Introduction to T

Hey, I'm Tanya....

A 20-something, originally born in Moscow, Russia, adopted to a family in MA when I was 4 and now a Rhode Island transplant. I've worked in non-traditional educational spaces for the past 15 year, starting at COZ in Pawtucket, then as a respite care-giver for the Cerebral Palsy Foundation, then as an educator for an Environmental non-profit in New Bedford, then as a 21st Century Director for the Y in lower-South Prov and currently as a Director for Special Olympics Rhode Island. I am also a recent graduate from the Youth Development Master’s program! My educational journey has taken me all across the map and my current YDev ideology is a mix of “Positive Youth Development” and “Social Justice Youth Development” founded, but progressing from, a constructivist paradigm. I strive to keep my work youth-centered and youth-led.

 

Besides my youth work, I love anything and everything outdoorsy- hiking (NH48, 52WAV) camping, running and gardening. I consume a lot of different types of media, but I would have to say the form I enjoy the most is Instagram- I love taking pictures, creating reels and just capturing fleeting moments of beauty in the natural world. I’m hoping to feature some of my photos throughout these posts!