Tisidra Jones: is a poster child for cross-sector, hybrid creative community leadership. Trained in theater, and music, and as a lawyer, Tisidra has built a company that uses all of these assets in service to people and organizations working for change.

BIO

Tisidra is a sought-after speaker, award-winning artist and lawyer who works at the intersection of inclusion, engagement and equal opportunity policies. Her methodology blends legal and policy research, sociological studies, and arts-based approaches to community and civic engagement. Tisidra's life, education, and professional experiences encompass rural communities, law, the arts, sociology, community engagement and multidisciplinary education. She has a B.A. in Music with a minor in the Sociology of Difference from George Mason University. She acquired her J.D. from the University of St. Thomas School of Law and is licensed to practice law in New York and Minnesota.

Tisidra has worked with nonprofits in the arts or those serving communities of color primarily when new programs were being launched or designed. On the public-sector side, she has worked with local, state, federal and international government entities. She acquired expertise as it relates to small, minority-owned, and women-owned business inclusion policies and programs. Whether working for the government or a nonprofit, every position Tisidra has held required project management, program design, infrastructure creation and community engagement.

Finding connections across sectors has been integral to the work that Tisidra has done. As a result, she has served on over 30 boards, advisory councils and community engagement committees across sectors. She has also curated cross-sector advisory committees for major initiatives. 

Notable Mentions

Strong and Starlight Consulting:

INNOVATION | We are a company of creative individuals. Innovative ideas are at the core of who we are. So, we love having the opportunity to work with you as thought partners and a sounding board as you generate ideas.

INFRASTRUCTURE | To get from idea to implementation, you cannot get there without crossing the sturdy bridge of infrastructure. We help you design the infrastructure needed to ensure that your ideas, once implemented, have the support, tools, policies, procedures, and capacity to be sustained. 

IMPLEMENTATION | Once the infrastructure is completed, we leave you with the tools and recommendations to take you through a pilot period and beyond. We can also continue working with you through the pilot period and equipping the next team that will carry you beyond your launch.

Creative Community Leadership Institute (CCLI) Established in 2002 CCLI was a community arts leadership development training program developed by Intermedia Arts in Minneapolis, MN. Over its 22 year history the program supported a network of creative change agents who continue to use arts and culture to help build caring, capable, and sustainable communities. When Intermedia closed its doors in 2017 the program was suspended. The program re-emerged in 2021 under the auspices of Springboard for the Arts in St. Paul Minnesota, and Racing Magpie in Rapid City, South Dakota. The program supports the development of strong leaders capable of challenging and disrupting oppressive systems in their communities by approaching their work with a critical lens and commitment to recognizing systems of oppression and normalizing conversations about race and colonialism. CCLI serves Minnesota, South Dakota and North Dakota artists.