Milwaukee Athletic Club president Erickajoy Daniels wants the club to be more inclusive. How she's leading the transformation

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The Milwaukee Athletic Club has a perception problem. Many residents think of the downtown club as a place for business executives, politicians and attorneys to relive their glory days on the basketball court, grab a drink in the Elephant Room and network or gossip.  

It’s a place that the average city resident might feel is inaccessible to them.  

Erickajoy Daniels, the club's first Black female president, is working to change that feeling. 

Daniels took over as board president in June 2023 as the club was finishing a $62 million renovation. Her term lasts until 2025.  

For years the club was just for men. When women were allowed in, the women’s locker room was in the basement with fewer amenities than provided for men. 

“It was just enough for the women to have just enough,” Daniels said. 

The recent changes are much more than aesthetic, some are more purposeful like having men and women’s locker rooms on the same floor with the same amenities.  

The gym has been completely renovated. The lounge has been updated and there are conference rooms for people who work remotely. The apartments in the building are full of tenants and when one unit becomes available, there's no issue in finding someone to lease it to.

Developer J. Jeffers and Company owns the building valued at nearly $22 million and manages the tenant side of the building.

Daniels has worked in military research (“I would literally stress soldiers out and test their cognitive abilities.") the correctional system and healthcare.

“It shook my world to not make assumptions about people,” Daniels said. “I met inmates from so many different backgrounds and for so many different reasons of what brought them (to prison). Meeting a grandmother who was in prison because she was giving her grandson a safe place in the basement to have his meth lab.”  

She hopes the MAC changes will help drive membership, but beyond the work being done inside the building, Daniels wants the club to connect with other institutions and organization and have a greater presence in the city itself.  

Here is a conversation with Daniels, edited for length, on how she view’s the MAC’s role in Milwaukee: 

Would you say the renovation was a gamble on the club’s part? 

Daniels: I think it was. Any good investment is a gamble. One (change) was the shift of attention around the building. Because they were looking at this becoming a hotel. The pandemic comes and we’re like ‘Well, maybe not so much for hospitality.’  

And so gamble, yes, but also agility. How do we shift and pivot to what does the city still need and how do we get there? 

Floors seven through 11 we have residences. So you think about the full experience of the building, you’ve got engagement, you’ve got fitness, you’ve got connectivity, you’ve got lounge access and community, you’ve got residents, then you cap it off with the roof experience. And that’s where the dining is, that we want to make sure that we’re growing beyond where we are now. 

So that’s a long answer to say, it was a gamble. But the gamble is paying off. 

And to be president, what made you think ‘I can do this’? What made you want this job? 

Daniels: Good mentorship. And also a challenge. If this is an opportunity that has opened up and I feel like I can contribute and make a difference, and I can do it with the right savvy, I want to try.  

And can I make something better for my son.

Can the experience I had in a contained ballroom be his no matter where he is in the club. Are there people that I advocate for and what I do in my professional life that I want to be a voice for? Whether it’s women, people of color, people with different abilities, whether it’s people with different sexual orientations or gender identity. How can I shy away from that if the area is open? 

What are some of the challenges that the MAC faces now? 

Daniels: I think it’s recognizing or maximizing our opportunities. We really want to grow, we want to grow in number. We also want to grow in the richness of a culture that doesn’t let go. We have increased our membership number and our average age has gone down, I think it’s mid or high 40s. But I don’t want to lose, what I call, the gold in the club. 

I try to meet with older members people talk about the glory days. And they say 'I met so-and-so and we built a business together and we had an opportunity.' I don’t want to lose that. I want to have inter-generational transfer. 

I don’t want to risk us being this brand new, emerging club, and we lose the legacy knowledge and insight from the people who really had a way to contribute and build what Milwaukee is.  

How do you do that? How do you make it more diverse and welcoming but still hang on to some of the good parts of the past? 

Daniels: That’s the huge culture undertaking. I take all the lessons that I learned in those jobs, not assuming that if I run into someone that their story is going to be the same as someone who looks just like them. But how do I get to know people for myself? How do I listen more to leaders from across a number of generations and understand what people are looking for in a place where they’re spending their money and time. 

