Burke Milnes

You can ask him to play some Black Sabbath or Metallica guitar riffs, but expect that he will smile and chord into Henry Purcell’s “Bouree” or something by Bach. It’s not that he couldn’t crank out the first four bars of “Smoke on the Water,” but Burke Milnes prefers classical. And while he first picked up the guitar while a high school student at Wichita Falls, Texas, he is excited about being back home living, working, and playing his guitar in Iowa.

Burke joined SPPG in 2009 when he was recruited to be the first AmeriCorps VISTA Program Specialist assigned to the Iowa Afterschool Alliance with State Public Policy Group. Born in Iowa City, Burke was a part of an Air Force family and lived throughout the country. After graduating from the University of Texas at San Antonio, with a degree in Political Science and Communication, he took a position with the Arizona Capitol Times in Phoenix, where he worked closely with the Arizona Legislature.

“Joining SPPG through AmeriCorps gives me an opportunity to engage my interests in both public policy and community service. With the AfterSchool Alliance, I have the opportunity to research, to write, and work closely with policy and policy makers and look forward to playing an instrumental role in improving aspects of Iowa’s Afterschool programs. At SPPG, I am exposed to a great variety of issues and a real team of people who understand my priorities.”

Burke lives in the downtown Metroplex of Des Moines, but returns to his home stomping grounds in northeast Iowa whenever he can. He commutes every day to work with his first decision – should I walk outside to the office or take the Skywalk? …sort of a Bach or Black Sabbath decision.