Advocate and Artist / Age 34
Appleton Area School District and Someday Studios
Irineo (Neo) Medina’s public murals not only bring vibrancy to Northeast Wisconsin, they bring change. Medina’s Paint the City project, a collaboration between AASD and Appleton Downtown, Inc., brings together high school students from diverse backgrounds to paint murals with community leaders.
“Whether it be through art, advocacy, or both, I am doing my best to walk in my truth so children from similar places see that we can all make it,” Medina says.
Last year, 20 students painted alongside 150 volunteers. Paint the City 4 is Aug. 4-15 this year. “Every time I see a project I can remember and feel the impact that was made,” he says.
In his role at AASD, Medina mentors high school and elementary school students and fosters mentorships between them, speaking on their behalf when necessary. His work as an advocate “allows me to make a positive impact in many areas of the school system. … My hope is that, with enough of that work over time, we can change some systemic issues for the better.”
Medina serves on the board of Trout Museum of Art, spoke at the 2023 Toward One Wisconsin conference and was named one of Wisconsin’s 36 most influential Latino leaders in 2024. He and his wife, Valerie, also an artist, opened Someday Studios in 2021.
Be sure to visit Insight’s Portraits of Success: 40 Under 40 at The Art Garage in Green Bay from May 30–June 1 to see each honoree’s official 40 Under 40 portrait!
