Joel Brennan

Joel Brennan was born and raised in Wisconsin. He is one of 11 children. He attended Marquette University High School and graduated magna cum laude from Marquette University with a bachelor's degree in English. He later earned a master's degree in Public Policy from the University of Chicago's Harris School of Public Policy. Brennan and his wife, Audra, have two children.^[3]

Early in his career, Brennan managed campaigns for former Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett and led the Milwaukee Redevelopment Authority under Barrett. He worked in government relations at Miller Brewing Company and served as a vice president at the Greater Milwaukee Convention & Visitors Bureau.^[1] Brennan then spent over a decade as president and CEO of Discovery World, a science and technology museum on Milwaukee's lakefront.^[4]

In December 2018, Governor-elect Tony Evers nominated Brennan as secretary of the Wisconsin Department of Administration. He was confirmed unanimously by the Wisconsin State Senate in October 2019.^[5] As secretary, Brennan oversaw state budget negotiations with the Republican-controlled Legislature and was the lead state official in renegotiating the state's contract with Taiwanese electronics manufacturer Foxconn, reducing the maximum state tax credit exposure from $2.85 billion to $80 million.^[6][7]

In late 2021, Brennan announced he was leaving the Evers administration to become president of the Greater Milwaukee Committee, a Milwaukee business and civic organization.^[7]