The Dolphin Pool, an entrepreneur pitch contest which has been going on for the past 5 years, has a rich and collaborative alumni network. Here what previous alumni are saying and where they are now.

Enjoy this wonderful recap of Riverworks Week 2019. 10 events, including a Pop-Up Cafe, The Dolphin Pool: An Entrepreneur Pitch Contest, The 4th Annual BID Awards, The Inventors Circus, Creative District ALIVE!, and The Beerline Trail 5K Run/Walk!

The Greater Milwaukee Committee (GMC), in partnership with the City of Milwaukee, Riverworks Development Corporation and BID (Riverworks), Harambee Great Neighborhood Initiative (HGNI), Wisconsin Women’s Business Initiative Corporation (WWBIC), MKE-LAX, and local artists, designers, and cultural leaders, are collaborating on the Beerline Trail Neighborhood Development Project in the Riverworks area of the Harambee and Riverwest neighborhoods. In connection with the newly completed Beerline Trail Extension, we are growing a new public linear park in a prior railroad corridor of a disinvested neighborhood in connection with the existing Beerline Trail. Our goal is to publicly identify Riverworks as a hub for artists, makers, and other entrepreneurs. We are building new accessways to the park and the neighborhood as a public expression of our focus on equity. With our Beerline Trail Neighborhood Development Project, our intention is to sustain and enrich the lives of people in Harambee and Riverwest by promoting health, well-being and prosperity through increased circulation of resources, voices, ideas, labor and creativity. The Guiding Lenses are values we focus on in our work and include Neighborhood Safety, Neighbor Engagement, Health and Wellness, Youth Leadership, Linear Park and Green Space, Respecting Identity, Creative Entrepreneurship, and Value Properties.

Video by James Carlson

A quiet, strong leader, Darryl Johnson has a life-long personal commitment to improving Milwaukee’s neighborhoods. Darryl began in 1985 at the Parkside Housing Cooperative, later running the City of Milwaukee’s Urban Homestead Program and the Lisbon Avenue Neighborhood Development Corporation. In 2003, he became executive director of the Riverworks Economic Development Corporation — a homecoming for Darryl. Riverworks is deeply rooted in the Harambee neighborhood, where Darryl grew up and is still deeply rooted. Under Darryl’s leadership, Riverworks has become a major force for community and economic development on Milwaukee’s north side, embarking on major commercial and residential real estate development projects, and economic development programs that bring new businesses and to help people prepare for and secure jobs. Additionally, Riverworks has grown to respond to neighborhood needs, expanding into resident engagement and community safety. Darryl also helped create Riverworks’ Neighborhood Ambassador Program, which has helped over 50 young people gain job experience, focusing on youth aged out of foster care. In 2015, Darryl helped secure a major national grant from the Kresge Foundation for the Beerline Recreational Trail. This catalyzed the ARTery project and an expansion of the trail to further connect the Harambee and Riverwest neighborhoods.