Wanda Montgomery, MS

Wanda Montgomery has dedicated her life to the pursuit of excellence in the fields of child education, child welfare and community engagement. She received a Master of Science in educational policy and leadership from Marquette University and a Bachelor of Science in community education from UW-Milwaukee. Wanda has spent decades putting knowledge into action in her professional career and community involvement.

Wanda has lived her life working on initiatives that impact the lives of children and their families through advocacy for services that help to improve overall outcomes. Wanda’s role in the early childhood community includes 10-plus years as an ad hoc instructor with the School of Education at UW-Milwaukee, as well as publishing three books on quality child care programming.

Throughout the years Wanda has served on numerous boards and committees. Wanda has been an active member of the National Black Child Development Institute (NBCDI) for over 25 years and is a founding and charter member of the Black Child Development Institute – Milwaukee Affiliate (BCDI-Milwaukee), which was chartered in November 1997. Wanda was elected to the NBCDI Board of Directors in 2010 and served through December 2015. In 2020 Governor Tony Evers appointed Wanda to his Health Equity Council.

In 2018 Wanda saw a need in the Village of Brown Deer to seek a position on the village board. Wanda was elected in April of that year as a trustee. Wanda sought a more significant role in Brown Deer and was elected President of the Village of Brown Deer in April 2019. In a July 2020 Milwaukee Journal Sentinel article, Wanda was attributed to sparking the change in leadership in the Village of Brown Deer.  The Village of Brown Deer is the only African-led community in the state of Wisconsin and has the only majority-minority board of trustees in any municipality.

In November 2020 Wanda retired from her position at Children’s Wisconsin and has decided to move into repurposing and becoming involved in her ongoing passions. In June 2020 Wanda became the author of “Influence: It’s More Than a Position,” a memoir of her life and nuggets to live by, as well as the founder of Black Mama’s Rock.

Wanda has been married to her soulmate Floyd Montgomery for over 47 years and they have three adult children, three grandchildren and two grand dogs. She lives by a quote from Maya Angelou, “when you learn, teach … when you get, give.”