Professional Bio

Tiffanie Beatty, the eldest of five, was born and raised in Tacoma. She recieved a full scholarship to Whitworth University for academic excellence and her commitment to leadership and diversity. At Whitworth, Tiffanie held several official and unofficial leadership positions. She graduated cum laude in 2007 with a BA in Psychology. Later that year, she moved to Chicago, Illinois for a one-year apprenticeship with the Chicago Center for Urban Life and Culture, an academic off campus studies program located in the Hyde Park neighborhood in Chicago. Upon completion of her apprenticeship, Tiffanie was offered a position at the Chicago Center as the Program Coordinator and promoted the following year to Program Director, the position she currently holds. At Chicago Center, Tiffanie is responsible for maintaining and developing all program operations, including 5 academic terms throughout the year as well as several short-term group programs.

Aside from her work at the Chicago Center, Tiffanie is a writer, editor, performing artist and activist. While at Whitworth, Tiffanie performed her original spoken word poetry at several university sponsored events, including opening up for renowned spoken word artist, Shihan. Tiffanie’s works, “Slave Mentality,” a poem and “Niggaphobia,” a personal essay was published in Whitworth’s 2007 publication of “Script”.

Since Whitworth, Tiffanie has been a guest speaker and led workshops for Act Six Leadership and Scholarship Initiative as well as North Park University in Chicago. She has featured in several newsletters and online blogs, including “The Uplifting,” a progressive independent publication and the Northwest Leadership Foundation’s “The Watering Hole.”  She has also become active in the vibrant spoken word scene in Chicago, the birth place of the art form.  Tiffanie is a Project Manager for Black Freighter Productions. Her editing credits include the poetry book, “Becoming” by Ivan Tarver and an anthology, “Poetic Hustles, Volume I,” in which she has two poems as well.  Tiffanie’s first poetry book, “Black Like Milk” is expected to debut Winter 2010.

Tiffanie is also a founding Co-Director of Girls Reclaiming Individual Purpose in Society (GRIPS), a Tacoma-based organization dedicated to providing mentorship and community support for at-risk teenage girls and a Co-Founder and Producer with “Who You Calling Black?” a group dedicated to creatively exploring identity through community dialog and various media.

Other websites for Tiffanie Beatty include: http://www.chicagocenter.org/, http://www.gripswa.org/ and www.welovereading.com