Dr. Tameka McGlawn

What is your industry or area of expertise?

My area of expertise is educational leadership. Under that lives this range of assets, talents, attributes, and experiences that are not one-dimensional. I’ve always been spirit-led about when, where, and how I am to serve, and that hasn’t always been related to a sector-based career trajectory. There’s always been an emphasis on diversity, equity, and inclusion. That’s been the throughline that has anchored me in a servant leadership disposition. 

Why do you believe in the mission of BlackFemaleProject?

Malcolm X said the Black woman is the most disrespected person in America. And that’s at the heart of it. Having lived inside that experience of disrespect, disregard, and dehumanization,  I’ve found that Black women in the workplace have often been met with fierce opposition and fierce sabotaging, undermining, and destruction. Having been involved since the inception of BlackFemaleProject, it served a need that was missing in a beloved community where we not only could come and lay our burdens down but also strategically assess what it is that we need to be in these spaces and be of service without sacrificing and destroying our very presence and being. 

What brought you to BlackFemaleProject?

When Precious started to talk about her vision, I knew that she had my wholehearted, committed support and that I would be vested in contributing along the way in any way I could, not only for myself but for the community, because there are few places and spaces where Black women can thrive, be promoted, and be celebrated. 

How has BlackFemaleProject impacted you personally?

It’s been a healing balm—emotionally, mentally, spiritually, and physically. One of my beloved mentors always reminded me that, "Home is where the love is," and BlackFemaleProject is a place I call home. It dovetails back to the idea of being in workspaces that are not designed for the way I show up in the world. In many of my professional environments, I'm the only one. BlackFemaleProject helps me stay anchored in the ways in which I want to show up in the work. 

What motivated you to become an advisor to BlackFemaleProject?

As Precious and a few of us other OGs were thinking about what was needed, we were talking about how to create a methodology to assemble, organize, coordinate, and extract from BlackFemaleProject storytelling and events. It was more like, “Would you, please??” And I was like, “Of course!” It was because we needed an infrastructure for creating a methodology for telling the story of BlackFemaleProject. 

What BlackFemaleProject content or offering have you found most resonant?

Everything. The partnership between BlackFemaleProject and Black Teacher Project, those annual convenings, and the Teacher Truth work in the last year-and-a-half has been profoundly generative and constructive. Dr. E’rika Chambers facilitated a session last month at the summit for the California Association of African American Superintendents and Administrators (CAAASA), and it was standing room only; that says a lot. I got calls about BlackFemaleProject being in Atlanta last month, and I wasn't even at those events. But to hear from other people about them is meaningful to me. They tell a story unto themselves. 

Bio:

Dr. McGIawn has provided a servant and transformational leadership approach to urban learning communities for nearly 30 years. Having served at every institutional level, in a myriad of settings and professional roles, she is considered a seasoned collaborator, evidence-based strategist, and institutional advisor. Her actionable research interests, where she has served and facilitated professional development, learning and capacity building includes, implementing systemic tactical strategies to achieve equity-based outcomes, performance optimization of individual and organizational practices, operationalizing intersectionality, culturally responsive pedagogy and leadership, building network-community alliances through innovative collective impact initiatives, Improvement Science, and Design-Based Implementation Research.

Dr. McGlawn is a proud graduate of both the CSU San Diego's Community Based Block Multicultural & Social Justice Master's Program, and the Rossier School of Education at the University of Southern California where she earned her doctorate in Educational Leadership. An effective consensus builder and action-oriented scholar practitioner, Dr. McGlawn brings an ideal synthesis of research savvy, practical application, and a deep devotion to increased educational and economic opportunities for all students, their families and communities.

Dr. McGlawn is based at the University of California, Berkeley.