Our Story & Our Why.

What we do.

 The City of Milwaukee’s Office of Early Childhood Initiatives (OECI) opened its doors in 2018 with a vision to ensure every child has the building blocks for success in school and life. We know that supporting high-quality early learning in the first years of life is the most effective investment in human capital a community can make. And that a strong early learning community is the very foundation of a thriving city. 

OECI works collaboratively to ensure that all Milwaukee children from birth to three years old have access and exposure to learning environments that promote social-emotional development, cognitive growth, and lifelong success. We fulfill this mission by:

  • Connecting families and childcare providers with existing resources that support healthy development

  • Bringing best practices in early learning to Milwaukee 

  • Launching and supporting initiatives to foster healthy child development throughout our city

  • Working within government to advocate for policies that support early education

OECI Leadership

 Dea Wright serves as director of OECI. Under her leadership, the office has secured national partnerships with organizations working on behalf of young children and families and created innovative, award-winning initiatives to advance early childhood education in Milwaukee. 
Wright spearheaded Wisconsin’s first-ever Family Read, Play, and Learn space inside a Milwaukee laundromat. Her work with Too Small To Fail expanded literacy-rich areas to children’s court waiting rooms. The accomplishments earned Milwaukee the Laundry Literacy Coalition 2020 Summit Award for Outstanding Partnership. 

Dea is the proud mother of six children with her husband of 23 years and a lifelong advocate for children’s right to thrive. With an extensive background in early childhood development and a stellar history of moving the needle on access to quality programs for children and families, Dea is uniting Milwaukee around early childhood learning.