Schulz was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where his father was a tax enforcement supervisor and his mother a secretary at the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee.
Less than one year later, in February 1984, he accepted the same position in the government of Milwaukee County Executive William O'Donnell, bringing him back to his hometown.
Amidst criticism that Schulz was politicizing the parks director position, he made a political endorsement of then-state senator John Norquist for mayor of Milwaukee in 1988.
While he triumphed over initiating the efforts that eventually led to the construction of Miller Park nearly 10 years later, upgrading Mitchell International Airport, and expanding the parks system, his time in office was also remembered for high property tax increases and a scandal within the Milwaukee County Zoo system.
In 1992, Schulz became the founding director of the Infrastructure Technology Institute [2] at Northwestern University, and concurrently served as an adjunct professor of civil and environmental engineering.