Daniel J. Bader

President/CEO

Dan is the visionary leader and architect of the Foundation’s philanthropic giving in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and around the world. Dan was the founding CEO of the Helen Bader Foundation in 1992. He works closely with the Board of Directors to set the organizational direction and long-term strategies which guide the Foundation’s goals and culture. He serves on several local, national and global boards and committees which broaden his perspective on how the Foundation can transform lives though its grantmaking, program related investments and convenings. Dan’s board appointments include: Greater Milwaukee Committee for Community Development, Relief International and Rogers Behavioral Health System. Among his private sector directorships, he is a director of Generation Growth Capital, Inc., a Milwaukee-based private equity firm that invests in mature businesses in low-to-moderate income communities. He has also served as a director of a number of emerging technology and life science firms, and he is currently a director of Materia, Inc., a Pasadena, California-based advanced catalyst company. He holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the Rochester Institute of Technology. In 2006, the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee conferred an honorary doctor of humane letters degree in recognition of his efforts to improve the quality of life in the city. In 2019, Cardinal Stritch University conferred a doctor of humane letters, honoris causa degree, in recognition of his daily commitment to active engagement and an enduring investment in educational and social justice programs that cultivate the minds and hearts of all people.