Sometimes, the personal stories of public officials can be self-serving and just plain not interesting. But sometimes they can be insightful and compelling, saying important things about the individuals, the work they do, and life more broadly.
Two recent “Get to Know” programs at Marquette Law School, hosted by Derek Mosley, director of the Lubar Center for Public Policy Research and Civic Education, were definitely in the latter category. Each spotlighted a person who holds an important job. But the biography of each – and their life stories are very different — says a lot about the character of Milwaukee and the challenges the city faces.
Aaron Lipski, chief of the Milwaukee Fire Department, spoke with Mosley on Oct. 9, 2025. He has been in the news often in recent times, including for his strong advocacy of putting sprinklers in older apartment buildings in the light of fatal fires and for his call for the Milwaukee city budget to sharply increase spending on new trucks and equipment for the fire department.
But his personal story was the focus of this program – and it is, shall we say, such a Milwaukee story. Lipski said he is the nineteenth person in his family to serve in the fire department, going back almost the entire 150-year history of the department. His father, his grandfather, his great-grandfather, his brother – they were all fire fighters. In his earlier years, Lipski had other goals in life. He was enthusiastic about becoming a musician, for one thing. But when it “real life time,” as he put it, he took other paths, which led to joining the department in 1998. He has served in every rank in the department and has been chief since 2020.
His dedication to the department was clear in his descriptions of what firefighters do, including how they respond to the situations they face, from routine medical calls to major fires. Firefighters, he said, are trained to “step outside the norm,” solve problems and quickly do what a situation calls for. “You can’t have paralysis by analysis” when you’re dealing with an emergency, he said. He spoke passionately about the work and about people, including politicians from outside Milwaukee, who don’t understand Milwaukee, its realities and its needs.
As much as Lipski’s story is in line with the long history of people who perform public service for Milwaukee, Adam Procell’s story is one of a kind. He was recently appointed director of the city’s Office of Community Wellness and Safety (previously known as the office of violence prevention). One reason the appointment was controversial was because Mayor Cavalier Johnson rejected three people who had been recommended by a committee for the job and picked Procell. A second reason was that Procell served 23 years in prison for taking part in a murder in Milwaukee when he was 15.
In a conversation with Mosley on Oct. 21, 2025, Procell told the story of his childhood and how he got involved as a teen in gangs, which led to his participation in the murder. Since his release, he has become a leader in efforts in Milwaukee and beyond to reduce violence and to help people being released from incarceration get on better tracks in life.
Procell said it is difficult for him to walk into rooms where everyone knows his background. But he is committed to the work, in large part because of what he has learned in his life, including his time in prison. He said, “Hurt people hurt people,” so one key to anti-crime work is to help people deal with trauma, as well as to help people who have been victims of crimes, as well as the families of people who have been victims.
He said, “I am giving every single ounce of strength I have” to try to stop crime and to find paths for people to deal with issues in their lives without resorting to violence. “I think our city is in trouble,” he said. “I don’t think we fully grasp how deep it is.”
The two one-hour programs may be viewed by clicking here for the Lipski conversation and here for the Procell conversation.
Adam Procell, director of the city of Milwaukee office of community wellness and safety