Dea works with all stakeholders living, playing, or working in the city to advance early care and education. Under her leadership, Dea has made lasting national partnerships with organizations working on behalf of young children and families. Collaborations with the Laundry Cares Foundation led to 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 previously spent six years at Milwaukee Public Schools as a before- and after-school Supervisor, then Manager for over 55 programs. She was instrumental in increasing the quality ratings for programs based on Wisconsin’s quality rating improvement system. She worked for both Dane and Milwaukee County Head Start, taught toddlers at Madison and Milwaukee Area Technical Colleges, and worked for the University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee’s Children Center, receiving recognition for her leadership and professionalism.