Donna Utke was a prominent figure in the local Milwaukee feminist and gay/lesbian communities. She was one of five founding members of the Gay Peoples Union (GPU) in 1970 and an active member of Grapevine, the Feminist Writer's Guild, and the Milwaukee chapter of the National Organization of Women (NOW). In 1989, she helped found the Lesbian Alliance of Metro Milwaukee (LAMM) and in 1993, Senior Action in a Gay Environment (SAGE). She worked for three decades as a librarian in the Milwaukee Public Library System, frequently contributing book reviews for its newsletter. Utke died on May 19, 2001.
