In 2014, the Packard Foundation launched Starting Smart and Strong, a ten-year place-based early learning initiative in Oakland, Fresno, and East San Jose, California. The goal of the initiative is to significantly improve the quality of adult‐child interactions across all settings to ensure children grow up confident, ready to learn, and ready for kindergarten.This is the first in a series of case studies exploring what we have learned about the core elements of Starting Smart and Strong, hoping that our experience is helpful to other funders interested in developing multi-year, place-based strategies. This study is authored by former Packard Foundation program research analyst Diana Garcia and addresses the important role of embedded technical assistance providers. Diana shares helpful examples from each of the three communities and explores the importance of carefully matching providers to each community, including community leaders in choosing providers, clearly articulating the role of the providers, and building and fostering trusting relationships among all involved.