Tanisha Johnson

UC Riverside
tjohn017@ucr.edu

My interests in education began as a young girl growing up in Brooklyn, NY. I am the second of three children born of my mother and father who came to the United States from Jamaica during the seventies. My family’s journey to America had always been based on the premise of providing opportunities for future generations to have a better chance in life, both educationally and economically. Though I come from modest means, I was able to attend The Lawrenceville School, a prestigious boarding school in New Jersey, with the help of an organization that connected inner city African American and Latino youth to the world of private secondary schools, prestige, and the “American Dream.”  

I attended the University of Rochester and received a Bachelors of Science in Political Science and also hold a Masters degree in Elementary Education, an Advanced Certificate in Urban Teaching & Leadership from the Warner Graduate School of Education, and have taught elementary school for the past 11 years. I currently serve as an Elementary Math Instructional Specialist supporting 14 schools across the Alvord Unified School District in Riverside County. I am starting my sixth year in the doctoral program at the Graduate School of Education in the Education, Society, and Culture program at the University of California-Riverside, where my research focuses on how California-based teacher education programs prepare teacher candidates to serve Black K - 12 students. My research and teaching are driven by my personal experiences as a student in New York City Public Schools, my role as one of the few Black teachers and teacher leaders in my district, and my passion for civic engagement and social equality.