Tequilla Brownie, Ed.D.
Chief Executive Officer
On the TEDx stage, CEO Dr. Tequilla Brownie asks, what needs to be true for all young people to thrive?
As TNTP’s Chief Executive Officer, Dr. Tequilla Brownie oversees TNTP’s executive team and all aspects of the organization’s operations, strategy, and growth.
Prior to becoming CEO, Tequilla led TNTP’s Strategy, Policy, and Community Coalitions division as an Executive Vice President. Her team’s work was focused on improving local and national student outcomes and disrupting educational inequities to ensure all students are afforded an opportunity to be successful.
Previously, Tequilla served as both Executive Vice President and Vice President in the Client and Consulting team, leading TNTP’s work with school districts to design and implement integrated approaches to talent and academic strategy. Before joining TNTP, Tequilla worked for nine years in Memphis City Schools, where she oversaw the district-wide effort to improve student outcomes by increasing teacher effectiveness. Working alongside TNTP’s staff, Tequilla helped build community support for quality education and drove human capital reforms that led to significant policy changes. Tequilla is also a licensed therapist and worked as a school social worker, where her focus was on supporting students’ and families’ efforts to improve academic and social outcomes.
Tequilla holds a BA in Psychology from Yale University, an MA in Social Work from the University of Tennessee – Knoxville, and an Ed.D in Education Leadership and Policy Studies from the University of Memphis. Her dissertation was on the policy implications surrounding teacher evaluation and effectiveness. She is a sought-after national speaker on policy issues and frequently presents to key state legislatures and other leaders and stakeholders at the national and local level to drive important policy changes related to educational equity.
Tequilla serves on several local and national boards including Stand for Children, ForwARd Arkansas, The MindTrust, KIPP Delta School Board, and Memphis Seeding Success. She is also a founding Leadership Committee member and former Board Member of Education Leaders of Color (EdLoC).
Imali Ariyarathne, seventh-grade teacher at Langston Hughes Academy, introduces her students to the captivating world of science.
About TNTP
TNTP is the nation’s leading research, policy, and consulting organization dedicated to transforming America’s public education system, so that every generation thrives.
Today, we work side-by-side with educators, system leaders, and communities across 39 states and over 6,000 districts nationwide to reach ambitious goals for student success.
Yet the possibilities we imagine push far beyond the walls of school and the education field alone. We are catalyzing a movement across sectors to create multiple pathways for young people to achieve academic, economic, and social mobility.