Deshea Agee knows a thing or two about making an impact, and he has the numbers behind him to prove it. More than $250 million has been invested in Milwaukee’s Historic King Drive district since 2016, with organizations committing another $100 million toward buildings and people. That investment has helped fuel business growth, entrepreneurship, real estate development and the continued transformation of Milwaukee’s Bronzeville neighborhood.
In 2025, Agee was named one of Wisconsin’s Most Influential Black Leaders by Madison365, recognizing his work helping shape the state’s future. His impact has earned other recognition, too. Historic King Drive gained national attention, including being featured by The New York Times as one of its recommended places to visit. But his résumé also includes a less conventional claim to fame: In 2019, he appeared on Family Feud with his mother and siblings as part of the Milwaukee Wade family.
That mix of community leadership, entrepreneurship and personality has followed Agee throughout his career. But for Agee, recognition is secondary to what remains after the work is done. “I look at the work that I've been doing as legacy work,” Agee said. “It means to me that my work will live beyond me.”
That philosophy has shaped more than 15 years in Milwaukee’s economic development and real estate sectors. After beginning his career in radio sales and exploring music and real estate, Agee spent nearly nine years with the City of Milwaukee Department of City Development. He saw how public investment could create opportunities for neighborhoods and businesses, but wanted a deeper understanding of the construction and development side of that work.
That led him to UW-Stout Polytechnic, where he earned a master’s degree in construction management. His adviser, Dr. Jeanette Black, also encouraged him to consider consulting, an idea he explored through an elective course. “Dr. Black inspired me to venture into where I am now, which is consulting,” he said. “She encouraged me in a way that I probably would not have gotten from anybody else.”
His master’s thesis brought together his interests in economic development, construction and community revitalization. Agee examined the revitalization of streets named for Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., researching communities in multiple states and developing a framework and toolkit for strengthening those corridors.
Agee soon had an opportunity to put those ideas into practice — and even found himself talking about them on national television. In 2019, Agee appeared on Family Feud with his mother and siblings after his sister recruited the family for the show. During individual interviews, his family members talked about their work. Agee, meanwhile, found himself talking about King Drive, his UW-Stout Polytechnic master’s thesis and his vision for revitalizing streets named for Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
As executive director of Historic King Drive Business Improvement District No. 8 from 2016 to 2021, Agee put that vision to work on one of Milwaukee’s most historic commercial corridors. His approach to revitalization extended well beyond buildings. It focused on creating the conditions for people, businesses and neighborhoods to thrive.
Under his leadership, the district advanced business recruitment and entrepreneurship efforts, strengthened relationships with property owners and invested in the public spaces and identity of the corridor. Programs such as Brew City Match and Pop Up MKE helped entrepreneurs establish businesses, while improvements helped create more welcoming spaces for residents and visitors.
The results were visible in the corridor’s growing momentum. More businesses began locating along King Drive, entrepreneurs gained opportunities to establish themselves and previously underused properties attracted new attention and investment. The work also contributed to the broader re-emergence of Bronzeville as a cultural and entertainment district.
That ripple effect is what Agee sees when he looks back at his work in Milwaukee. He has described himself as a community builder, building on the work of those who came before him while creating opportunities for the people and businesses that will come next.
His UW-Stout Polytechnic education continued to shape that work. For five years with Emem Group, Agee applied his construction management background while managing mixed-use, apartment and office development projects. The experience gave him an opportunity to put his education into practice across the development process and deepen his understanding of how projects take shape. One project was a 50,000 square-foot new construction addition for Outreach Community Health Center, where Agee managed the process to achieve certification through the International WELL Building Institute (IWBI). The project allowed the health center to expand its behavioral health services and care for its patients, and the building was one of the first WELL-certified buildings in Wisconsin.
Today, Agee is applying those lessons in a new way. He launched Agee Partners, a strategic advisory and national consulting practice focused on economic development and real estate. Through his consulting work, Agee will advise communities and organizations on economic development strategy, real estate activation, and community engagement. He has been invited to advise Main Street communities in several states to assist with economic development planning, opportunity identification, and to build on the assets and initiatives currently underway.
For Agee, that work represents another stage of the same mission: helping communities create a foundation that can outlast any singular person or project.
“I’m less about titles,” he said, “and more about impact and leaving something that people can really add to.”
That is the legacy Agee wants to leave: stronger communities with the people, businesses and spaces needed to keep building.
