Because parents are FAB.

What is the Family Advisory Board?

At OECI, it’s our mission to make Milwaukee a fabulous place to raise children. So what will that take? Our Family Advisory Board gives input on how to make our city better for families with small children. Made up of current or past caregivers for children 0-3 years old, the FAB Team shares ideas to give all our children a great start in life.

Interested in Serving on the FAB Team?

There are no openings on the FAB Team at this time. Contact us for other ways to get involved.
We’re always looking for committed, forward-thinking Milwaukeeans to help us set our community’s kids up for success. FAB Team members serve an initial one-year term, after which OECI may invite them to continue. The board meets monthly. (Read the full FAB Membership Guidelines.)

Meet our FAB Members

  • Life coach and Chicago native Kiarri McBroom has lived in Milwaukee since arriving to attend Marquette University in 2008. His blended family includes six children aged 2 to 22, giving him rare perspective on ushering kids from birth to adulthood. He believes supporting families is a top challenge for the city, and he’s excited to be part of OECI’s efforts to nurture parents in nurturing children. We asked him some questions about his vision and about serving on the Family Advisory Board.

  • Milwaukee native Sally Yeldell has raised four children here, who now range from 18 to 32 years old. A former Head Start teacher, she currently serves as coordinator of the Best Babies Zone in the Westlawn housing development and has been a community ambassador for the Westlawn Partnership for a Healthy Environment for almost 10 years. We chatted with her about the Family Advisory Board and her ideas for helping Milwaukee families.

  • Educator and Michigan native Tiffanie Lawson has lived and worked in Milwaukee since landing a job with MPS right after college. She has taught with Milwaukee Public Schools for over 20 years and is currently teaching Head Start.

    She lives in Milwaukee with her Middle Schooler and husband. Tiffanie is a Member of the MPS/MKE Early Childhood 1,825 Initiative Team.

    The MPS/MKE Early Childhood 1,825 Initiative is an opportunity for members of the Milwaukee community, as key stakeholders, to partner with Milwaukee Public Schools in a collective effort to provide learning experiences of the highest quality for all of Milwaukee’s children. She started her work with OECI as a consultant on the Pop Spots Project.

  • Sheila Cruz is a Head Start teacher and mother of two children, who are 8 years old and one and a half. She got involved with the Office of Early Childhood Initiatives after taking part in the LENA Start program, which helps parents of infants learn to build their babies’ brains through interactive talk. We chatted with Sheila about her experiences doing the LENA program with her 1.5-year-old, plus what she’d like to see for Milwaukee families.

  • My name is Khamarah Willis. I am the Center Director of Northshore Preschool and Childcare and a mother to 3 beautiful children. I joined the FAB in December 2021 after participating in the LENA Start program with my son. Being engaged in child focused programs like these have solidified my passion for taking initiatives to enhance the development of children in my community.

  • Bregetta Wilson, MS, LPC-IT, is a positive person, an advocate, community leader, and change agent. She has been working for and with families in the Milwaukee community for the last eighteen years. She resides in Milwaukee with her fiancé, two of three children, and pet Husky.

    Her Hobbies & Affiliations

    • She is currently the co-chair of the Friends of Rose Park Group, a group of residents within the Harambee and Riverwest community that support and bring awareness to the park efforts through beautification projects as community engagement.

    • She loves to learn about cryptocurrency and working out with an accountability group.

    Why OECI Matters to her:

    Early Childhood initiatives highlight giving parents the tools, resources, education, and support to provide their children with opportunities to support their education and their ability to thrive in their home, community, and environment. It means creating opportunities for children to be exposed to new learning and cultures that influence healthier behaviors and choices.

  • Tia L. Sanders is a Mental Health Advocate working closely in our community with pregnant women, children, and families. Being a Milwaukee Native, Tia Possesses two Postsecondary degrees from the UW System. Her most recent accolade is her Master’s Degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling. Tia has extensive experience in prenatal care, case management, and community engagement allowing her to be very hands-on with her targeted population. As a Single Mother, Tia prioritizes this title above all, enabling her to connect to mothers within our community as she has had to overcome barriers and obstacles around transition and growth. In the near future, Tia hopes to scale her prenatal agency and become more seasoned as a Mental Health Therapist dedicating her studies to postpartum depression and infant mental health. Tia Dedicates her scope of work to being a pillar in our community by bridging the gap between families and our grass-rooted community resources to promote mental health and improve the family dynamic.

