Mary Burke

Mary Burke is the daughter of Richard Burke, the founder of Trek Bicycle Corporation, and the second-oldest of his five children. She grew up in Hartland, Wisconsin.

Burke has been active in community and nonprofit work, including support for the Boys & Girls Club of Dane County, Madison Prep, and AVID/TOPS. She co-founded AVID/TOPS with teacher Kate Brien to help students become the first in their families to attend college. Burke also volunteered at Frank Allis Elementary, mentored a high school student, and assisted a teenage mother who had left foster care.

Burke graduated magna cum laude from Georgetown University with a degree in business administration. She attended the London School of Economics as part of its General Course and earned a Master of Business Administration from Harvard Business School in 1985.

She began her professional career as a consultant with McKinsey & Company in New York and Washington, D.C., and briefly started her own consulting firm. She later returned to Wisconsin and joined Trek Bicycle Corporation, where she led European operations and subsequently served as director of strategic planning.

After leaving Trek, Burke took a two-year break that included a four-month snowboarding trip in Argentina and Colorado. She later returned to a different role at the family company.

Governor Jim Doyle appointed Burke Wisconsin secretary of commerce in 2005. She held the position from February 7, 2005, until November 1, 2007, when she left to spend more time on family interests and nonprofit work.

In 2008, Burke led a study examining the financial problems facing Milwaukee schools. Her work in education and community organizations became part of her broader public profile in Wisconsin.

On October 7, 2013, Burke announced her candidacy for the Democratic nomination for governor of Wisconsin. She ran against Republican incumbent Scott Walker in the 2014 gubernatorial election and campaigned as a moderate.

During the campaign, Burke acknowledged that portions of her jobs plan, titled "Invest for Success," had been copied from proposals by Democratic candidates in other states. The campaign dismissed consultant Eric Schnurer, who had worked on those campaigns. Walker won the November 4, 2014, election.

Burke won a seat on the Madison school board in 2012 and served until July 5, 2019. Her work on the board followed her involvement in education initiatives and a 2008 study of Milwaukee schools.

In July 2019, she resigned from the school board to focus on Building Brave, a nonprofit she founded to empower women. Madison Magazine named Burke one of its People of the Year in 2011.