These award recipients and finalists will be recognized in March at the Future 15 and Young Professional Awards event, and will also be featured in stories in the Press Times each week leading up to the event.
This week, get to know Future 15 award winners Kayleigh Mapes and Rachael Trimble-VandenHogen.
Kayleigh Mapes is no stranger to adversity. In fact, she says, “I seem to thrive in challenging situations.”
After becoming a mom at the age of 16 and again at 18, Mapes graduated college in 2013 and started working at Georgia-Pacific, where she served in various sales administration and sales professional roles over the course of her 10 years there.
In 2020, though, she decided it was time for a new challenge.
“I decided to go back to UW-Green Bay and entered into the inaugural Impact MBA cohort of the business school,” Mapes said. “A full-time career, growing children entering into new phases of their lives and a global pandemic presented challenges I never anticipated. Leaning on my fellow cohort and my family, I graduated with my MBA in 2022 as a member of the first graduating Impact MBA class. In 2023, I made the difficult personal decision to leave Georgia-Pacific as I was ready for new challenges and new experiences. I was fortunate to find a role at UW-Green Bay in the business school which brought my many years of sales experience and combined with my passion for education.”
Today, Mapes serves as UW-Green Bay’s graduate and executive education coordinator and is working through a doctoral program.
Looking to the future, Mapes said she hopes to help other young parents like her achieve academic success.
“I want to be a strong advocate for those who have the odds stacked against them to help them gain the best opportunities available and knock down barriers preventing that,” she said. “In my doctoral program, my research interest draws from my experience as a young single parent working my way through higher education. My hope is that I can use this research and learning to develop the right programs and initiatives to help other young parents navigate their own journeys through higher education and break down the unnecessary barriers to achieve success for these non-traditional students.”
Mapes said she is just as proud of her personal life as she is her professional life.
“My children are my proudest accomplishment...” she said. “I often reflect on how the three of us have essentially grown up together, and they are now thriving and successful young adults. They have been my inspiration in every decision I make. My education is my next proudest accomplishment. As a 16-year-old mother, the odds were definitely not in my favor to even graduate high school let alone achieve a bachelor’s degree, an MBA and now pursuing a doctoral degree.”
And Mapes said none of those accomplishments would have been possible without the support she received from mentors, friends and family.
“I have had some amazing mentors over the years who have been instrumental in guiding and teaching me the things that are not traditionally taught...” Mapes said. “I am lucky to have many role models in my life. My parents and step-parents have shown me resilience, growth and maturity. Without all of them, I wouldn’t have been able to do the things that have helped me be successful. Even when I have made mistakes, they have shown love and understanding as well as accountability...My brothers and sisters have also been instrumental through the years.”
Rachael Trimble-VandenHogen’s professional journey has taken many turns, teaching her “persistence, humility and the value of growth at my own pace.”
After graduating from West De Pere High School in 2016, Trimble-VandenHogen gave college a few tries and even briefly attended culinary school before earning her associate degree in business management in 2025.
“You may think you know exactly where you are headed, but you might be surprised by where you end up,” Trimble-VandenHogen said. “Every experience, even the ones that feel short lived or unexpected, teaches you something valuable... Not every path has to be straight to be meaningful. Trust the process, stay open to learning and allow yourself the freedom to grow into who you are meant to become.”
Today, Trimble-VandenHogen works for the Greater Green Bay YMCA — a place she has been connected to, personally and professionally, for most of her life.
“I started working at the YMCA when I was 15 years old and I have been there ever since...” she said. “I have served in a variety of roles, including child watch staff, member services, youth program director, inclusion director, and I now serve as the adaptive services and support director… Over the years, the Y, along with many influential people in my life, has shaped me both personally and professionally… I learned how to swim in the West Side YMCA pool. I took dance lessons and fitness classes, spent a summer at Camp Wabansi and participated in after school programming. These experiences were a huge blessing to my mom, who was a single mother working late hours, and they provided me with safety, structure and community.”
And in her professional life, Trimble-VandenHogen said the organization has continued to support her.
“The experiences that have been most influential in getting my career to where it is today center around being surrounded by people and organizations that believed in me and my abilities,” she said. “Working for an organization that saw my potential, even before I fully saw it myself, gave me the confidence to keep growing and stepping into leadership.”
Trimble-VandenHogen said her early experiences shaped how she has approached her professional life, along with a few impactful people she’s met along the way.
“One person who has had a major impact on my life and career is Marni Hendricks,” Trimble-VandenHogen said. “She is an incredible woman who came into my life at a time when I truly needed guidance and belief. She was more than a boss. She was like a mom and a sister to me. Through working alongside her, I learned confidence, leadership, discipline and what it looks like to believe in yourself, even when the path is not clear. Her support and example helped shape the foundation of who I am today.”
Trimble-VandenHogen said she is also inspired by other young professionals in the community.
“Watching people like Kathleen McKee, Jamie Hanner, Robin Scott, Ronda Chandler, Charm Der, Eddie Boyce, Holly Ladwig, Rashad Cobb, Robyn Davis and Brooke Mayborne has been incredibly motivating,” she said. “Seeing others lead with courage, live out their passions, and make a real impact in the community gives me hope and confidence. Their success reminds me that it is possible to do meaningful work, stay true to your values and grow into the person you are called to be.”
Although she can’t know for sure what her future will look like, Trimble-VandenHogen said one thing is certain — her commitment to serving the community.
“I know that I want to continue responding to the ever changing needs of our community,” she said. “I hope to continue my career at the YMCA, lending my passion, talents and heart to the organization where it all started for me. Wherever the next chapter leads, my goal is to keep serving others, building belonging and making a meaningful impact in the lives of individuals and families in our community.”
Comments
No comments on this item Please log in to comment by clicking here