Dragisic led United Way to new heights as CEO
Sue Dragisic lived life like grace before meals, “ever mindful of the needs of others.”
Though born to a family of means, “she was very conscious of the fact that everybody does not enjoy those benefits,” John Dragisic said of his wife and former president and CEO of the United Way of Greater Milwaukee.
“She received tremendous satisfaction from helping people in greatest need.”
A private memorial service was held Saturday for Sue Dragisic, also former executive director of the United Performing Arts Fund, who died May 14 in Delray Beach, Florida, of an apparent heart attack at age 74.
During her tenure at both organizations, Dragisic served as a force for mobilizing business leaders and employers to provide millions of dollars in funding for charitable and arts organizations in Milwaukee and Waukesha counties.
“She was a networker in the most positive sense,” her husband said.
“She use to say people don’t give to causes, they give to people, and if she knew you were, say, Frank’s best friend and that Frank had the ability to give to the United Way, she would use you as a messenger,” he said.
“She was a genius at knowing who would respond to that.”
She was born Susan Jane Grunau in Milwaukee to Paul Grunau and Lenore Anderson Grunau. She grew up in Bay View and Elm Grove, was a junior golf champion at Blue Mound Golf and Country Club and graduated from Brookfield High School. She earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in audiology from Northwestern University before working as an audiologist at the University of Chicago Hospital.
She also worked as an audiologist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison Hospitals and Clinics and at the VA medical center in Washington, D.C., her husband said.
During the 1970s Sue Dragisic joined the Junior League of Milwaukee and became president of the organization in 1982 before serving as volunteer cochair for the United Performing Arts Fund.
“She was a charismatic, inspirational leader who brought out the best in the volunteers,” said Elizabeth Meyer, who worked under Dragisic at UPAF as campaign director and vice president of development.
“The volunteers loved her since she appreciated them and she made it fun. You wanted to do your best. She never let them fail,” she said.
“And she was great at representing the importance of arts to the community, and she inspired people with that message.”
She joined the United Way of Greater Milwaukee in 1999, and under her leadership the organization increased fundraising by 62%, growing faster than any other similar-sized United Way across the nation, according to her Bloomberg executive profile.
She was also instrumental in creating United Way of Greater Milwaukee’s Women’s Initiative, consisting of female donors contributing $1,200 or more.
Milwaukee’s Women’s Initiative is the largest in the nation, raising more than $17 million annually, according to the United Way.
“Sue was at the forefront of Greater Milwaukee’s nonprofit sector for more than two decades,” a statement from the United Way of Greater Milwaukee & Waukesha County said.
“Her great tenacity, sincere love for the community and genuine belief in giving back to the community catapulted her to the top of her profession.”
Under Dragisic’s leadership, even in 2009, when the country was in the grip of recession, the United Way’s campaign raised a record-setting $45.5 million, exceeding its goal that year by $500,000.
Those who knew her said the greatest pride was that which Dragisic felt for her daughters and six grandchildren.
Sue Dragisic is survived by her husband and daughters Jane (Chris) Clark and Kate (Will) Schoyer. A celebration of her life is being planned for this summer, her family said.