Mike Crowley: The Zenquest of Leaders with Jess Ollenburg

Leading off Season 2B of our award-winning podcast is Mike Crowley! 

Today we’re talking about saving lives, giving hope, community impact, the passion for future endeavors, elected leadership, spectacular pets, 5-leaf clovers and so much more. We’re talking with Mike Crowley. Please find the show's landing page at: Michael Crowley: The Zenquest of Leaders with Jess Ollenburg — zenquest.online or https://www.zenquest.online/crowleypod.

Here’s a little background on today’s guest…

• Mike was named the CEO of the National Kidney Foundation of Wisconsin in January 2021 and during the same time, named the 2020 Waukesha Freeman “Citizen of the Year.”
• He has lived in the City of Waukesha for the past 33 years with his wife, Sherie, a dog, and a cat. They also have a horse, Ellie. Mike & Sherie have two grown children, Andy, and Marissa, and a grandson, Ford.
• Mike began his career in manufacturing after graduating from Ohio Valley Business College in East Liverpool, Ohio with a degree in business and accounting. He met his future wife, Sherie, in La Crescent, Minnesota and after several years there, they moved to Waukesha, Wisconsin.
• Prior to NKFW, Mike served for 2 years as the CEO of Habitat for Humanity of Waukesha County, having built 4 new homes, and rehabilitated 3 homes for seven families in need of affordable housing in the City of Waukesha.
• Prior to that, Mike worked in manufacturing in executive roles, primarily in the plastics industry for over 30 years.
• Mike also gives a lot of his time serving his community. He is a Waukesha County Board Supervisor in his 7th term, serving on several committees including Judiciary & Law Enforcement and Human Resources, and continues as Chairman of the Waukesha County Airport/Crites Field for the past 20 years.
• Mike has continued to serve on the Southeastern Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission as a Commissioner for the past 12 years, holding several leadership roles.
• Another nonprofit organization that is near and dear to him and his family, is the JDRF (Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation). Their son, Andy, was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes at age 2, now 27. Mike became very involved with JDRF, holding numerous leadership roles over the past 24 years, including Board President and State Leader for Government Relations. Mike also founded a bicycling “Ride to Cure Diabetes” for JDRF in La Crosse, WI 14 years ago. This ride brings hundreds from across the country and raises $2M a year for diabetes research.
• Nonprofit leadership, volunteering in the community, elected service to the community, and a passion for helping people and families through the years inspired Mike to take the leadership role at the National Kidney Foundation of Wisconsin. He is proud of the work that NKFW does to improve the health and well-being of individuals and families affected by kidney disease and increasing the availability of all organs for transplantation.