GREEN BAY, Wis. (NBC 26) -- Just last summer, Stephanie Ortiz took to Green Bay's streets in protest.
"It really hit home as a mom raising a black boy," she said about the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis and incidents alike.
Almost a year later, Ortiz says her efforts were all worthwhile.
"I know it gives me a glimmer of a hope," Ortiz said about the guilty verdict in the Derek Chauvin trial. "But there's so much work to be done because we know that this is a systemic issue."
Ortiz is a co-founder of Black Lives United Green Bay. She says Chauvin's murder conviction brings on a mixture of emotions.
"It may be hard to call it justice... but certainly one situation of accountability, especially for the family and loved ones of George Floyd," she said.
Police in Northeast Wisconsin say they've learned a lot in a year of unrest.
"We want to feel that they can trust us," Green Bay police commander Kevin Warych said about his dealings with Northeast Wisconsinites. "And we want to earn their respect. And when we do that, we have to go to the people in our community to work with them, to listen and to really understand what their concerns are."
Local law enforcement also says community engagement is a newfound goal.
"Understand that we're here to work together," Warych said. "Green Bay is really very special. And when we work together, great things happen."
While Ortiz says Chauvin's guilty verdict is a relief, she says it's not the end for her as an activist.
"My hope is that folks don't stop here, that this is just again the beginning," Ortiz said. "But, certainly, a historic moment that many of us will remember likely for the rest of our lives."
