Welcome Dan Terrio to our Board of Directors

Please join us in welcoming Dan Terrio to our Board of Directors!

Dan joins our Board with 25+ years of experience in nonprofit leadership.  In this new role, Dan will oversee fundraising, donor engagement, and partnership development for the History Project.  Since 2023, Dan has served the History Project as a community advisor and Milwaukee County spokesperson.

"As a Two-Spirit person, joining the board of the Wisconsin LGBTQ History Project is both an honor and a homecoming," said Dan.  

"My people have always been here, long before there was a word for it, and I’m proud to help ensure our stories, resilience, and contributions are finally seen and celebrated as an essential part of Wisconsin’s LGBTQ history."

Welcome Dan -- we are so fortunate to have you on the team!

About Dan Terrio

For over 25 years, Dan Terrio has inspired countless youth and adults from all walks of life with his story of perseverance, strength and determination. At the age of 13, he began his motivational speaking and diversity, equity and inclusion career while recovering from injuries sustained in an automobile accident that left him temporarily confined to a wheelchair. Terrio later went on to serve two terms as the National Co-President of United National Indian Tribal Youth Inc. (UNITY), the largest American Indian Youth organization in the United States, while traveling to all 50 states presenting his inspiring story from growing up on an Indian Reservation to working in Washington D.C., along with the things that happened in the middle. 

Today, Terrio is an accomplished and award-winning National and TED Certified motivational speaker and trainer, and currently works as the Director of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion for Milwaukee County. Considered one of Wisconsin’s top minds on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion issues, policy, and development, Terrio leads the diversity, equity and inclusion efforts for 4,000 employees within Wisconsin's most populous county. With his appointment, Dan is the first Native American director in Milwaukee County history, and the highest ranking Two-Spirit government administration official in the State of Wisconsin. 

Dan is a member of the Stockbridge-Munsee Community Band of Mohican Indians in Northern Wisconsin. In 2022, Terrio was named one of Wisconsin’s Most Influential Native American Leaders by Madison365 Magazine.  Most recently, Dan was awarded the 2024 Milwaukee Magazine Unity Award, for his work in creating a more equitable and inclusive Milwaukee. 

Dan holds a bachelor’s degree and master’s degree from the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay, and an executive certificate in Diversity & Inclusion from Cornell University. A native of Bowler, WI, Dan makes his home in Milwaukee, WI.

Terrio led the History Project in fundraising and engagement efforts as he participated in New Dancing With Our Stars event in Green Bay. As a result of his participation, Terrio placed second raising $96,000 for the History Project and was the runner up for the Judge's Choice award for his barrier breaking Tango with dance partner, Michael Witte of Studio 303 in Green Bay.

Questions? Contact us!