With more than 30 years of leadership in early childhood education and policy, Dr. Dan Wuori is one of the field’s most respected bipartisan policy experts. Known globally for his uplifting and educational social media presence, he is also one of the world’s most trusted parenting and child development authorities. Dr. Wuori’s forthcoming book, The Daycare Myth: What We Get Wrong About Early Care and Education (and What We Should Do About It), is a wakeup call for the nation, sounding the alarm on critical and costly disconnects between the science of early development and our approach to public policy. Offering plain talk and practical advice for parents, policymakers and early childhood professionals, the book poses a critical question: Just how long are we willing to incur the costs of our errors before we correct these errors themselves?
Writer, Speaker, Advisor
An accomplished writer, public speaker, and policy advisor to the nation’s governors, state lawmakers and other senior state elected and administrative officials, Dr. Wuori serves currently as the Founder and President of Early Childhood Policy Solutions (a public policy consultancy focused on children and families) and Strategic Advisor on Early Childhood at the Saul Zaentz Charitable Foundation. He joined The Hunt Institute as its founding Director of Early Learning in January of 2019, and served as Senior Director from February 2021-November 2023, helping to attract more than $10 million in philanthropic and fee-for-service work to The Institute. A former kindergarten teacher and school district administrator, Dr. Wuori served as Deputy Director of South Carolina First Steps to School Readiness – the state’s comprehensive, public-private early learning initiative – from 2005-2018. In this role he worked alongside elected leaders to develop significant, bipartisan support for early childhood education and oversaw system innovations including the delivery of public prekindergarten in private, community- and faith-based preschools, improvements to the state’s IDEA Part C early intervention system, the creation of statewide program accountability standards, and the expansion of evidence-based home visiting programs. He lives in Columbia, South Carolina with his wife and young adult children.