Peter Hoeffel

Peter Hoeffel was working at a downtown Milwaukee deli, putting his philosophy degree from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee to work making sandwiches. One day, an energetic and friendly young African American woman walked into the shop and asked if she could hang a poster in the window to recruit young adults for Milwaukee's Public Allies program. Peter struck up a conversation and learned that she was looking for young people who were passionate about making a difference and who wanted to turn that passion into a career.

Peter, who was twenty-seven years old at the time, heard his calling. “I wanted to make the world a better place,” he says. “I didn't feel like too many places were looking to hire someone with a philosophy degree and a minor in Africology. I wanted to stop just talking about the social change that my friends and I would discuss, and Public Allies seemed like a great place for me to learn how to do just that.”¹