She is a woman with a variety of community-based work experience and a staunch advocate for those experiencing domestic abuse or sexual assault.

Her name means “Woman in the forest” when translated from Ojibwe to English.

She is one of six children in her family, mother of three and grandmother to two.

Her name: Bagwajikwe Madosh, Protective Payee for our Homeless Outreach Nursing Center (HONC).

Her path to the Red Cross has been roundabout. She has worked at various community service agencies such as Urban Indian Affairs, La Causa, Inc.  and the Gateway to Science and Engineering-UWM.  She actually came to the Red Cross after she literally bumped into HONC Director Jeanne Lowry while seeking services for one of her clients at Day Star, a domestic violence program for women. She knew Jeanne from previous Continuum of Care meetings and was looking for a full-time position in case management.

The rest, as they say, is history.  Two years later, Bagwajikwe is a fixture at the Red Cross – and in her clients’ lives. She works with 20 clients each month. She helps budget and manage their income because they are not able to.  She’s very good at it, and, best yet, she enjoys it.

“This job has its challenges. I like working here because the people I work with are so committed,” she says. “Each one does their job so well.”

In addition to the people, Bagwajikwe likes her job because she is on the go, making sure her clients are getting to doctor appointments and doing okay. “It’s hard not to become attached,” she says. “We have so much contact. We know their struggles.”
“Some clients are really easy. Others are more difficult,” she says. “Either way, we never have a dull moment.”

When she’s not working with clients, Bagwajikwe loves to spend time with her family – her two daughters, one son and two granddaughters---and her extended family at Lac du Flambeau. Bagwajikwe travels north to visit her family on the Ojibwe Reservation several times a year, and looks forward to their annual Pow Wow in July. “We’ve got the best lakes and the best fishing,” she proudly says of her home reservation.

When in Milwaukee, she serves as Commissioner of the American Indian Taskforce on Domestic Abuse and Sexual Assault, a post she has held since 1999.

She also loves movies. “Johnny Depp is my favorite actor,” she says. “He’s so handsome.”

Whatever she does, Bagwajikwe has a good time – with her family, on her “do nothing” days when they gather at her house, out on the town with friends, or even at work. “I like to be out and about. You think you are going to have a ho-hum day and that can change in a hot minute.”