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Melody Wolske, Class of 1987

Posted by Whitney Dotson on Sep 6, 2022 10:35:00 AM

ML AlumniMelody (Thompson) Wolske began her distinguished career in public accounting at Price Waterhouse, which became PwC in 1998. She started there just a few weeks after graduating from UW-Milwaukee in December 1990 with a BAA in Accounting. With a drive to learn, Melody became the first female admitted to the partnership of PwC’s Milwaukee office in 2001. 

“When I first started at the Firm I focused on serving clients and doing what I could to help my fellow team members. This positioned me to take on new opportunities, including in a newer industry for our office, which was financial services. By the time I became manager, I opted to do a busy season tour in Boston to learn more about the industry and connect with the broader national practice. It was such a good experience I did the same the following year. Pretty soon our first daughter arrived and I embraced the flexibility provided by PwC and went onto a flexible part-time work arrangement. When I was going through the partner admission process I was pregnant with our second daughter. My interview with the selection committee was 1 week before she was born in fact. Shortly after, I found out the good news regarding me making it through the process and being admitted to the partnership. I had many people around me who provided guidance, supported my flexible work arrangement, and were ready to share insights when needed.”

Grateful for the support received throughout her career, Melody has always found ways to support others, serving as a mentor and providing thoughtful advice. Currently, she serves as Lead Diversity Partner Champion for PwC Asset Wealth Management Tax East, where she supports many team members in their professional development. 

Most of Melody’s career as a CPA was in Milwaukee. In 2019, she transferred to take on new opportunities and is now proud to be a part of PwC Trust Solutions in the Philadelphia office, focusing on taxation for asset wealth management clients. 

“Given the specialty area I work in, there are a limited number of partners with the years of experience that I have. Therefore, when a partner on the East coast was retiring, they asked me if I would transfer to support some of our larger clients. The timing worked well because we were becoming empty-nesters. We officially moved in the summer of 2019, shortly before everything shut down, so it got more difficult to do things outside of work in a new area. We did find a church home which has been helpful. Also exploring is something that is enjoyable with so much history and amazing landscape near Philly.”

Melody has been married for over 29 years to Rich and have two daughters, Victoria and Gabriella. Both are ML alumna who have their mom’s desire for travel and adventure. They each opted for out-of-state universities. Tori will graduate from CU Boulder graduate school in 2022 and then begin her professional career at PwC. Ella is a Junior at the University of South Carolina. 

Melody actively supports the community in many ways, including more than 12 years serving on the Women’s Leadership Council of the United Way of Greater Milwaukee and Waukesha County. She spent 2 of those years as co-chair and now continues as an Emeritus Member of the council. For 15 years, she was a Neighborhood House of Milwaukee board member. Additionally, Melody has energetically supported the church and school ministries through serving on the Hales Corners Lutheran Church and School board, leading large group children’s ministry, co-chairing a charity function, and volunteering for various sporting events. In Pennsylvania, she has begun finding ways to volunteer in her new community and is excited to see how she can support the ministries there.

Melody is grateful for her experience at Martin Luther, as well as her daughters’. “When I first arrived at ML in the middle of my sophomore year, as a small town girl from Oshkosh I was overwhelmed. There were a number of students who really made me feel at home, and I will never forget their kindness. Also, the teachers made sure I was comfortable with coming in midyear. With both my girls going to ML as well I saw this kindness through a different lens and it fills my heart even more. The teachers truly care about the students and not just if they are learning the curriculum but about them as a whole person. It is this love and kindness that foundationally makes ML special.”

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