Trailblazing Jackson State University alumna Dana World-Patterson has been nominated to lead the Milwaukee Fire and Police Commission! Get the full story from Elliot Hughes at the Milwaukee State Journal below.
Dana World-Patterson, a prominent local advocate for victims of human trafficking, has been nominated to replace Ann Wilson on Milwaukee’s Fire and Police Commission.
World-Patterson’s addition to the commission would provide the oversight body with “her understanding of crime victims and the role of public safety agencies in protecting vulnerable individuals,” Mayor Tom Barrett said in a statement.
The nomination will continue an exodus of commissioners who unanimously voted to ouster former Police Chief Alfonso Morales in the summer of 2020 — a legally dubious move that cost taxpayers $627,000 in settlement payments.
Of the seven commissioners who participated in that vote, Wilson is one of three who still retains her seat. The others, Vice-Chair Everett Cocroft and Fred Crouther, have terms that continue into 2024.
Barrett initially nominated Wilson for another term earlier this year, but the Milwaukee Common Council rejected her confirmation on a 9-6 vote in March.
The Fire and Police Commission serves as the oversight body for Milwaukee’s fire and police departments, and wields authority in personnel and operational matters.
Commission rules permit Wilson to remain on the board until her replacement is confirmed. She participated in the unanimous vote to confirm Jeffrey Norman as Morales’ successor last week.
Wilson has been on the commission since 2013.
World-Patterson is the chair of the Human Trafficking Task Force of Greater Milwaukee and the founder and CEO of Foundations for Freedom, a nonprofit that focuses on preventing human trafficking an supporting victims.
“I am excited and honored to serve the city of Milwaukee on the Fire and Police Commission. The opportunity to lift my voice to ensure a more responsive and effective city government is an important and weighty task,” World-Patterson said in a statement.
World-Patterson has also run a business teaching etiquette lessons since 1990, and it was through that enterprise that she became involved in the fight against human trafficking, according to the Foundations for Freedom website.
After noticing issues among the girls she was instructing, World-Patterson asked how many of them had ever been touched inappropriately and 14 out of 15 said they had, according to the website.
Foundations for Freedom was founded in 2014. World-Patterson is a graduate of Jackson State University and the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh.
