Founder and Executive Director, All-In Milwaukee
UW Majors: Political Science; Elementary Education
The Wisconsin Idea is about extending the power of education beyond the classroom, and Allison Auda Wagner ’02 is doing just that. As founding executive director of All-In Milwaukee, she’s built a program that helps high-potential, limited-income students not only attend college but also graduate, launch careers, and lead in their communities.
“Every student should have the chance to receive a high-quality education,” Wagner says. “The zip code you’re born in should not determine your destiny.”
Launched in 2018 with 40 students, All-In Milwaukee has grown into a highly regarded model for closing equity gaps and confronting barriers to success. As of 2025, the organization has supported more than 750 scholars and graduates. Of them, 98 percent are students of color and 87 percent are first-generation college students.
Wagner’s approach centers on three core elements: scholarships that reduce financial barriers, partnerships with universities and employers, and comprehensive wraparound support. That support begins before college starts and continues through graduation, with monthly check-ins from dedicated advisers and guidance on everything from financial aid to campus resources and career prep. UW–Madison is one of the program’s strongest university partners, with embedded advisers on campus and a growing number of Badger scholars each year.
The program is transformative. Ninety percent of All-In Milwaukee’s scholars continue their higher education; 85 percent graduate debt-free; and 88 percent pursue an in-state career or graduate school placement.
Wagner says her parents, who are both UW–Madison alumni (her father was on Wisconsin’s inaugural hockey team), inspired her love of learning. At the UW, she majored in elementary education and political science, studied abroad in London, and interned with a state senator who served on the legislative education committee. The internship gave Wagner the chance to conduct policy research and work on education-related issues. “I believe every student deserves the same opportunities that my education has provided me,” she says.
She earned a graduate degree from Harvard and then worked for national nonprofits focused on expanding educational access for underrepresented students. When she returned to Milwaukee — the most segregated city in the country — she was struck by a disconnect: there was high demand for more diverse leadership in the city’s workforce, yet only 14 percent of Milwaukee high school graduates would earn a two- or four-year degree within six years.
Armed with data, determination, and a “dream team” of business and civic leaders, Wagner set out to change that — building on a decades-long legacy of education reform in a city that has pushed for progress, even in the face of deep racial and economic disparities.
With plans to support more than 1,000 students and produce 250 graduates annually by 2029, All-In Milwaukee’s reach will only grow. And the ripple effect of Wagner’s work is already visible.
In May 2025, Diamond Martin, an All-In scholar-turned-intern, joined the team full-time as an adviser after graduating from the UW’s Sandra Rosenbaum School of Social Work.
Andrew Rodriguez ’23, a first-generation college graduate, is now a portfolio analyst at Baird.
“I can firmly say that I would not be where I am today if it was not for Allison and the team she leads,” Rodriguez says. “All-In was there for me every step of the way during my college career and still after graduating.”