Milwaukee Independent

Growing up in a strict Catholic home where nothing changed except dates on the calendar, it was no small step to leave behind the family mink farm to study Sufi mysticism in North Africa. Yet that step was only one of the many along a journey that Charles P. Ries has walked in his life. Taking him from an experience with the Dalai Lama, to the Hollywood film industry, fundraising for hundreds of nonprofits, becoming a prolific published author, supporting Milwaukee startups, and many points between and beyond in his search for peace, understanding, and God.