Tanya is Founder of Impact Strategy Group, Inc. a team of social impact designers stewarding organizations through a process of moving from a vision into action with a deep commitment to transforming inequitable systems. She formerly served in a full-time capacity as Vice President of Program Design leading Turnaround for Children’s programmatic strategy to develop tools and implementation design, enabling educators to create the conditions for social and emotional development while addressing the impact of adversity on learning for over six years.

 

Tanya has experience working with notable visionaries to build equitable environments for both young and adult learners throughout her career. She served as an Education Consultant for Authentic Education under the leadership of Dr. Grant Wiggins, co-author of Understanding by Design (UbD). In that capacity, she developed an adult curriculum and delivered an innovative professional development workshop series with a robust focus on backward-mapping for clear and measurable results.

 

Tanya began her career as a math teacher in the Compton (CA) Unified School District. Her experience also includes 11 years working as a math teacher, instructional leader, and staff developer in some of the highest-performing charter school networks.

 

Leading educators at both North Star Academy in Newark, New Jersey (the flagship school in the Uncommon Schools network), and Explore Schools in Brooklyn, New York. Tanya earned an M.A. from Teachers College, Columbia University in organizational leadership, and a B.A. from the University of California, Los Angeles, in political science. She invests in constant learning, earning certifications in design thinking through IDEO and in change management through Cornell University.

 

Who do you admire most in your life?

My parents. My mom and dad each modeled great faith, resilience, vision, wisdom, and strong character. Their example, and tenacious will to break the generational cycle of poverty within our family is why I am here today.

 

What motivates you?

Witnessing how the process of design thinking enables inclusive teams to collaboratively develop innovative pathways to create the equitable conditions necessary for children to experience healthy development, achieve academically, and fulfill their full potential motivates me. I am committed to facilitating justice at a systems level through the power of design.