Kathryn Hasselblad‑Pascale has always been resilient. Coming of age in the 1960s, she says, she developed the ability to chart her own course and buck the system, pick her battles while still combatting sexism, and to be her own heroine while still appreciating the advocates around her. In more recent years, that grit has served her well as she sold her company, retired from multiple prominent board roles and battled aggressive cancer.
An undergraduate English major with a master’s in 19th century American literature, Hasselblad‑Pascale might be described as something of a Renaissance woman. While she maintains a passion for literature, particularly poetry, the bulk of her career was spent in manufacturing with Hasselblad Machine Co. Nominators say her ability to lead, learn and innovate across multiple sectors — industry, finance, academia and natural resources management among those — is truly awesome.
“Her ability to connect, inspire and lead with integrity sets her apart,” one wrote. “She is a woman of her word — leading with inclusivity, wisdom and grace.”
Hasselblad‑Pascale’s 32 years of service to the NEW Water Commission (formerly the Green Bay Metropolitan Sewerage District) — 12 of them as president — is chief among the examples of her versatile leadership.
She still remembers the day UWGB professor and longtime commission president Harold “Jack” Day pulled her aside during an event at The Weidner and told her, “Kathryn, I have a job I want you to do.”
“Sewerage?” she remembers replying. “You have got to be kidding me.” But Day took Hasselblad to lunch at Green Bay’s downtown Holiday Inn, and as they spoke, they peered out at the Fox River.
“Really look at it,” he told her. “You sit at the mouth here of the largest freshwater tributary in the world. What is your responsibility for that, for your generation, for the generation of your children, for the generations beyond that … what do you accept as your responsibility?”
And from there, Hasselblad‑Pascale remembers: “I signed up the next week.”
Over the years, Hasselblad‑Pascale developed immense respect for the water and profound gratitude for those who make Green Bay’s district one of the best in the nation.
“I often said to our people when I became president … We’ve got something to be so proud of. I hope that when you leave here every day, you throw your shoulders back, because you know what you’re doing for your community,” she says.
During her tenure on the commission, Hasselblad‑Pascale played a key role in facilitating partnerships between the city’s drinking water and wastewater utilities — a “one water” solution that has had a transformative impact. Under her leadership, NEW Water also underwent a critical process upgrade that enables the facility today to produce 40% of its own energy.
Hasselblad‑Pascale, who has also been highly active with organizations including Bellin College, Bellin Health System, the Wisconsin Public Service Corporation, St. Norbert College, and the Greater Green Bay Chamber, points to her English major as a reason for much of her leadership success.
“Communication is essential. You have to be able to formulate your thoughts; you have to do a logical progression; you have to be able to articulate … and to look around that table and gather the nods or the crossed arms,” she says. “All of the reading and all of the conversations and all of the work with language and the writing were skills that I brought to those tables.”
And while Hasselblad‑Pascale is quick to say “at 78, I’m way beyond needing awards,” she relishes the “trailblazer” title in this year’s Women of Influence event and is grateful for any opportunity to use her experience to open doors and pass on confidence to future generations of women.
“If there’s any goal at this end of my life, it’s saying, you have the power to do that,” she says. “Know what you want; find what you want; find your group.”
* Photograph by Shane Van Boxtel / Image Studios
