As Milwaukee Public Schools' communications director Roseann St. Aubin announces her departure, we offer a fond farewell.
Like most of you, I first "met" St. Aubin when she was a local broadcast news personality. After stints in the Department of City Development and working for then-Mayor John Norquist, St. Aubin moved to MPS, where she's been for nearly a decade now.
"Our time together was marked with many snowy mornings, many long nights at Board meetings, hundreds of school events and countless student interviews," said St. Aubin in a statement.
"I'm excited for the change in my life, but I will deeply miss the MPS administration team, especially Superintendent Gregory Thornton. It has been a pleasure to serve in support of a leader so deeply committed to making good things happen for Milwaukee children and their families."
I first met St. Aubin in person at MPS and I will miss talking to her and seeing her on a regular basis. She's always been fair, open and friendly to me and has always been not only willing, but eager to explain complex issues and to connect me with folks in the district who could be of assistance in writing about MPS.
She's been encouraging – and sometimes downright enthusiastic, too – as I've been writing a book about Milwaukee schoolhouses.
St. Aubin's been talking of retiring for a while, but, still, I was a little surprised when I heard her retirement was now imminent. Her last day in the office will be tomorrow, July 27.
Denise Callaway will move into St. Aubin's position on an interim basis.
Good luck to her. We'll miss you, Roseann.
Born in Brooklyn, N.Y., where he lived until he was 17, Bobby received his BA-Mass Communications from UWM in 1989 and has lived in Walker's Point, Bay View, Enderis Park, South Milwaukee and on the East Side.
He has published three non-fiction books in Italy – including one about an event in Milwaukee history, which was published in the U.S. in autumn 2010. Four more books, all about Milwaukee, have been published by The History Press.
With his most recent band, The Yell Leaders, Bobby released four LPs and had a songs featured in episodes of TV's "Party of Five" and "Dawson's Creek," and films in Japan, South America and the U.S. The Yell Leaders were named the best unsigned band in their region by VH-1 as part of its Rock Across America 1998 Tour. Most recently, the band contributed tracks to a UK vinyl/CD tribute to the Redskins and collaborated on a track with Italian novelist Enrico Remmert.
He's produced three installments of the "OMCD" series of local music compilations for OnMilwaukee.com and in 2007 produced a CD of Italian music and poetry.
In 2005, he was awarded the City of Asti's (Italy) Journalism Prize for his work focusing on that area. He has also won awards from the Milwaukee Press Club.
He has be heard on 88Nine Radio Milwaukee talking about his "Urban Spelunking" series of stories, in that station's most popular podcast.
