打破障碍

担任戴恩县董事会监事, Rose’s efforts led to the county becoming the nation’s first healthcare sanctuary for transgender youth — while he juggled his media director position at his family’s Wisconsin-based media company.

维权

Rick Rose’s mission to support the queer community catalyzed at a New York City theater internship through a 贝洛伊特 connection in the late 1980s, 当时该市正处于艾滋病毒/艾滋病危机的阵痛之中.

“我生活在一个濒临死亡的社区里，”罗斯说. 在新戏剧家工作, 有前途的剧作家的中心, 他帮助选角导演分配角色, 无论他走到哪里, 演员, 设置设计师, 董事, 他的朋友都染上了艾滋病.

“总有一天, I was going to a friend’s funeral and later in the day went to the hospital and held the hands of a friend who had just died — my friend Brian and my friend John in one day. 我知道必须做点什么.”

在威斯康辛州北部的一个小镇长大, 罗斯听说过艾滋病, 但没有近距离接触过这种疾病. 以未出柜的同性恋身份进入贝洛伊特, he began to identify his liberal political leanings and find his people on campus, 包括一些同性恋盟友.

“我听过关于艾滋病的新闻报道，说这是男同性恋者的疾病, 我非常担心, 但我还没有真正走向世界,他说. “当我去了纽约，我的真相大白了. 我的天性是住在大城市里, where people helped people and where people were out and transparent about their lives, 良好的, 坏, 丑陋的一面.”

当他结束实习回到校园时, 安妮·戴森, 大学校长罗杰·赫尔的妻子, 成立了一个艾滋病特别工作组, 罗斯欣然接受了加入的机会. His classroom studies revolved around political theatre productions in the 1970s. He later helped stage “As Is,” a then-popular HIV/AIDS statement play, in Richardson Auditorium.

Rose speaking about opioid recovery settlements at the state capitol in 2023.Since that experience, Rose has continued his activism — and expanded its scope. Following graduation, he moved to Los Angeles and wrote legal contracts at Warner Bros. 他创建了一个名为“电视中的女性”的小组, asking 演员 who were portraying women with HIV/AIDS on the screen to interview women at UCLA living with the disease in an attempt to tell their stories 更多的 accurately and respectfully. In 1990, 从贝洛伊特大学毕业才两年, he became the executive director of the AIDS Mastery Foundation in Los Angeles, advocating for those living with AIDS and their loved ones through workshops and community support.

“This is a common theme for me: breaking down boundaries, rules, systems,他说. “这就是我们实现政治变革的方式.”

当他六年前搬回中西部时, he became a court-appointed special advocate (CASA) for children who enter the foster system or homeless shelters. 他在法院系统倡导儿童权益的工作令人大开眼界.

“如果你能改变一个人的生活, 你让世界变得更美好,他说, “但有必要改变政策，为所有孩子发声.2022年4月，他决定竞选戴恩县的公职.

“我被说服由米歇尔·里特(Michele Ritt)管理，他是戴恩县董事会的监事. 我在一个癌症基金会的活动上和她一起做志愿者，她告诉了我, “你需要成为一名民选官员. 你可以有所作为.她在选举过程中指导我.”

从那时起, Rose和Ritt曾合作过“青年治理”项目, 这是威斯康星大学扩展分校的一个项目, 指导对当地政治感兴趣的高中生. 他还与伯洛伊特大学的校友，现在的密友， 安迪Patilliet的16, 在发现Mediaworks为Rose工作的人, 他的家族企业, 还为他的竞选制作了图片.

“我一开始(担任戴恩县董事会监事), it was learning rules and decorum and etiquette and how to work them to my advantage,他说. “It was also understanding where the state has rights and where the county has rights. 地方权利是如何与大局联系在一起的? 我们能改变什么，不能改变什么?”

Rose’s role allows him to sit in hearings, talk to constituents, and develop larger-scale solutions. Last summer’s resolution designating Dane County as a sanctuary for transgender healthcare, 这是他帮忙制作的, 使丹麦成为第一个美国人.S. 县也会这样做.

Rose with friends and supporters after announcing his bid for re-election to the Dane County Board.“我记得那天我去了办公室. We were getting emails and phone calls every five minutes registering support and non-support. You see the things you may align on and the things you may be fighting against. 每个人都有发言权, and you can dissect the issues and try to bring people together and gain consensus.”

