
Jasmin Treske has joined Bader Philanthropies as a grants director, managing the foundation’s Community Matters portfolio.
“It can cover an array of things like clothing, food and water, physical health, shelter, housing, barriers to work, (and) mental health,” she said in an interview Friday. “Any nonprofits or organizations that are doing work to meet the basic needs of the community are items that I will review and take a look at.”
The new role seemed like a natural next step for Treske, 34, who’s spent the last few years leaning into community engagement and service.
She started her career as a part-time teller at Associated Bank and worked her way up.
“I was a single mom at the time and I needed a job. My friend opened the door through one of the grocery store banks years ago,” she said. “At that point, I had to make a decision. I could be really good at this and decide to perform as best as possible to get full time (employment), or I can look elsewhere. I chose to make the best of it.”
And make the best of it she did, eventually becoming an assistant manager and assistant vice president at Associated Bank in Racine, then community bank president at Waterstone Bank in Waukesha, and ultimately a high profile role with BMO’s equipment finance division, all while attending Milwaukee Area Technical College and UW-Milwaukee part time to earn a degree in 2018.
Meanwhile, she and husband Eric Treske, the head football coach at Wisconsin Lutheran College, were getting more involved in community service, especially in the Walker’s Point neighborhood, where Jasmin grew up. She started thinking about how she could have real impact in her professional life, which led to a career shift into the nonprofit sector. In 2021, she joined MKE Tech Hub Coalition, first as manager of tech programs and community outreach and later as director of early talent.
“I really enjoyed it,” she said. “I really enjoyed educating myself on the world of tech and learning about the new AI and all of that.”
The community service continued, as well.
“One thing led to another and in January of this year, we decided to plant a church in the (Walker’s Point) area,” she said. “This started with an idea. We started to take action, and it kind of wove into the decisions of my professional career and really leaning into, what does it mean to be in community and to walk alongside people who need the help.”
She started thinking about expanding her impact professionally, as well.
“At this point in my life, I want stability, and I don’t want to limit the reach to just tech,” she said.
Treske also serves on the board of City on a Hill, and executive director Art Serna heard that Bader Philanthropies, a family foundation that supports a wide range of nonprofits in Milwaukee and beyond, was hiring.
She joined the foundation two weeks ago as a grants director, where she evaluates applications and makes recommendations to the board and the Bader family, who make the ultimate funding decisions.
“Coming into this role, where our focus is just helping people meet the basic needs so that they can progress further, it truly is a perfect fit, and it complements everything that I believe in,” she said. “The (Bader) family is really focused on giving back in such a generous and meaningful way … they’re really strategic and they want to make a difference. If they see a need, they want to fill it and they want to make sure that the funds are being diversified across many different needs.”