From freestyle rap battles and hip-hop mentorship programs to helping Milwaukee nonprofits and businesses sharpen their missions, Greg Marshall’s work sits at the intersection of storytelling, culture, and connection.
As Chief Storyteller & Producer at CI Design, performer, podcast host, and mentor, Greg believes Milwaukee is still a city where people can genuinely make a difference—if they’re willing to show up and collaborate.
We caught up with Greg to talk about hip hop, storytelling, community leadership, and why the future of this city depends on bold creativity and investing in the next generation.
What is your background?
Born in Madison. Raised in Lodi. Moved to Milwaukee for college. Moved to the Chicago area, back to Madison, and then back to Milwaukee. Been here now since 2007.
Any stories from your youth that define your path?
Sports were everything to me as a kid. Until I realized my love for hip hop music, rapping, performing, freestyling, and emcee battles. The combination of competing, performing, and creating has always stirred something in me.
Where did you study (if you did higher education)?
At UW-Milwaukee, I studied English Language and Linguistics. At Trinity Graduate School, I received a Master of Arts and Religion.
What do you do for work now?
I am Chief Storyteller & Producer at CI Design. Writer and actor in a one-person show called Greg Marshall Pops Out of the Trees. Co-founder of a creative consultancy called Yellow Couch Creative. And host of the podcast, Short Stories by Greg Marshall.
Can you talk a little bit about your career journey? How’d you get to where you are now?
The foundation for what I do now came from my experiences within the hip hop community and from my therapy work with children who have autism. The entrepreneurial spirit and commitment to community within hip hop culture was essential to helping me understand how to create movements of culture that make things better.
My work with children and families with autism helped me understand the complexity and beauty of human nature and human connection. Those were building blocks for me. In my early twenties I co-founded a hip hop group that became a nonprofit music mentorship organization called Figureheads. We published several albums and one book for parents, teachers, and students. After performing and doing programming in thousands of schools, I fell in love with the work of helping organizations to find alignment in order to improve their culture and impact. When I realized my passion was using creativity to serve communities and organizations, I started a business to do this. Eventually, I joined up with Jim Taugher, founder of CI Design.
Can you talk more about your community involvement or volunteer experience?
I’m a board member for Light the Hoan, school board member at Eastbrook Academy, chair of advisory committee for Meros Center, an international community health organization, a long-time volunteer and strategic support for Hope Street Ministry, on the teaching team at Eastbrook Church, and I’ve helped dozens of Milwaukee area schools and nonprofits to improve their mission, messaging, and fundraising. I’ve walked alongside local, national, and international nonprofits in strategic ways.
What are some ways you have impacted the community in your line of work?
Everyday I help nonprofits and schools to define their mission and strategy in order to increase their impact, spread the word about their work, and raise funds to accomplish good things. I mentor several young entrepreneurs, students, and young professionals. And I believe my work with businesses has made a significant impact in the lives of thousands of families.
What do you like about living in Milwaukee?
Every time I travel to other cities, I come home with a greater appreciation for Wisconsin and Milwaukee. I appreciate how possible it is to live a quality life here. And I love that our city is small and connected enough that if you want to make a difference, you can.
What do you want to see for Milwaukee’s future?
1) I want to see more collaboration between companies, strategists, and creatives to define, tell, and spread the story of our city and region.
2) I want people across the country, from NYC to LA, to understand how great life can be here.
3) My hope is that the leaders of our city would be brave in regard to education for our city’s children, brave enough to truly face and discover what it’ll take to improve our educational system so that every child can have the best shot possible.
Anything else we should know about you, your job, community involvement, or life in general?
My wife, Laura, and I have four daughters, ages 20, 17, 15, and 12. Raising those girls with Laura is by far the best part of life.