This is one of an occasional series intended to paint a cumulative portrait of our Jewish community.
Individuals for this column are selected at random from the Milwaukee Jewish Federation community database. The Chronicle does not have access to donor information, or contact members of the community with regard to their giving habits.
Today we focus on Herb Zien.
This winter, Herb Zien and his wife, Liz, plan to take a family trip to Japan.
For the past 20 years, the couple and their two children, Katie, 22, and Charlie, 16, have been traveling to their timeshare in Aruba, where they enjoy activities such as scuba diving and snorkeling.
But this year, they will travel to the Far East to visit Katie, a recent graduate of Columbia University, who is spending a year Japan teaching English.
The couple has taken their children on international trips since the children were young, they said in a recent interview; Herb said the family has traveled to the Caribbean islands, London, Madrid, and all over the United States.
As a result of this multicultural exposure, he said, both children are “open to new ideas,” and have “eclectic tastes…. Vacations are what kids remember most.”
But when he’s home, Herb is most likely to be found working. Or talking on the phone, Liz said. “If we don’t take Herb out of the country, he’s on the phone.”
But there’s a reason for that: Herb is deeply passionate about his business — he is the president of ThermalSource, a one-year-old company that purchases and operates district energy systems and provides steam and chilled water for buildings in densely populated areas. According to his wife, he “really enjoys working and will work long hours.”
But he also believes that “Doing something interesting every day is important.” So, he finds time for his wide-ranging interests, which include downhill and cross country skiing, jogging, and the theater and arts.
Zien, 56, was born and raised in Whitefish Bay, and now lives in Bayside with his wife, a retired real estate property developer, in a home they renovated in 1995. They are members of Congregation Emanu-El B’ne Jeshurun.
After graduating from Whitefish Bay High School, Zien attended Cornell University, where he earned his bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering. He went on to receive a master’s degree in thermal engineering, and then another master’s in management from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
It was while he was at MIT that Zien first met Liz in the mid 70’s. She was a student at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. According to Herb, Liz was the roommate of his cousin, Chip’s, then girlfriend.
When the young couple first moved back to Wisconsin, they settled on the east side of Milwaukee. Zien bought his father’s business, Zien Plumbing and Heating with three other employees, expanded it, and then sold it again.
He later he worked as director of Dominion Thermal, part of Dominion Resources, before he realized that “this was a pretty neat business,” and decided to go into it on his own. His young company is closing a purchase on eight plants in Boston, Baltimore, Trenton, Philadelphia, Kansas City, Oklahoma City, St. Louis and Tulsa.
Zien said he always knew he was “moving in this direction,” as he prefers the “development side [of the business]” instead of engineering.
Though the couple shares many interests, they also don’t mind indulging in the other’s hobbies. For example, though Liz loves to garden, Herb says just “likes to watch her garden.” And while his wife loves to ride horses — the couple’s honeymoon was at a dude ranch in Wyoming — he prefers the scenery on such trips.
In addition to business, Zien divides his time between many other responsibilities, such as serving as the president of the MIT alumni club of Wisconsin, the membership chairman and treasurer of the Cornell Club of Wisconsin.
With all of these obligations, it seems hard to believe that Zien can get everything done. But according to his wife, it won’t be a problem because as she said, “he will see things through.”
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