Meet Our Director of Membership Development: Steph Skrade

Likely, the first smiling face you encounter at the MAC is Stephanie (Steph) Skrade. Steph started working at the MAC in October of 2021 and by May of 2022, she was promoted to Director of Membership Development. She is in charge of reaching potential members, showing them all there is to love about the MAC, and transitioning them into club life!

Steph spent the first quarter of her employment with the MAC offsite, getting ready to move back into the newly renovated space. “Up until a day ahead of the grand reopening New Year’s Eve party, we weren't sure it’d be ready!” she admits, only half joking.  

When she started, Steph was the only female member of the leadership team. Not to mention, she had a new baby at home. She remembers (with a laugh) the day she had to bring him to work because he was recovering from an illness, and they ended up using him for the cover shot of Club Life magazine.

Steph grew up in Milwaukee and attended Pius XI, where her mom also taught for 30 years. Her career also started in education, but she only worked as a preschool teacher for a couple of years. During a stint in LA, she was nannying while working her first job in hospitality, where she realized that her skill set was really well-suited for events management. That’s also when she realized that Milwaukee was actually a really cool city. “By the time I was ready to come back, it felt like a win rather than a default decision,” she says.

She tried the nonprofit sector but soon realized that she preferred the pace and excitement of the hospitality industry. Linda Price-Topp, VP of Sales at Marcus Corporation helped her get started in event sales and management. So for nearly 10 years, Stephanie learned the ropes through employment at Milwaukee’s two largest names in hospitality–Marcus Corp. and Bartolotta Restaurants. These days, the valuable skills she's crafted over the years certainly do not go unnoticed at the MAC!

But when she’s not at the MAC, Stephanie loves seeing live music with her husband Paul, and spending time with her ‘Tosa girlfriends. She’s been vegan for 10 years but doesn't feel the need to broadcast it, and she’d be at a yoga class every Saturday if she wasn’t doing something to entertain her now-toddler, Artie.

Most people arrive at a meeting with Steph by word-of-mouth referral, and what makes her so effective at selling is that she really believes in what she calls the “MAC Magic.” While many people are typically most enticed by the luxury gym experience at the MAC, Steph truly believes that “the best thing here really is the community and the relationships. We offer something that people just can’t get anywhere else.”

If you're interested in chatting more with Steph about life at the MAC, feel free to reach out, or better yet, book a tour!