* Photograph by Shane Van Boxtel / Image Studios
The Boldt Co.
The best mentor plants a seed within us in the hope that it will take root. For Alison Fiebig, one of those mentors was her mother, who encouraged her to get involved from a young age. That included signing her up for Teen Court, a program that’s aimed at promoting “positive youth development with peer pressure for long-term behavioral changes in youth.”
Fiebig says the program opened her eyes and exposed her to people from varying backgrounds whose circumstances differed from her own. It was just one formative experience that helped Fiebig become who she is today — an advocate focused on the areas of women’s and children’s issues, mental health and the arts.
“The opportunity to make a real difference in people’s lives motivates her to pursue and expose the issues in this community that are most difficult to address and fix, to break down stigmas, and embrace individuals of all walks of life,” Mary Schmidt, owner of Schmidt Communicates, wrote in nominating Fiebig for the award.
Through both her professional and volunteer work, Fiebig aims to make a difference. She earned a bachelor’s degree in journalism and English from the University of Minnesota and through the years developed a love of storytelling. “I’m most passionate about people and their stories and what stories can teach us,” she says.
Today Fiebig serves as director of business development for The Boldt Co., where in addition to cultivating business relationships for the firm, she does community outreach work that includes helping attract young people to the construction industry. Prior to that, she served as corporate communications manager for U.S. Venture, a role that led her to another pivotal life experience: traveling to Kenya through the company’s Kenya Works program, which supports a school in the slums of Nairobi.
“I went on that experience, and it not just changed my life; it changed me,” Fiebig says. “The thing that translates so much for me is that specific [circumstances] might be different, but it’s [shared] humanity. We struggle here, and people struggle there. People are struggling all over the world, and humanity is the thing we all have in common.”
Fiebig now serves on the Kenya Works board and remains involved in the work. She returned to the country in May 2021, this time handing out period products to girls who had never had them before. “This is basic stuff. It’s dignity-building work that just drives me to inspire others to act,” she says.
That desire to demystify and destigmatize menstruation led Fiebig to become part of a new initiative called The Monthlies Project. Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin is leading the effort that aims to ensure that girls in schools have access to period products. This October, the group will host an event called An Event, Period.
“[Having] access to these products when we need them to stay clean and healthy and on our path to potential is so important,” she says.
In addition to advocating for women and girls, Fiebig serves on the event planning committee for POP!, the premier fundraising event for youth mental health nonprofit agency Catalpa Health. She also supports the arts as a board member and chair of the Northeast Wisconsin Professional Advisory Council for the Fox Cities Performing Arts Center.
For other women who want to get more involved in their communities, Fiebig offers this advice: “Challenge your perspectives. Always be learning; be a student. If there’s a table you want to sit at, ask for a seat and see what happens,” she says.
