Tami Hill-Washington, Ed.M.
Vice President, Equitable Systems Initiatives
Tami Hill-Washington, Ed.M. serves as Vice President of Equitable Systems Initiatives at Turnaround for Children. She is a big-picture systems thinker who focuses on building the capacity of senior-level leaders to actualize effective change management strategies for adaptive challenges. She thrives in collaborative work environments that focus on building equitable and inclusive outcomes.
In her current role, she works closely with Turnaround’s CEO to strategize and execute a multi-year plan that drives towards optimizing organizational culture; aligns the organization’s practices and policies to diversity and inclusion goals; leads the learning and development of staff’s knowledge of diversity, equity and inclusion content and leadership practices; and monitors progress through staff experience surveys aligned to diversity and inclusion goals. Additionally, she is responsible for leading cross-functional project teams to develop asynchronous products and tools and the dissemination of these resources to school partners. She also manages regional relationships with school district partners and is responsible for building effective programming to build a school team’s capacity to promote positive development and learning outcomes for students using an integrated approach to actualize whole-child purposes.
Before Turnaround, Tami held a variety of positions within the K-12 system, serving as a high school social studies teacher, dean of students, assistant principal and instructional coach consultant. Previously, Tami worked in a top-performing charter management organization, Success Academy, where she was a dean of students and assistant principal; and as an adjunct professor at Touro College.
Tami holds an Ed.M. in organizational leadership from Teachers College Columbia University, an M.A. in Education from St. Mary’s University of Minnesota and a B.S. in Sociology from St. Cloud State University. She holds certifications as an NYS school building leaders, teacher license, and Diversity and Inclusion practices.
Tami’s proudest role is being mom-in-chief to two adult children, Kyle (27) and Tyler (21), wife of 27 years to Curtis; daughter, sister, auntie, and voracious reader of non-fiction and all things social, political, and historical.
Who do you admire most in your life?
My family — husband Curtis and children Kyle and Tyler. My three strong black men are extremely dedicated and passionate about living life to the fullest. Our belief in each other to achieve our hearts’ desires propels us to higher levels for our life goals. We believe our condition is not our conclusion.
What motivates you?
I am motivated by the hope of transforming schools to become spaces where children are centered on whole-child development. I believe that it is our moral imperative to reimagine what education can be. When we put children at the center of schooling and create environments that feel supportive, educators can build student skills and mindsets that are necessary for lifelong learning.
Favorite quote?
“Your current condition is not your conclusion” and “The master’s tools will never dismantle the master’s house.”
What do you love most about your work?
Being a witness to the transformational change of an individual’s growth and the impact it has on their professional experience and children’s education. Working and learning in community with others propels changes faster and helps us all get smarter together.