You set values that aren’t just in paper but are explicit and people know this is how we operate and how we maneuver here and this is the behavior we expect people to live by. I think it’s ensuring that we have the right staff and talent that also embody those values. Leaders who are living (the values) out every day.  

It’s transparency. Being transparent with the things that are going on. We’ve been trying to be more intentional with townhalls, sharing financial information, talking about decisions. But I think raising awareness, whether it’s raising individual’s self-awareness or the awareness of what the club has and what it can offer.  

And that takes a lot of work and not doing it alone. Because we have a lot of stakeholders that make up and drive and advance this club. And the more we can stay connected to those stakeholder groups then we definitely can create momentum of where we want to be. 

So what’s the next step? What are you working on now? 

Daniels: We’re doing a strategic planning session to talk about what’s our big dream and vision for the club.

And then activating an infrastructure that can advance that strategy. We want to be this drawing place that’s just known, that if you’re here locally, all things go to the MAC. I hear that’s how it used to be. MAC was the place to go and be. That’s where certain meetings were held. That’s where voices and leadership were for certain deals that were made. We are that epicenter. That’s where you can connect with people, that’s where you can connect with a physical asset, that’s where you can be a bridge. 

That’s where we want to be. What infrastructure helps us get there? And that infrastructure builds a strategy of cohesion that enables it.  

We have a cigar club. We have a women’s club, a fitness club. We’ve got these business roundtables that are growing. That brings thought leadership. And if you’re bringing thought leadership to conversations, you’re only empowering your identity of wanting to be this thought leadership gem.  

What’s the goal for this year? 

Daniels: I wouldn’t even say this year, these first two quarters.

That we have this clear call for an identity statement for our club and we get people energized like 'I want to be a part of that.' That will have a subsequent effect on membership growth.  

We've got to make sure the “something” is good to offer them. That they recognize that this is a community, this is a hub and a place where you’re going to find people that are like you and are different from you. People that you can learn from. People you can teach.  

What connections are you trying to make, specifically?

Daniels: I want to make connections through the companies because we’re missing them. Especially the companies where remote work has become more of the norm.

I want to make connections with organizations. Whether it’s non-profit organizations or others, that they recognize that this is an accessible place for them. I definitely want to have connections with Visit Milwaukee. 

When I think about what’s going to happen in this “arts district” renovation around Associated Bank, we’re like walking distance from there. How can we be an offshoot for them? Whether we offer VIP and social events that precede what’s going on in the theater. There’s something about the arts that is attractive, and a value added to the city.  

And what are we missing just by proximity? I think about MSOE. Are we drawing those students? Can we pull those students and their families in? I think there’s some untapped potential partners just by a proximity standpoint. If we’re saying we’re part of a “hub” I don’t want us to be so isolated. I want us to be accessible to our community.

Not everything has to be membership. We want the membership but everything doesn’t have to be membership. It could be programming; it could be endorsement; it could be partnership; it could be how we show up and share voice and volume for places that otherwise wouldn’t have access to that. 

Will there be open events for non-members? 

Daniels: We do have some non-member events because hopefully it’s an attraction to see 'Oh this is what the MAC is about.'

We have member events where we allow members to bring guests for the experience. We’ve got some public events that we do. We’ve got various meetings that may be attended by individuals that are non-MAC members. Whether it’s different organizations that host their reoccurring meetings there, all the members in those organizations or associations aren’t necessarily MAC members, but they get to come in and see what’s behind our walls.  

The big event that people are looking forward to is the Republican National Convention. How does the MAC play a role in that event?  

Daniels: Our operations team has been working very closely to see what we can do to offer space, access, connections. There’s enough that divides us and I think if you say you don’t engage in something, then you’re contributing to the division.  

There are going to be eyes on our city. If we’re a connecting place, if we’re a hub, then we should be a draw for that.  

We are part of those conversations to see how we can be part of the mix and model of activities that are happening during the convention.