Welcome to a series introducing the women who were nominated by professionals and will be honored at "The Rad Women Celebration: Being Rad for Social Change." The event is hosted by the Women’s Fund of Greater Milwaukee and will take place on Thursday, Oct. 20 at the Italian Conference Center. The idea was inspired by the bestselling book "Rad American Women A to Z," by Kate Schatz, who is the keynote speaker at the event. More information at womensfundmke.org.
Carmen Pitre is the president and CEO of Sojourner, Wisconsin’s largest service provider for families dealing with domestic violence. Pitre leads a staff that provides crisis housing, system advocacy and individual support to thousands of women, men and their children.
Pitre is the recent past Chair of the City of Milwaukee Commission on Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault and was an appointed member of the State of Wisconsin Department of Justice Crime Victim Rights Board. She is the current Chair of the State of Wisconsin Department of Justice Violence Against Women Advisory Committee and a founding member of the VAWA Human Trafficking Sub-Committee. She has served on the Medical College of Wisconsin Violence Prevention Initiative Steering Committee.
Pitre exemplifies rad-ness through her work, relationships and her gratitude.
"I am honored to have been nominated to receive this recognition," she says.
OnMilwaukee: What is your personal "mission" with your work? What do you personally receive from the work you do?
Carmen Pitre: Having grown up in a violent family, my personal mission is to help as many people as I can in life. I understand, in a lived way, what it’s like to be hurt, to be broken open, to grieve and to find your way back from these dark places in life. If you have had any of these experiences, you understand that you can only make it through because you’ve had someone helping you along the journey.
I have had so many wonderful people in my life. People who refused to give up on me, who didn’t leave, who loved me and ensured that I had what I needed to keep moving forward. I want to be that kind of force in the lives of others. My mission in life is to hold a light for others who are walking their own path toward wholeness and to help them know that healing is possible.
How do you define success?
The definition of success has changed for me as I grow older. Success is less about the doing in life and more about being. I used to believe that success was about what I accomplished. While I value what I’ve been able to do, I now believe that success is much more about how I treat people and how I do what I do.
It’s the moments between people that matter most to me now. Success to me is learning how to stretch myself emotionally, how to lean more into the uncomfortable moments of my life, how I use those moments and emotions to make myself a better person and the connections I am able to build to other people.
Who has taught you the most in your life?
I’ve learned the most from my friends and family. The people who have been willing to walk with me, believe in me and stick with me are those who have taught me the true measure of life.
At the end of the road, I don’t think I’ll be asked about what I’ve done in my life. I think I’ll be asked about how I treated others, how I loved others, if I was able to be a little more tolerant and how I was able to help light the way for those walking the journey with me. The people who love me taught me the most about life.
How would you like to see the workplace change for women in the future?
I want women to believe that they can accomplish their wildest dreams and that they can accomplish whatever goal they’ve set for themselves and I would like workplaces that support and accommodate these dreams in the future.
Molly Snyder started writing and publishing her work at the age 10, when her community newspaper printed her poem, "The Unicorn.” Since then, she's expanded beyond the subject of mythical creatures and written in many different mediums but, nearest and dearest to her heart, thousands of articles for OnMilwaukee.
Molly is a regular contributor to FOX6 News and numerous radio stations as well as the co-host of "Dandelions: A Podcast For Women.” She's received five Milwaukee Press Club Awards, served as the Pfister Narrator and is the Wisconsin State Fair’s Celebrity Cream Puff Eating Champion of 2019.
