tangee@raisingexpectations.org
As a co-founder of Raising Expectations, Tangee Allen has worked alongside Maria Armstrong (the two met while both were enrolled as students at Georgia State University) to create and develop our nonprofit youth development organization into the award-winning program and resource it is today. In addition to Tangee’s experience working in the nonprofit sector, she has also worked for local government for over nine years. As a Program Manager in the Mayor’s Office for the community-focused Department of Weed and Seed—an innovative, comprehensive multiagency approach to law enforcement, crime prevention, and community revitalization—Tangee was responsible for working with the designated Weed and Seed sites to develop and implement their 5 year strategy under the auspices of the U.S. Department of Justice. As an active participant in her community and staunch advocate for Atlanta’s youth, Tangee has been recognized by a variety of organizations and has received a host of community awards from the City of Atlanta, Spelman College, Enterprise Foundation, Morehouse College and the WB Channel 36.

maria@raisingexpectations.org
Maria Armstrong has served the Atlanta area for nearly two decades in a variety of academic and service-oriented capacities. In addition to her primary role as co-founder of Raising Expectations, growing and guiding our organization alongside Tangee Allen, Maria’s diverse educational experiences have also included working as a high school teacher, mentor, teaching in alternative educational settings and serving as an administrator in a public charter school. A graduate of Georgia State University, Maria was also the creator, director and administrator of a collaborative after school program model that served over 400 students with interactive academic and enrichment activities. Her comprehensive experience extends to resource development with community organizations and program development in elementary, middle and high schools. Maria was a runner up for the MTV Brick Award and was featured in the inspirational book As I Am. She was also honored with a Sisters Who Serve Award from Spelman College and an Unsung Hero Award from the WB 36 television station as one of Atlanta’s top young leaders along with an Unsung Heroine Award from the Atlanta Chapter of National Coalition of 100 Black Women.

LaShondra Hemphill

Coordinator, Project DREAM at Promise Center South
lhemphill@raisingexpectations.org
LaShondra, native of Birmingham, AL and has over 15 years of experience in social services, cultural work, and the arts. Her passion for empowering others to become their best selves laid a foundation for her career in social services, community engagement and social innovation. Since then she has founded and directed community and youth development agencies such as Serenity Treatment Services, Inc and The Initiative for Creative Arts in Birmingham, AL.

LaShondra is an advocate for girls/women in STEAM/STEM fields specifically within the music industry. Through The Initiative for Creative Arts’ unique programming she educates girls/women about music industry fields such as audio production, engineering, and sound design. She is currently an artist in residence at Alys Stephens Performing Arts Center (Art Play) in Birmingham, AL, a member of Women of Color in the Arts, has taught Hip Hop Education and Music Technology workshops at Wayne State University, St Louis University, and Next Level Cultural Diplomacy, and has facilitated music technology workshops internationally and workshops on how to incorporate and simplify music technology and digital art for music teachers. She earned her BA in Psychology from Jacksonville State University and has completed over 30 hours towards her community counseling certificate specializing in youth development, group and school counseling.

At Raising Expectations, LaShondra oversees and is responsible for 2 staff, over 20 volunteers and directly supports our middle school youth via our collaborative partnership at the At Promise Center, where she also supports high school students with their educational, collegiate and career readiness plans. She is an avid vinyl record collector and has a beautiful collection of real butterflies.