TJ Tann

University of Richmond

A recognized servant leader at the University of Richmond, a leadership studies major, and a Bonner Scholar, TJ Tann has dedicated himself to deepening his knowledge and experiences and working towards systematic change through a legal and policy framework. He began this work at the Legal Aid Justice Center (LAJC) as a client intake coordinator. Simultaneously, Tann served as a development intern with The Commonwealth Institute, assisting in organizing their Policy Summit, and became co-president of the Multicultural Student Solidarity Network (MSSN) on campus. Tann’s humility and passion for getting things done is admired by students on campus and his colleagues in the community alike. As a summer intern at LIFT-DC, he worked with area families and developed the foundation of a possible policy arm of LIFT. Continuing his policy and advocacy work, he is now serving an intern with Housing Opportunities Made Equal of Virginia.

Ronald Crutcher
President
University of Richmond

Personal Statement

Moving from house to house, using every paycheck as a lifeline and witnessing poverty in my neighborhood made me curious as to why it seemed like it was only happening to people and communities that looked like mine. Home, I subsequently learned, was a product of a collection of unjust and systemic policies such as legal residential segregation, an oppressive criminal justice system and the complicity of allowing the average American workers wages remain stagnant as businesses profits skyrocketed.

Experiencing, studying, and working with oppressed communities of color has inspired and motivated me to challenge systemic injustices through a legal and policy framework. As a result, I interned at the Legal Aid Justice Center assisting attorneys with clients who were either evicted from their homes or discriminated against at their workplace. This past summer I interned at LIFT, an antipoverty nonprofit where I worked individually with families to build credit, attain degrees and find housing. A symphony of new opportunities and organizations geared to end poverty in tandem with uprooting it through policies and collective action is what I believe to be the equation of ending a system that has remained oppressive to people of color across this country.

TJ Tann
Leadership Studies: Class of 2021
written 2020

2020 Fellows Alphabetical by Institution

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Alexander Kaye, U. of Central Florida Miyako Iwata, UC Berkeley M. Chiamaka Okonkwo, UNC Charlotte Noelia Michelle Flores González, Universidad de Monterrey Ashlyn Woods, University of Baltimore Greta Hacker, University of Central Arkansas Christian Coleman, University of Central Oklahoma Hailey Ettinger, University of Colorado Boulder Michael Hernández, University of Connecticut Claire Sullivan, University of Dayton Maggie Nelson, University of Delaware Tarun Ramesh, University of Georgia Gregoria Uroza, University of Houston-Downtown Wasan Kumar, University of Illinois at Chicago Kaitlyn Meyr, University of Kentucky Ana Benitez, University of La Verne Amanda Gardner, University of Maine at Augusta Stephanie Turcios, University of Mary Washington Nihira Mugamba, University of Maryland, Baltimore County(UMBC) Maggie Sullivan, University of Massachusetts Dartmouth Danelia Ramirez Aguilar, University of Massachusetts Lowell Jendayi London, University of Miami Meredith Days, University of Michigan Lucy Grimshaw, University of Missouri – St. Louis Kortney Sims, University of Montana Dinesh Karki, University of Nebraska Omaha Alexandra Vergara, University of New Hampshire Keyri Ambrocio, University of New Haven Aryelle Jacobsen, University of North Carolina Asheville Katherine Torres, University of North Georgia Yarik Molina, University of North Texas at Dallas Cole Passick, University of Northern Iowa Evan McKenna, University of Notre Dame Justin Norris, University of Oklahoma Nisha Sridhar, University of Oregon Oluwatomisin Oyedele, University of Pennsylvania Stephanie Rose, University of Pittsburgh TJ Tann, University of Richmond Ana Trejo Aguilar, University of San Diego Evelyn Pedraza Fernandez, University of San Francisco Imani Sherrills, University of South Carolina Beaufort Patrick Mack, University of South Carolina Upstate Reylan Cook, University of South Carolina-Columbia - Columbia, SC Tyus Edmond, University of St Thomas Amber Heidenreich, University of Wisconsin - Superior Shehrose Charania, University of Wisconsin-Madison Tavyonia Davis, University of Wisconsin-Parkside Trenton Ebel, UW Green Bay
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