[7] She left the post on November 1, 2007, to spend more time on family interests and non-profit work, particularly the Boys & Girls Club of Dane County.

[16][17][18] In July 2019, Burke resigned from the Madison school board to focus on Building Brave, a nonprofit she founded with a goal of empowering women.

[1] On October 7, 2013, Burke announced[19] her candidacy for the Democratic nomination to challenge Republican governor Scott Walker in the 2014 Wisconsin gubernatorial election.

[20] In September 2014, Burke acknowledged that portions of her jobs plan, "Invest for Success", were copied from previous proposals by other Democratic gubernatorial candidates in other states.

[23] On November 4, 2014, Burke lost the election to Governor Walker, who won with slightly more than 52% of the vote, virtually the same as his first gubernatorial win.

She sits on several non-profit boards, and has volunteered regularly at Frank Allis Elementary, mentored a high school sophomore, and assisted a teenage mother coming out of foster care.

[25] Burke joined with teacher Kate Brien to found AVID/TOPS, a non-profit dedicated to help kids striving to be the first in their family to attend college.