Haberman Local Luminaries: Currents 40: Widline Cadet

Dr. Monique Liston

What happens when Black identity—particularly the lives of Black women, girls, and femmes—is loved, protected, and defended as we collectively learn about process and change in organizations and programs? This is the question Dr. Monique Liston has built a community-engaged, intellectual, and regenerative life practice around. She is the Founder, Chief Strategist, and Joyful Militant of UBUNTU Research and Evaluation, an undisciplined learning organization and recipient of the Milwaukee Business Journal’s Diversity in Business Award. She also serves as Executive Director of The Leadership Undercommons, advancing dignity-centered learning and leadership rooted in the lived realities of Black women, girls, and femmes.

A sought-after facilitator, speaker, evaluator, collaborator, and good-time haver, Dr. Liston went to school for many years and is most proud to be an alum of Howard University. Her honors include 2025 Milwaukee Business Journal 40 Under 40, Public Allies’ first and only honorary alum, and HBCU Alumni United Milwaukee Alumni of the Year. Though not a self-identified poet, she published FRACTALS in 2025.

Gabriela Parra

Gabriela Parra is an immigration attorney and co-owner of Layde & Parra S.C. in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, with over a decade of experience representing individuals and families. She provides compassionate, culturally informed legal support and is dedicated to protecting immigrants’ rights while helping clients achieve stability and opportunity. The daughter of Mexican immigrants, Gabriela’s lived experiences—from growing up in Los Angeles to navigating cultural isolation in Wisconsin—inform her commitment to justice and advocacy for underserved communities. She earned her J.D., cum laude, from the University of Wisconsin Law School, is a published co-author of Extraordinary Latinas, Vol. 5, and actively mentors others while championing empowered Latin@ communities.

Claude-Allan Milhomme

Claude-Allan Milhomme is a licensed attorney who received his law degree from Marquette University Law School. While in law school he clerked for Liberty Mutual Insurance Company and the State Public Defender’s Office. He earned his undergraduate degree in Criminology and Public Administration from Florida State University. He currently engages in the private practice of law, focusing his practice on criminal defense and crisis management in State and Federal Courts.

Claude-Allan is a First-Generation American whose family comes from Haiti. He maintains vital connections with his culture, which proves to be useful in his work. He has worked on social justice and community outreach initiatives throughout Wisconsin, including emergency relief work for Haiti and providing resources to local organizations here in Milwaukee. He also serves as a Committee Member for the Eastern District of Wisconsin Bar Association. Outside of his legal career, he enjoys spending time outdoors connecting with nature.