About Us

United Way of Greater Milwaukee announced changes to its Leadership Team at the Annual Meeting on February 16, 2010. 

Read the article in the Journal Sentinel

Read the article in the Business Journal

Improving Lives by Mobilizing Community Resources

We are committed to improving lives in our community. We provide for people's basic needs, we strengthen families, children and youth, and help individuals become self-sufficient. We also focus on the root causes of our community's most critical problems to break the cycle of poverty - the key to lasting change. We are a local organization run and governed by those living and working within this community. The dollars that are raised here stay here.

Our Leadership

Edward J. Zore - Chair, Board of Directors

Edward J. Zore is Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Northwestern Mutual, the largest direct provider of individual life insurance with over $1 trillion of individual life insurance in force and assets of more than $155 billion.

Trained as an economist, he joined Northwestern Mutual’s Investment Department in 1969 and held various investment positions over the next 28 years.  He served as chief investment officer from 1990 to 1998 and chief financial officer from 1995 to 1998.  In 1998 Zore moved from the investment area to lead the company’s life and disability income insurance operations.  He was elected to the company’s board of trustees effective February 1, 2000 and became the 16th president in the history of Northwestern Mutual on March 31, 2000.  He was named chief executive officer on June 1, 2001.

Ed Zore is a director of Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Company, Northwestern Investment Management Company, Northwestern Long Term Care Insurance Company, Northwestern International Holdings, Inc., Northwestern Mutual Series Fund, and the Northwestern Mutual Foundation. Zore also serves as chairman of the board of directors of the Russell Investment Group, Tacoma, Washington, a subsidiary of Northwestern Mutual.

Outside Northwestern Mutual, Zore is a member of the board of directors of Manpower Inc. of Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

In the insurance industry, Zore is a board member of the American Council of Life Insurers and a member of the Financial Services Roundtable.  Previously, he served on the Advisory Board of The American College Center for Ethics in Financial Services.   Beyond the insurance industry, he is a member of the Conference Board and the Advisory Board of the Yale Center for Corporate Governance and Performance.

Zore is actively involved in the Milwaukee community.  He is a past chairman of the Greater Milwaukee Committee, and a board member of Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin, Inc., Froedtert Health System, Medical College of Wisconsin, Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce, Milwaukee affiliate of the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation, Inc., United Performing Arts Fund, United Way, Wisconsin Policy Research Institute, and a Trustee of the YMCA of Metropolitan Milwaukee. In addition, he serves on the Advisory Board of the Zilber Neighborhood Initiative.

Born in Milwaukee in 1945, Zore received his B.S. and M.S. in economics from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

Mary Lou Young - President & CEO, United Way of Greater Milwaukee

Mary Lou Young joined United Way of Greater Milwaukee as chief operating officer in June 2009 after retiring from Rockwell Automation as director of Global Community Relations and secretary of its Charitable Corporation. During her 20-year tenure at Rockwell Automation, Young managed the corporation’s annual $7+ million worldwide philanthropy budget.

Under Young’s leadership, the Rockwell Automation Charitable Corporation implemented strategic philanthropy aligned with the company’s long-term strategic plan. This integrated approach focused funding on K-16 science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) programs to develop local talent and improve communities over time.

In 2004, Young was on the founding advisory committee for the Engineers & Scientists of Milwaukee’s STEM7 initiative, a regional collaboration to leverage and grow corporate support of and engage postsecondary institutions in a STEM pipeline through Milwaukee Public Schools (MPS). Six years later, over 40 engineering and science businesses and education partners are making meaningful progress by increasing educational opportunities for MPS students and creating a better prepared workforce for Greater Milwaukee.

In addition to her professional nonprofit experience, Young has a long history of philanthropy and volunteerism in Greater Milwaukee, including membership in United Way’s Tocqueville Society and extensive experience volunteering for United Way. She served on United Way’s campaign cabinet and is an active member of United Way’s Women’s Initiative. She also served on United Way’s Teen Pregnancy Prevention Oversight Committee, and was co-chair of the committee’s Teen Pregnancy Prevention Collaborative Fund which brought six organizations together to collectively invest in innovative programs to reduce teen pregnancy. The fund established $325,000 in new dollars to address Milwaukee’s teen pregnancy crisis – one of the root causes of cyclical poverty in our community.

In her role as COO, Young oversees United Way’s annual Community Campaign, including individual giving, major campaigns, healthcare, business partners and leadership initiatives, as well as business operations. During her short tenure at United Way, Young has been instrumental in securing new financial resources, including new money from local foundations totaling $350,000 and over $220,000 in new corporate support. In addition, her experience working for and with Fortune 500 companies helped her establish relationships with new high potential corporate and foundation partners.

Her commitment to the community includes serving on the board of trustees for The Public Policy Forum and on the board of directors for the Girl Scouts of Wisconsin Southeast; the Milwaukee Ballet Company; and the United Performing Arts Fund. She is a member of The Rotary Club of Greater Milwaukee; Milwaukee Women, Inc.; and a former member of Contribution’s Council of The Conference Board.  Additionally, she served on the Wisconsin Task Force on Arts and Creativity in Education.  

In 2006, Mary Lou completed the Management Development Program in Corporate Community Involvement at The Center for Corporate Citizenship at Boston College.

Mary Lou was raised in Rochester, Mich., where she attended Oakland University. She has been married to Harold Young, a retiree from the Northrop Grumman Corporation, for over 30 years.  They reside in River Hills.