Kathy Thornton-Bias, President & CEO

Kathy Thornton-Bias is the second female to lead Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Milwaukee since its founding in 1887 by Annabell Cook Whitcomb. She has had an extensive career at leadership positions at Saks Fifth Avenue, Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), Bang & Olufsen’s and the Verlo Mattress franchise.
Kathy serves on a number of boards including the Milwaukee Art Museum, JP Cullen’s Advisory Council and Versiti, Inc. She is also a member of the Greater Milwaukee Committee, the Metropolitan Milwaukee Chamber of Commerce, the Rotary Club of Milwaukee, and TEMPO Milwaukee. Additionally, she is a member The Links, Inc. Milwaukee Chapter. In early 2022, she was appointed by Governor Evers to serve on the State of Wisconsin’s Unemployment Advisory Council.
Kathy has received widespread recognition from several esteemed publications including Ebony Magazine, which placed her on their “Power 100” list, and Essence Magazine, which named her to their list of “Game Changers.” In 2021, she was recognized by the Milwaukee Business Journal with the Women of Influence award and was awarded “CEO of the Year” by the Wisconsin Area Council of Boys & Girls Clubs of America. In 2022, she was recognized with the “Gary Grunau Champion Award” by the Milwaukee Academy of Science (MAS). In 2023, Kathy was named one of Milwaukee Business Journal’s Power Brokers that recognizes the key movers and shakers in southeastern Wisconsin’s business community.
Kathy has a degree in communications from the University of Virginia and an MBA from New York University.