Age: 38
Director of Strategic Communications, ThedaCare
Before coming to ThedaCare in 2018, Cassandra Wallace made her name as the 10 p.m. anchor for NBC26 news — a role for which she had worked diligently.
“It all started with putting in extra time and energy to keep growing,” says Wallace, who graduated from Ball State University.
One thing Wallace wishes she’d known before starting her career is that it’s OK to change your “dream job.”
“Adapt to your life,” Wallace says. “I learned that after having children and wanting a better work-life balance. I’m very fortunate that I found a rewarding career and can be a better parent.”
Wallace, who was named to her current role at ThedaCare in October 2024, is proud of helping create and share patient stories: “I often have the privilege of meeting patients and their families, hearing about their health journey and learning about the care teams who supported them … Those moments remind me why the work matters.”
The region’s biggest challenge: I believe one of the biggest issues we are facing right now in Northeast Wisconsin is access to affordable child care. I know that when our children were younger, it was tough. Child care is hard to secure — and afford — which makes it difficult for families to thrive financially and maintain stability. I’m certainly not an expert, but I would think that improvement starts with expanding financial support for families, supporting childcare providers and ensuring the child care workforce is stable.
Favorite cause: A cause that is important to me is cancer research, funding, education and care. My father passed away from colorectal cancer when I was 17 years old. Since then, sharing the message about prevention and early detection is important to me. I have raised funds, hosted events and shared messaging around the cause.
Next decade’s goal: Publishing the books I have written. At this point, they are still in a draft form, and my goal is to get them published. They are children’s books that I have written in my spare time, mainly stories I have crafted for my own children. They think the stories are fun, and I’d love to be able to share those with other families.
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