October 9, 2025October 9, 2025

2025 Business Equality Luncheon

October 9, 2025
11:00 am - 1:00 pm

Thursday, October 9th @ The Pfister Hotel

Registration & Networking Begins 11:00 AM

Doors Open 11:30 AM

Program Ends 1:00 PM

Click Here To Purchase Your Tickets Today

We are excited to welcome you this year to the Pfister Hotel for what promises to be another amazing event!

Our largest convening event of the year, the BEL celebrates and promotes southeastern Wisconsin as equal, inclusive and fair for all workers in the business community, with a focus on the LGBTQ+ communities.

The BEL is also an opportunity to highlight our recent recipients and growth of the Cream City Foundation LGBTQ+ Scholarship Program and we are exceptionally excited this year to present a panel of amazing leaders in our community who also happen to be Cream City Foundation scholarship recipients!

New this year are opportunities for small businesses in our area to join the BEL at a reduced price and bring viability to your support of workplace equity! Look out for more details soon!

We are honored to have the Pfister Hotel host us for this wonderful and important event. Last year we sold out so we have moved back to the Pfister Hotel ballroom to ensure anyone who wants to attend can join us!

Purchase Your Tickets and Sponsorships Online Here!

If you would like to register for a sponsorship and require an invoice or would like to pay via check – please contact us at hello@creamcityfdn.org.

Luncheon Menu

Lunch Salad – Gluten-free, Vegan & Vegetarian options available
Dessert
Coffee Service

2025 Emcee

Gerron Jordan – WISN

Gerron Jordan is an EMMY and Murrow award-winning journalist who joined WISN 12 in November 2021. You can see him anchoring 12 News This Morning weekdays, and co-hosting the statewide politics and public affairs program, UPFRONT, on Sundays.

A native of Chicago, he’s thrilled to now call Milwaukee home after spending the last decade telling stories across the south and Midwest. Gerron came to WISN 12 after two stints in Louisiana, the most recent included four years as the morning anchor at WVLA/WGMB in Baton Rouge. There, Gerron launched the station’s “Candid Conversations” series; reporting on issues like mass incarceration, environmental racism, and their disproportionate impacts on communities of color. His reporting on “cancer alley” was honored with a 2021 regional EMMY nomination.

Gerron is a proud member of the National Association of Black Journalists. He’s also a proud alum of Howard University in Washington, D.C., where he graduated with honors with his Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism.

Read Gerron’s full bio.

Feature Panelists

Panel Moderator – Trenice Ferguson – 2023 Scholarship Recipient

Trenice Ferguson, a proud Milwaukee native, joined the Cream City Foundation board in January 2025. She currently serves as the Director of Operations at the Community Development Alliance, a coalition advancing racial equity by ensuring quality, affordable housing for all Milwaukee residents.

With over a decade of experience in the nonprofit sector, Trenice has dedicated her career to housing advocacy for low-income neighborhoods of color, youth development programming, and fostering community engagement.

She served as an AmeriCorps member at College Possible Milwaukee and Public Allies Milwaukee. She has also served as a board member for the Milwaukee Gay Volleyball Association and as a mentor for LGBTQ+ youth and young adults.

Trenice holds a Master of Arts in Public Service from Marquette University, earned as a Trinity Fellow and a 2023 Cream City Foundation scholarship recipient, and a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design.

Lexy Lunger – 2023 Scholarship Recipient

Lexy Lunger (she/they/fae) is a bisexual, gender flexible woman of Uchinanchu and Japanese ancestry, and a survivor of violence. She returned to school in 2020, after a 15-year career as a tattoo artist, to become an LGBTQIA2S+ affirming mental health provider specializing in sexual trauma recovery and sexual health, grounded in a sex-positive framework and centering the experiences of the Global Majority. Lexy was awarded the Cream City Foundation Scholarship in 2023 while completing her Bachelor of Social Work at UW-Milwaukee, with minors in Sociology and Women’s and Gender Studies and a certificate in LGBTQ+ Studies.

Lexy currently serves as the Sexual Assault Advocate at HIR (Healing Intergenerational Roots) Wellness Institute, a women- and survivor-led nonprofit in Milwaukee that offers cost-free, comprehensive mental health services for Indigenous and historically underserved communities. She continues her academic journey as a graduate student in social work at UW-Milwaukee, completing her clinical field training at HIR Wellness Institute. Lexy is also a research assistant to Dr. Jane Hereth, contributing to queer- and trans-centered social work research.

Across all her work, Lexy is committed to healing, justice, and creating community-centered spaces where survivors and LGBTQIA2S+ folks can thrive.

Jay Roby – 2020 LGBTQ+ Scholarship Recipient

Dr. Justin “Jay” Roby is a passionate member of the Milwaukee community. He currently holds a Ph.D. from Tiffin University and a BA and MS from Concordia University of Wisconsin. As a high school mathematics educator by day, Jay uses his passion for math and ability to build strong relationships to help scholars unlearn their distaste for math. While the 2024-25 school year was his inaugural, he also had 20 years of nonprofit experience with increasing magnitude from front line service to board service. His work covers public health, youth development, the arts, finance, and human resources.

In his pastime, Jay enjoys traveling, being with family, geocaching, and being in service to community. He serves as a mentor, committee member, and advocate. He practices a mixture of Authentic and Servant leadership styles in the work he employs. He is a captivating storyteller and adept relationship builder. Jay has a tangibly positive energy and a thirst for knowledge, always ready to be a resource.

Paris Throne – 2024 LGBTQ+ Scholarship Recipient

Paris is a senior at Mount Mary University studying Biology and Mathematics, with minors in Biochemistry and Studio Arts. As an aspiring neuropathologist, she combines medical and legal interests with her work as a studio artist in ceramics and sketch, using creativity to shape her future in medicine. As an African American transgender woman and a Fall 2024 Cream City Foundation LGBTQ+ Scholarship recipient, Paris pursued transformative opportunities like studying abroad in Rome, Italy.

Paris is actively involved in policy changes at Mount Mary and helped establish PRISM, the LGBTQ+ student organization, alongside other passionate students. She also serves on the executive boards of TriBeta, the national science honor society, and as Vice President of the Black Student Union.

Currently, Paris is preparing to apply to master’s programs abroad in Art in Science or Art and Ecology in the Republic of Ireland, Margate, London, and Liverpool—a chance to grow and gain perspective before pursuing an MD/JD. These experiences inspire her commitment to advancing equity in education and the workforce, helping others thrive as their authentic selves.