Nonprofit CEO arrested in possible embezzlement
Lambach led social service agency UNISON
The head of a prominent Milwaukee social service agency has been arrested by Milwaukee County authorities for possible embezzlement, according to a statement from the group.
Laurene Gramling Lambach, chief executive officer of UNISON, was booked into the Milwaukee County Jail on Tuesday morning, the nonprofit said in a statement on its Facebook page. The 60-year-old executive was still listed as being incarcerated late Wednesday.
“This came as a shock to everyone here at UNISON, and we’re taking this matter very seriously,” the group’s statement said. “Laurie Lambach has been suspended from her role as President and CEO until all the facts have been gathered.”
Katie Koeppel, a spokeswoman for UNISON, said the organization first found out about the matter when Lambach was arrested by Milwaukee County sheriff ’s deputies. She said the nonprofit hopes to provide more information to the public next week.
“Unfortunately, this is all we know at this point,” Koeppel said.
News of Lambach’s arrest was first reported by conservative talk show host Mark Belling on WISN-AM (1130).
UNISON was formed earlier this year from the merger of Milwaukee’s Interfaith Older Adult Programs and SET Ministry. The new organization provides services to older adults and young families in Milwaukee County.
Lambach, a close friend of Wisconsin first lady Tonette Walker, was the head of SET Ministry, making about $110,000 in that position in 2016, according to federal filings. She also is listed as the principal officer of Milwaukee Interfaith that same year. It does not appear that she was paid in that post.
As a merged organization, UNISON operates five senior centers under contract with the Milwaukee County Department on Aging.
They are: Clinton and Bernice Rose Senior Center, 3045 N. Martin Luther King Drive, Milwaukee; Kelly Senior Center, 6100 S. Lake Drive, Cudahy; McGovern Park Senior Center, 4500 W. Custer Ave., Milwaukee; Washington Park Senior Center, 4420 W. Vliet St., Milwaukee; and Wilson Senior Center, 2601 W. Howard Ave., Milwaukee.
The nonprofit organization has more than 250 employees and thousands of volunteers.
Earlier this year, Lambach attended a news conference with Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett after SET Ministry was awarded a $240,000 grant to promote jobs and self-sufficiency for public housing residents.
Since 2011, Lambach has worked as an adviser to Tonette Walker in the First Lady’s Fostering Futures initiative, which provides trauma-informed care training at state agencies. Lambach has said she was a co-founder of the initiative.
Lambach has said she has conducted trauma-informed care training since 2016 for staff at the state Department of Workforce Development.