Tiffany Gipson is a Program Specialist for the California AfterSchool Network (CAN). She started with CAN as a member of the Leadership Team and quickly transitioned to a staff position in August 2017. Before becoming a part of the CAN Team, Tiffany was the Technical Assistance Director for Higher Ground NDC, a social justice and educational non-profit that focused on sharing high quality afterschool and support services to schools and communities of color throughout Northern California. In conjunction with her work with Higher Ground, she has also facilitated and chaired several community-based social justice efforts that focused on impacting and interrupting the systems that prevent equity for all. She was the Chair of the Oakland Chapter of the NAACP, Youth Committee, CO-Chair of the African American Advisory Committee on Crime to the Oakland Police Department and the Co-Chair for East Oakland Building Healthy Communities. She also completed a 2-year After School Knowledge (ASK) Fellowship for the Soda Foundation specifically to share and build best practices for organizations to work with school systems to replicate high quality after school programs throughout diverse communities.

Her personal goal is to strengthen her community by doing the work that first empowers the individual. In support of this goal she was worked in varied capacities in the fields of education and social justice for 25 years. She has held every position from a classroom tutor then teacher, and counselor to Organizer, Program and Organization Director in the non-profit sector specifically focusing on the importance of expanded learning and authentic community engagement as a core strategy in school and community transformation.

Being born and raised in Louisiana, food, frivolity, friends and family are important aspects of Tiffany’s life and help keep her grounded and invigorated to fight the fight that is high quality expanded learning opportunities for every child, every day.