Michael Spector

When one considers what it truly means to be a public servant, you would be hard-pressed to find anyone who lived up to the role more than Michael Spector. A 1958 graduate of Shorewood High School, Spector went on to study history at UW-Madison before graduating from Harvard Law School.
Spector's public service formally began in 1969 at age 28, when he was elected to the Shorewood School Board. Spector would then go on to serve as Board President from 1970-1973, Shorewood Village Trustee from 1982-1985, and Village President from 1985-1991. Most notably, Spector founded the Shorewood Historical Society in 1984 and is also the namesake for River Park's Spector Field, an initiative he generously supported.

Spector worked for Milwaukee law firm Quarles & Brady for 47 years, specializing in education law and representing school districts in both Milwaukee and Waukesha counties. He was a longtime supporter of Marquette Law School, teaching education law there, as well as at UW-Milwaukee, and Cardinal Stritch. Spector served as Chairman at Quarles & Brady from 1987-2002, which included a role as appointee to the Greater Milwaukee Committee. He retired from Quarles & Brady in 2002.


Retirement did not deter Spector's affinity for civil service and educational rights. He went on to serve as Chair of the statewide Governor's Task Force on Educational Excellence, was a member of the UW System's Board of Regents, the Executive Director of the United States Law Firm Group, Inc., a Director of Assisted Living Concepts, Inc., a Director of the Jewish Museum of Milwaukee, and a Director of the BMO Harris Bradley Center.