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. For more information, go here.
Katherine Charlton has worked as an attorney at Hawks Quindel since 2005. Her practice areas include employment law representing employees, family law and fair housing law.
Charlton is the current program co-chair of the State Bar of Wisconsin "Annual Employment Law Update" and has served as the chair of the Legal Assistant Committee of the State Bar of Wisconsin, as a board member for the ACLU, Collaborative Family Law Council of Wisconsin, Association for Women Lawyers and more.
Charlton's level of fairness and compassion make her an integral part of the justice system and she has deeply affected many individual's and families' lives for the better. In short, she is one rad Milwaukee woman.
OnMilwaukee: What is your personal "mission" with the work that you do?
Katherine Charlton: My professional "mission" broadly is to use the skills and training I have as a lawyer to improve access to justice. I use empathy and problems solving skills with my clients who are often facing significant life challenges like losing their jobs, facing a divorce or other painful family crisis or experiencing discrimination at work or in their living situation.
I use those same skills in the broader community to provide pro bono legal services to those who cannot otherwise afford them, by representing individuals in family law matters and staffing a pro se family law clinics and participating in a State Bar online legal advice service, all in an attempt to improve the access to justice of people of more limited means.
What does success mean to you?
"Success" is a process to me, not a goal with a measurable end. "Success" means embracing and enjoying the challenge to learn so I can contribute to the world around me, each day.
Who have you learned from the most?
I learned to think critically from my college professors, to see the world in many dimensions from my mentors in various work settings and humility and kindness from my friends and family. In recent years, I’ve developed a passion for theater and art because they reveal nuances about people and how to live as an active citizen in new and exciting ways.
What would you like to see change for women in the workforce?
The quest for "work/life balance" continues. The challenge for women to strike the balance that works for them would be improved if we removed the significant barriers that remain, including the disparity between wages for men and women, providing affordable child care, improving workplaces to decrease, and someday eliminate, workplace harassment and discrimination, improve leave policies, and provide better mentoring for women so we break the remaining glass ceilings, particularly for women of color .
If we do so, we will improve not only the quality of the lives of women in the workforce, but also their families and friends.
What does a "perfect" day off from work include for you?
Engaging in physical activity outside with my dogs and friends, appreciating their company and the beauty of nature around us, grounds me, brings me great joy and is thus a "perfect" day.
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.
