes, attracts, and helps to retain the creative talent workforce by connecting them to development opportunities. He's also focused on empowering the IMKE staff to grow and contribute their talents in meaningful ways. 

Before Imagine MKE: a native of Sun Prairie, Wisconsin, Adam Braatz has served in numerous nonprofit, government, and private industry leadership roles. He holds a Bachelor of the Arts in Music from the University of Wisconsin -- Eau Claire, a Master’s in Arts Nonprofit Development & Program Management from the University of Denver, and a Master’s in Business Administration from the Fox School of Business at Temple University. As a former professional touring musician and music educator, the arts have been foundational to his life and career.

After completing his undergraduate studies, Adam auditioned for the United States Air Force band program and began performing internationally with a variety of ensembles. In his travels he witnessed firsthand the connective, diplomatic, and healing power of the arts—a mission that had an indelible impact on his professional future. He later joined the prestigious Military Training Instructor Corps and taught at Air Force Basic Military Training.

Adam has worked almost exclusively in the nonprofit ecosystem since leaving the military. His written work has been published in a variety of traditional and digital mediums, and he is a frequent guest speaker at conferences and seminars throughout the country. He currently resides in Greendale with his wife Kate, stepdaughters Chloe and Calla, son Phineas, and dog Widgie. Adam's hobbies include hanging out with his family, playing piano, procrastinating on house projects, and obsessively scrolling through grants.gov. Do you have big ideas for the future of arts, culture, and the creative economy in the Greater Milwaukee area? Contact Adam at abraatz@imaginemke.org -- he's always up for a coffee meeting!

Elisabeth is Imagine MKE's Marketing and Communications Manager. In this role, she is a key storyteller and advocate for the work of Imagine MKE. She supports the building of partnerships within the Milwaukee arts landscape through designing visual communications and collaborative events geared towards creatives and arts supporters. Elisabeth oversees the organization's strategic communications, as well as media channels including the amplifier newsletter and social pages, while developing content and messaging across all platforms. She produces, edits and hosts the Creative MKE podcast. 

Elisabeth is a freelance writer, a Bay View resident, and a volunteer and committee Vice President for the South Shore Farmers' Market. She is also a visual artist and musician, and brings to Imagine MKE passion, knowledge and connections from within the cultural landscape. 

Contact Elisabeth at egasparka@imaginemke.org to: share a lead on a story that highlights Milwaukee being a world-class arts and culture destination, learn about how you can collaborate with IMKE, talk communication strategy, share your perspective on Milwaukee's arts and culture renaissance, meet up at a concert or exhibition, or watch doggies together at the South Shore Farmers' Market from a picnic blanket.  

Before Imagine MKE: Elisabeth was the Development Officer for Membership at the Milwaukee Art Museum, where she worked at the intersection of art, arts administration, and the public, serving a membership base of over 20,000 households. She was responsible for contributing to the voice of the institution’s membership program in everything from solicitation messaging, to the monthly member newsletter, Member Insights. She created and led dynamic events and cultural excursions, and was a point person for and connector of the programming of the institution for members up through the Director’s Circle level of membership. Prior to serving at the Milwaukee Art Museum in progressive development positions, Elisabeth was an Advancement Associate at the John Michael Kohler Arts Center in Sheboygan.  

Through previous roles, Elisabeth gained experience in marketing, writing press releases, and arts and culture journalism. Elisabeth has a BA in Visual Art from Oberlin College and a MS in Communication from Northwestern University.  

Jazmine joins Imagine MKE as our Operation’s Coordinator, a role in which she supports the overall organization by strengthening our administrative systems, coordinating our internal and external workflow, and helping to further nurture and expand our network within Milwaukee, and beyond. In this role, she is a vital link in the Imagine MKE chain, serving to “connect the dots” between creatives, organizations, initiatives, and other resources to support our ever-thriving arts community. 

Before Imagine MKE: After living in Dallas and Los Angeles, Jazmine returned home to Milwaukee after six years and most recently served as the Administrative Coordinator for Nō Studios - a Milwaukee-based event venue and coworking space - where she managed day-to-day office operations, membership support and engagement, events, and other various administrative support tasks. Additionally, she is one-half of C&B Creative, a local creative consulting company, which she founded in 2012 with longtime friend and business partner, Kayla Green. Together, through C&B, they produce creative arts events, support dozens of artists and creatives (local and across the country) and provide several services such as creative brand consulting, set design and staging, event planning, project management, and more. 

Through other previous roles, Jazmine has gained over 10 years of experience in sales, marketing and communications, client relations and retail management. She prides herself on being a multi-hyphenate creative, with skills in photography, web and graphic design, content creation and visual art. Jazmine has a BA in Communication (Public Relations) from Marquette University.  

Contact Jazmine at jholifield@imaginemke.org to: learn more about the ways you can get plugged in to Imagine MKE's work, or to share info about creators and community events you think we should know about!