Gwen Moore - Early Life, Education and Career

Early Life, Education and Career

Moore was born in Racine, Wisconsin, but has spent most of her life in Milwaukee. She is the eighth of nine children; her father was a factory worker and her mother a public school teacher. Moore attended North Division High School and served as student council president. She later attended Marquette University and became a single mother and was for a while a welfare recipient. Nonetheless, she was able to earn a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science, graduating in 1973.

She worked as an organizer with Volunteers In Service to America. Through the program, she worked to establish the Cream City Community Development Credit Union to offer grants and loans to low-income residents to start businesses. For her work, she was awarded the national “VISTA Volunteer of the Decade” award from 1976-1986. From 1985 to 1989, she worked for the City of Milwaukee as a neighborhood development strategist and for the state Department of Employment Relations and Health and Social Services. Moore also worked for the Wisconsin Housing and Economic Development Authority (WHEDA) as a housing officer.

In 2000, she received a Certificate for Senior Executives in State and Local Government from Harvard University.