Event details
🗓️ Date: Friday, April 18th
⏰ Time: 8:30 – 10:00 AM
📍 Location: South Second – 838 S 2nd St, Milwaukee, WI
🎟️ Tickets are FREE!

All about Raven Stevenson

Raven Stevenson is a Columbia, SC native, Duke alum, and Navy veteran passionate about empowering communities through technology, education, and impactful storytelling. After over eight years of service as a Surface Warfare Officer, Raven transitioned her leadership and technical expertise into the civilian world, where she now works as a Business Intelligence & Analytics Designer at Molson Coors. She also serves as the Midwest Region Vice President for BDPA, a non-profit diversifying tech talent since 1975, and as Treasurer for HR-4U, advocating for living wages.

Throughout her career, Raven has championed Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion initiatives and developed strategies with lasting impact—from revising the Naval Science curriculum at Morehouse College to mentoring future leaders. As a licensed spiritual teacher through the Universal Foundation for Better Living (UFBL), she shares principles of self-empowerment and practical spirituality to inspire purposeful living.

A creative problem-solver, Raven blends analytical thinking with artistic expression. In her free time, she enjoys volunteering, staying active, creating music, freelance marketing, and fostering meaningful connections.

All about Nia Love

Nia Love is a Baltimore-born, Atlanta-raised leader who brings warmth, authenticity, and humor to every space she enters. Guided by values of integrity, advocacy, empathy, equity, and prosperity, Nia is passionate about creating opportunities for others while building a legacy rooted in generational wealth and success. She currently works as a Senior Tax Technology Analyst at Molson Coors, leveraging her diverse professional experiences working in Human Resources, Education, Insurance, law enforcement, and IT to solve complex challenges and drive positive outcomes.

In addition to her professional work, Nia serves as Vice President of Internal Operations for the Milwaukee chapter of BDPA (Black Data Processing Associates), an organization dedicated to diversifying tech talent since 1975. Having personally benefited from BDPA’s mission, Nia is committed to mentoring others and helping them define and achieve their own version of success.

With a Bachelor’s Degree in Criminal Justice from Valdosta State University and a Master’s Degree in Secondary Education from Grand Canyon University, Nia blends analytical expertise with her passion for equity and empowerment. Outside of work and community service, Nia is learning to play the drums and enjoys music, poetry, sports, and escape rooms.

Our theme for April is CROSSROADS.

It was chosen by our Wroclaw chapter in Poland, illustrated by Joanna Gniady, and is presented by Adobe. 

We all reach turning points in life that change the course of our destiny. Should you break up or give your relationship another chance? Accept that job offer or strike out on your own? 

What’s the best way to go? Continue straight ahead? Or turn left? When you’re faced with a crucial decision, there’s no map that shows where the consequences lead. And sometimes, you only recognize a crossroads when you see it in the rearview mirror. No wonder that in folklore and mythology, crossroads represent a gateway between our mortal coil and the supernatural realm. An in-between place of transition, where worlds collide, and anything can happen next. Legend has it that the greatest blues guitarist in the world, Robert Johnson, met the devil at the crossroads of two dirt roads at midnight and struck a bargain to trade his everlasting soul for masterful skill. But there was no deal with the devil. In reality, he practiced like hell.So, how do you decide which way to go next? Just pick what feels right. Because there’s no wrong choice. Only different journeys to where you’re meant to be.

Photo + directions by John December

About South Second

A Milwaukee staple since 1976, Saz’s Hospitality Group offers versatile catering from quick corporate luncheons for 25 and elegant formal galas for 400, to festival concessions for groups topping 25,000. Their dedicated venue, South Second, is a modern and industrial event space minutes from the heart of downtown Milwaukee. This versatile indoor space combined with a newly renovated patio and outdoor bar offers endless possibilities for customization, so you can create your event, your way.

Public Transit

The Milwaukee County Transit System (MCTS) bus routes 15, 18, 20, and Green stop northeast of South Second on South 1st Street at National Avenue.  For details, see RideMCTS.com.

📸+🚌 Thank you John December for capturing this for us!

🎶🎵 DJ Jim Q’s Playlist + Blog Post

Through this theme, we will explore the sonic intersections of consequential choice, uncertainty, direction, divergence, and delineation. The crossroads, as a metaphor, has symbolically represented key moments of truth, critical choices, and meaningful turning points. So, select a sonic path and follow your ears—fear not travelers, all roads lead to listening fulfillment.

The crossroads has traditionally had an allegorical role in American music. The legends and folklore surrounding the liminal power of the crossroads are deeply woven into the mysticism and myth surrounding early blues and, subsequently, rock and roll. The origin of this fantastical fable seems to be from the tale of one pioneering bluesman, Robert Johnson. As legend has it, Johnson made a pilgrimage to a crossroads somewhere in rural Mississippi, where he met the devil himself, and in exchange for unearthly musical abilities, he sold his soul to the dark prince. Fellow bluesman Son House remarked on Johnson’s dramatic transformation, saying he “went away” and came back playing like he was possessed. Variations of the story have since become part of blues and rock ‘n’ roll lore. What a great tall tale—it has all the classic ingredients of a parable. I like to think of it more as a metaphor for the sacrificial pursuit of genius at the expense of one’s well-being. Many a driven artist intimately knows the burden of ambition and the price paid for eschewing traditional paths to follow creative pursuits.

Which path to travel? Which direction to go? This month, we meet at the juncture of music and destiny. The theme is Crossroads, and these sonic intersections will lead you down a path of musical fulfillment. From FKA Twigs’ indecisive “which way to go” to the determination of Blondie’s “One Way or Another” to Gang Starr’s rally to overcome in the “Moment of Truth,” these songs highlight critical decisions, points of consideration, and a chosen path. Whichever trail you tread you’ll have a great soundtrack to score your journey.

Milwaukee Magazine: People to Know: 47 Movers, Shakers, & Policy Makers

Our chapter hit the stands in this month’s April issue of Milwaukee Magazine! Co-hosts Annie Werner & Kelly Winarski were interviewed alongside Corry Joe Biddle of FUEL Milwaukee and Ranell Washington of Social X on the topic of networking in Milwaukee.

CreativeMornings is a symphonic effort. 💖 We want to thank our rad team of volunteers who make our chapter worth writing about. Thank you to our community partners & all who took part in our inaugural annual fundraiser last November. You not only elevate the caliber of our events but you help to ensure our events remain FREE for all to attend. Thank you to our keynote speakers, 30 Second Pitchers, & Performance Artists for braving the stage and allowing us to celebrate you.

And to our CM community: We love you and we’re so jazzed you keep showing up, forging connections, and waking up early!

Raising our mugs to you today & always! See you soon☕️👋

Did you know the #1 way people learn about CreativeMornings/Milwaukee is through their friends? 

This month, we invite you to forward this email to a friend. Invite them to sign-up for our newsletter & register for this event with you!

We can’t wait to see you and your buds, pour out some more coffee, and expand our circle of morning people.