Hi, I’m Dr. Tami

I am a career educator with a passion for equity and social justice. It is the core of who I am personally and how I have used my voice professionally for the past 25 years. I am excited to meet and collaborate with you.

Dragonfly Rising was born from the desire and need for a new direction and community in my life. I have always enjoyed building relationships and collaborating with people. I wanted to build a community to engage and collaborate with others to provide support, resources, and tools to learn and share ways of supporting equity and social justice.

I’m sure you may be wondering about the name and where it came from. If not, that’s ok because I’m going to give you a little insight. Its meaning is a part of who I am.

The Dragonfly honors and represents my sister, Melissa. I lost her in August 2022 from Colon Cancer. She was 42. Dragonflies are a symbol connected to Colon Cancer; they are a symbols of change and rebirth and also to remind us that even though our loved ones are gone, they are always with us. Rising is my personal life mantra. Maya Angelo’s poem lives in my heart and her words are tattooed on my body. Still I Rise, in the face of the hardest of experiences and life, staying true to myself and my voice will always have me rising up!

The logo includes my favorite color yellow, my sister’s favorite color green, and colon cancer blue. I hope you can find the other small nods and gems in its design.

Welcome to the space. I look forward to getting to know you better and using our voices.

— Dr. Tami


My Approach

I specialize in supporting educators with integrating equity and social justice into their work/classrooms by meeting them where they are to find and use their voice and find the next step that aligns with them and their goals/vision.

Relationships

I believe that everything connects back to relationship and community. We were meant to live and work together. I pride myself on the relationships I have built and have maintained as a professional. I am always striving to engage with and learn from others

lifelong learning

While my 25 years of learning, integrating and coaching on equity has provided with expertise. I believe there is always more to learn and ways to grow. I consistently seek out resources and support from my community.


Working with Dr. TAMI DEAN