Meet MAC Member Kristin Brey

Member since: 2021 

Occupation: Radio host, political pundit, video columnist

Resides in: Riverwest. Grew up in Madison. 

Family: Married to Mike Sampson. One older brother.

Hobbies: Getting together with friends.

Drink of choice: Not very picky if there’s alcohol in it–red wine, bourbon (neat), IPA. 

Favorite MAC event:  Gala and Derby Day. 

Kristin has a head full of curls to envy. But I was first captivated by her after reading this Milwaukee Magazine article. She is the only person who has ever been able to make politics palatable for me. I’d compare her to a younger, less cynical Jon Stewart. She adores him and appreciates how his wit and brand of humor incites activism.

Before comedy and politics, Kristin caught the performance bug when she was just seven, putting on productions of Disney classics with the other kids in her neighborhood. She debuted as the “Beast” in Beauty in the Beast and never looked back.

She convinced her parents to move with her out to LA when she was 16 to take a shot at acting. She earned a few roles, but by the time she was 20, she was ready to go to college. At Berkeley University, Kristin studied public health, political science, women’s studies – all topics that she felt passionate about.

But because she was in the Bay Area and needed a job after graduating, she took a job in tech. Kristin called it a far cry from anything she cared about, but she gave it her all. From the tech world, she did learn basic business skills, which has served her well.

Seeking a change of pace and new pool of dating prospects, Kristin moved to New York City and returned to her passion for performance. She was writing jokes and taking to the stage for improv and stand up several nights a week, using politics as her topic of choice.

“Politics and policy can be boring, so comedy makes it more accessible,” she says. “I just want people to feel informed about the policies that directly impact their lives.”

After Trump was elected, Kristin wanted to do a documentary about Wisconsin for the 2020 election because of its reputation as a swing state. “I went to my parents house in Wisconsin Rapids in March of 2020, where I lived until I decided to move permanently back to Wisconsin. But there was no way in hell I was living in Rapids, so the choice was between my hometown of Madison or Milwaukee, which was new to me.”

Plus, Mike was in Milwaukee. She had met him on the dating app Hinge a month earlier while she was scoping out the scene from afar. After a year of dating and a year-long engagement, they got married in an intimate setting, just as they envisioned.

While the world was shut down from the COVID pandemic, Kristin pivoted and started teaching herself how to create and edit videos, both for entertainment and activism around the election. “It was a lot easier to try and start something in Milwaukee because people genuinely care to help and will follow through,” she says.

Simply by putting herself out there, opportunities began falling into place. She hadn’t worked in radio before, but through her guest appearances at WTMJ with Steve Scaffidi, she connected with local radio legend Jane Mantaneer.  And then Civic Media approached her to host her own radio show, with statewide reach. As Goes Wisconsin hits on local politics, sports and feel-good, pop-culture stories related to Wisconsin.

Watch As Goes Wisconsin live on Facebook or tune into 540 AM The ‘Sha to hear Kristin unite people, one laugh at a time.

One last tip from Kristin–if you’re looking for comedy in Milwaukee, check out The Laughing Tap in Walker’s Point.