Milwaukee Business Journal: UPAF's Scobey-Polacheck lifts souls through arts advocacy
Annemaree Scobey-Polacheck, United Performing Arts Fund
KENNY YOO/MBJ
Annemarie Scobey-Polacheck had little experience with the arts before taking over as CEO of the United Performing Arts Fund in September.
What she brought to the table was a long history in the philanthropic space, with years spent heading up Johnson Controls’ community involvement activity — including working with UPAF.
But even though Scobey-Polacheck’s on-stage experience is limited to a Dominican High School production of “Our Town,” the Whitefish Bay native understands the power the arts can have.
She witnessed this firsthand when her youngest daughter, Jamilet, starred in a Dominican production of the musical “Aida” in 2021.
Going into rehearsals, her daughter was on the shyer side, Scobey-Polacheck said — but the experience let her emerge into a more confident person.
That’s something Scobey-Polacheck wishes more kids could have.
“What that role, that opportunity and that experience gave to Jamilet can be, and is, multiplied all over Milwaukee through all types of arts,” Scobey-Polacheck said. “It gives kids confidence, a sense of belonging, a sense of mission. That reinforced my connection and commitment to the arts, and (is) why I am where I am now.”
Where she is now is leading one of the country’s largest performing arts funds, an organization with 14 member groups focused on raising millions of dollars and promoting the arts as a regional asset.
The path that brought her here has been winding since the beginning.
Her background and childhood aspirations had been to teach. After earning a degree in elementary education at Marquette University, she taught in Milwaukee and Chicago and then pivoted to freelance writing after starting a family in the early 2000s.
Then, her passion for service brought her to Johnson Controls, first as a contracted project manager helping run the company’s fundraising campaigns.
From there, Scobey-Polacheck turned that role into a full-time job and eventually became director of corporate philanthropy, a role she served in from March 2018 to July 2024.
Then came an unexpected coffee invitation last summer from Deanna Tillisch, who had led UPAF from 2011 to 2020. During their meeting, Tillisch suggested Scobey-Polacheck apply for the CEO role left vacant when Patrick Rath stepped down in March 2024.
At first, Scobey-Polacheck said, she wasn’t interested: She was happy at Johnson Controls.
But as she heard more, she started to see an opportunity. The UPAF role would be a combination of her entire career: educating the public, fundraising and nonprofit service for the community.
“What I began to see was a chance to really engage with and be in the Milwaukee community,” Scobey-Polacheck said. “I believe in the arts’ ability to transform us, to call us to something that’s bigger than ourselves, to teach us to think differently and share experiences with one another.”
UPAF has 14 member organizations, including six cornerstone groups. It also provides funding for a varying number of smaller organizations.
Bolstering the organization’s fundraising efforts will be a major focus.
UPAF raised $9.2 million for its 2024 campaign, down from about $10.6 million in 2023 and $10.7 million in 2022.
Advocacy work requires a proactive approach, according to Scobey-Polacheck. To reverse the fundraising decline, she plans to send herself and her team to more businesses in the area — something the last campaign missed without a leader at the helm. The hope is to put a face to the organization, help set up office campaigns and reconnect businesses and businesspeople to the city’s arts organizations. This will also require uniting the UPAF organizations to help one another and advocate at the state level.
That work begins now, with Scobey-Polacheck having officially kicked off this year’s campaign during an event at the Skylight Music Theatre in February — her first public event as head of the organization.
“It won’t be an easy road,” Tillisch said. “But, Annemarie’s positivity and passion and ability to navigate situations will be a tremendous asset to UPAF. She has the qualities that don’t let anything bring her down. She perseveres and she is resilient. Her tenacity will lead her to overcome whatever obstacles are currently before her.”
Driving her leadership so far is a quote from Pablo Picasso: “Art washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life.”
It’s what brought her daughter out of her shell years ago.
Getting people back to shows, she knows they will feel transformed as well.
“We all have something that needs to be wiped and souls that need to be lifted up,” Scobey-Polacheck said. “This position, my new team, allows us to be soul wipers to lift up the arts. A performance takes you out of your own world for a minute and helps you see a new perspective. That’s the value of art and the work we celebrate.”
About Annemarie Scobey-Polacheck
- Organization: United Performing Arts Fund
- Title: President and CEO
- Age: 56
- Education: B.A. in writing-intensive English and elementary education at Marquette University
- Hometown: Whitefish Bay
- Residence: Glendale
- Family: Husband (Bill), and four kids, Jacob, Liam, Teenasia and Jamilet
- Hobbies: Running, books, camping, hiking and now going to performances all the time
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