  • Maria Beltran was born and raised in Milwaukee, WI and has lived in Lindsay Heights for the past 30+ years.

    To Maria, Early Childhood Initiatives means helping our children with their brain development by having the tools and strategies for brain development and being able to have resources and activities for our families of young children interact and help their children learn positive healthy experiences. To teach our children that they to Matter and they are all Smart.

    She is currently the President of Parent Policy Council for HeadStart at Bruce Guadalupe Community School and volunteer on Parent Involvement Committee. She is also a Strong Community Organizer of Lindsay Heights and part of The Communications Team. Maria is a Participant of C.O.L.E. Parent Lead and is currently training at Sixteenth Street Community Health Centers to bring the Lead Outreach Program to the Northside of Milwaukee to help fight the LEAD Epidemic.

    As an Ambassador of Mighty Small Moments, she is able to do what she loves, which includes learning, reading and being able to participate in fun events with my family. She also Love Dancing!

  • Born and raised in the city of Milwaukee, Elston Hortman grew up on 13th and McKinley. He watched the demolition for, and the building of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Park. He's a product of Milwaukee Public Schools and went to Seifert Elementary, Roosevelt Junior High, and North Division High School.

    After graduating from the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee in 1990 with a Bachelor's Degree in Zoology, Elston fell into Education (he needed a job with health insurance;son on the way).

    He began his 30 years of educational experience as a paraprofessional aide at what was then known as Victor Berger Elementary School. He got his teaching license through the MMTEP Program with MPS in 1997 and his Master's in Curriculum and Instruction from UW-Milwaukee in 2003. He has volunteered with the MPS tutoring program from 1990 until it ended in 2020.

    Elston's 30 + years of teaching experience (public schools, private schools, Title I tutoring companies and SES tutoring agencies) have shown him what works and what doesn't in the education of urban youth. He is currently a Family Engagement Coordinator for the SPARK Program of the Boys and Girls Club of Greater Milwaukee and holds a Lifetime DPI Teaching License.

    He is the single parent of a 31-year old son who is also a product of MPS, UW-Milwaukee and is now gainfully employed, married and the father of three living in Atlanta, Georgia.

    " I believe that a good education starts in the womb. Children need to be read to beginning before they're born. The earlier they fall in love with learning the easier it becomes to educate them. I would like to see the lines between school, the community and future careers blurred, so that children will be able to easier make the transition between formal education and real life."

  • My name is M. Judy Mays, retired with a background in Financial and Office Management and Associate Degree in “Early Childhood Education.” Because of my concern for children’s family life today, their future opportunities and

    development, I have been effective in working with adults who work with children. My past includes teaching adult Wisconsin Registry approved classes, operation of multiple family childcare centers and enthusiastic coordination of church youth groups and events.

    I am Coordinator for “Providers Taking Action Support Group Phase II” which consists of Child Care Providers in the Family and Group arena. We provide training, Resources, Advocacy and Educational Opportunities to adults and families responsible for children and their learning experiences.

    I am impressed and energized by the options OECI offers parents of 0–3-year-old children. Lena Starts and Mighty Small Moments make a significant impact on our families.

  • Sujatha Kancharla is an educator and mother to two cuties - a 7 year old girl and a 3 year old boy.

    Her Hobbies:

    • Spending time with my family and playing with her kids

    • Learning more about community opportunities and taking part in those services .

    • Reading books with my kids and watching movies

    Why OECI matters to her:

    Early childhood initiatives means a lot by giving a lot to the caregivers and parents of 0-3yr old a lot of opportunities by guiding them different ways to engage the little ones and how their brain develops at very young age. provides different materials for the families to engage them in reading and spending time with kids. OECI is always a best opportunity for us to take part in .