MILWAUKEE, Wis. – Getting comfortable with being uncomfortable is the message from Milwaukee’s newest Director of the Milwaukee Office of Community Wellness and Safety (OCWS).
Members of the community head that message directly from Adam Procell October 2 during his town hall with the public at the Washington Park Senior Center.
Procell opened the event to a crowd of around 60 people recapping his journey to this point, which includes a homicide conviction for the death of 18-year-old Robert Bruce in 1995. Procell told the room that on the day he was appointed to the job August 18, he walked around the neighborhood where Robert was killed for reflection.
“The most uncomfortable place in the world is where I took Robert’s life,” said Procell.
Procell spent 23 years in prison, during which time he also was convicted of assaulting a correctional officer leading to four years spent in solitary confinement at Green Bay Correctional Institution.
LISTEN: Adam Procell Tells His Story from Killing a Rival Gang Member to Working With Police
“It seems like you’re trying to romanticize the fact that you did that,” said one member of the crowd to Procell referring to using his criminal past as a reason for understanding the mind of those who commit violent acts.
“I know how society works, if I don’t own it and lean into it,…I can’t ask to hold the community accountable if I don’t myself accountable” responded Procell.
Procell’s appointment by Mayor Cavalier Johnson to lead the department formerly known as the Office of Violence Prevention raised some eyebrows, both for his criminal past and the fact that he wasn’t one of the three finalists for the position. As a result, Procell did not have to face questions from the public during two public hearings attended by the finalists.
Among those calling for more transparency in the process earlier this year was 10th District Alderwoman Sharlen Moore, who was at Thursday’s town hall. She told WTMJ it’s still too early to tell if those concerns have been alleviated given how short Procell’s tenure has been to this point.
“He’s still new, we’re here to support, I want to see him successful,” said Moore.
Procell’s town hall was his second time laying out his vision for the office that day following an appearance the Milwaukee Public Health and Safety Committee earlier in the morning. His top area of emphasis, as part of a six-part approach to revising the office, is youth engagement and prioritizing placing young people in paying jobs.
“Until we do that, people at the end of the day want money, and if they can’t get money [that way] they’ll get it in some way,” said Procell.
Procell acknowledged the financial limitations of his department; OCWS operates on a $1.7 million dollar budget, according to Procell. The OCWS director salary as allotted in the proposed 2026 city budget was $132,239.
Several staff members from OCWS spoke at the event, including its former acting director Karin Tyler who was one of the three original finalists for the position.
In addition to Procell’s new position, he maintains his role as CEO of justice solutions firm Paradigm Shyft. He also still facilitates Home To Stay, Wisconsin’s largest coordinated reentry resource fair, and is an adjunct instructor at Marquette University.
Procell was also the primary author of Wisconsin Act 233, which requires the Department of Corrections to create reentry centers that help individuals re-integrate into society following prison time.
“At the end of the day, if I can’t get it done, no hard feelings, just know I did everything I could to make your community safer,” concluded Procell.
Those unable to make it to the October 2 town hall can still interact with Procell this month; he will be the featured guest for the “Get To Know” series at Marquette Law School’s Lubar Center on October 21.
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