Rose announced last December he is running for re-election in Dane’s District 16 in April, 他有更高的抱负. “I have my eye on running for the chair of the board [in the future] and am looking at options in the November general election, 把我在戴恩县的经历带到州一级,他说.

领导者

罗斯对他的日常工作也充满激情. 他的职业生涯始于华纳兄弟公司的法律事务. 在他开始公共服务后不久，他在洛杉矶去世. He worked on the first contract for famous twins Mary Kate and Ashley Olson while they were on “Full House,以及其他未成年人和音乐作曲家的合同, 保护他们的钱财和财产.

In 1992, 在赚钱的写作生涯中, Rose returned home to Wisconsin to help transition the leadership of his father’s company, 发现Mediaworks, 在他父亲生病之后. Rose joined his brother and sister in the company as executive vice president.

罗斯和《十大菠菜台子》的共同主持人兼同学 斯蒂芬妮·凯尔特89.近十年来, 他监督了《十大菠菜台子》的制作,，一部旅游题材的电视剧, 他和谁一起主持的 的贝洛伊特 斯蒂芬妮·凯尔特89 这个节目至今仍在播出. 发现Mediaworks还制作了另外两个节目:《菠菜白菜吧》(Into the Outdoors),，这是罗斯20年前参与制作的PBS儿童教育节目, and a YouTube series called “Boondock Nation” documenting two young snowmobilers and their travels out west.

“我的首要任务是回家养家糊口，”罗斯说. “第二件事是继承我父亲的遗志. 我哥哥在销售部工作，我妹妹在生产部工作, 我爸爸主持了这个节目, 所以我很自然地介入了. I remember there was one show where he had already shot the opening for the episode with Stephanie, 我负责结案. 我们就是这样向观众宣布我父亲去世的.”

说故事的人

罗斯是一名人才经纪人，十大菠菜台子现任幕僚长 艾丽卡丹尼尔斯 2002年被评为贝洛伊特小姐.Rose left 发现Mediaworks for some years to try on many new hats: casino manager, 一个50多岁酷儿网站的编辑, 一家日报的销售和社区参与经理, 选美训练师兼教练, 幽灵之旅的创作者, 和播客.

但六年前，他回到了家族企业. His role in hiring 40 new staff members helped his family weather the COVID storm, and it also got him back to the thing he loves most: connecting with people and telling their stories.

他说:“好的故事是关于人和分享人类精神的。. “这就是我处理一切事情的方式, whether it’s travel tourism or two kids on a snowmobile or kids exploring the outdoors together.”

作为数字媒体总监, Rose has also helped the TV tourism company transition to a digital-first platform, 创造“独特的威斯康星州”,这是一系列关于文化基石的9分钟数字短片, 企业, 以及威斯康星州所有72个县的人们.

“这是定义社区的核心，”罗斯说. “It’s exciting to meet with county officials and residents to discover what makes Rock County what it is or Dane County what it is. 我总是对推出新系列感到兴奋. It’s fun when you’re in that beginning process: What will the graphics look like? 品牌的颜色是什么? 我们想讲的故事是什么? 谁的声音在讲述这个故事? 寻找一种新的方式来制作故事是令人兴奋的.”

一路走来, 他做过一些激情项目, 但对他来说，没有什么比一部短片更重要, “将,他在什里夫波特创作并拍摄了这部电影, 路易斯安那州, 关于婚姻平等.

“发现Mediaworks has sponsored the 贝洛伊特 International Film Festival for three or four years now,罗斯说. “我把《菠菜白菜吧》投进了威斯康辛州电影制作人类别，并获得了一个奖项. That was really heartwarming to come back to 贝洛伊特 and be received that way, 在一个对我意义重大的城市里.”

Rose has thought long and hard about his varied careers and about storytelling, 把他们联系在一起的线索. He sees the next chapter of his life as a continuation of using those stories — and his own — to make a positive impact on his community.

“我们所有人都以这样或那样的方式讲故事.”

“贝洛伊特 helped me appreciate that everyone has a story and value and something to contribute. My message has always been that the tools don’t matter; the story matters. If you want to express yourself through the written word or through film or at a public policy meeting, 大胆尝试吧. 不要被技术、资金或手段所限制. 不要让任何人或任何事告诉你你做不到.”