Becca Tisdale
Partner & VP of Programs
Becca is a non-profit and district leader with close to three decades of experience as an educator. As a national leader in teacher certification program design and execution, Becca’s work has resulted in the preparation of thousands of teachers for high-need settings in Detroit, Chicago, New Orleans, and other cities across the country.
Becca worked at the national education nonprofit TNTP for close to a decade. As a member of the national teacher training team, Becca was a project lead on Fast Start, a pilot project that transformed TNTP’s model for training and certifying teachers in sites across the country. Becca went on to lead the program approval, design, and launch of multiple Educator Preparation Programs including Chicago Teaching Fellows/TNTP Academy, Louisiana’s add-on special education certification program, and Michigan Teacher Corps, the state’s first alternative teacher certification program not based in an Institution of Higher Education. As a thought leader in special education and grow-your-own initiatives, Becca also contributed to TNTP’s conceptual frameworks in paraprofessional to teacher programming and registered apprenticeship programs in teaching.
In her role as the Executive Director of Talent Pipelines and Professional Growth at Detroit Public Schools Community District, Becca authored the program application and led the design and launch of On the Rise Academy, Michigan’s first district-based teacher certification program. In this role, Becca also launched several other initiatives aimed at recruiting, developing, and retaining talent.
As Michigan Talent Together’s founding Executive Director, Becca led a design team of over 50 district and school leaders and formed partnerships with college and university faculty from across the state to develop one of the largest grow-your-own and Registered Apprenticeship Programs in the country. In collaboration with Marquette Alger RESA leaders and Talent Together’s board, Becca recruited and hired the consortium’s founding team and led them to build sustainable systems, partnerships, and infrastructure. Since 2023, Talent Together has accepted over 1200 candidates who have earned or are currently working towards Michigan teacher certification.
Becca started her career as a practitioner where she spent over a decade as a paraprofessional, substitute teacher, and special education teacher. Becca also has extensive experience in higher education and has taught pre-service and current teachers at Olivet College, Michigan State University, DePaul University, and Central Michigan University. Becca holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Western Michigan University and a master's degree in curriculum and instruction from Michigan State University. She is currently working towards a doctorate degree in Educational Leadership & Policy at Florida State University.
Fun Facts
Becca’s wife, Sara, is the head women’s lacrosse coach at Florida State University. Her daughter, Emma, is a senior at University of Michigan. Becca, Sara, and Emma have always lived in college towns!
Growing up, I was a competitive figure skater.
I love to cook and entertain and someday dream of owning a “bed and brunch”!