Tami Forte Moss is the proud mother of four children, two girls and twin boys. She is the most recent staff member of the Center for Participatory Change, a grassroots support organization that has strengthened the capacity of more than 150 multi-cultural grassroots groups across Western North Carolina through popular education, networking, advocacy, and seed grant making.
Prior to CPC Tami served the past 14 years as both Program Director and Executive Director of Neighbors In Ministry, Inc. “Neighbors” is a grassroots, faith-based, non-profit administering Rise & Shine CDF Freedom Schools® Program, the Damascus Road Anti-racism Training Process and NIM Productions through education and organizing in Brevard, North Carolina.
Under Tami’s leadership Rise & Shine Freedom School became the first Children’s Defense Fund/ Black Community Crusade for Children Summer Freedom School in Western, North Carolina in 2004. Tami piloted the integration of the Freedom School model into the Rise & Shine After-School Enrichment Program and expanded services to empower 50 scholars K-12 and their parents year-round. Rise & Shine Freedom School incorporates the Children’s Defense Fund Integrated Reading Curriculum, Africa to Appalachia© anti-racism curriculum, Games for Life-Financial Literacy Training, College Goal Planning, the Osceola McCarty Scholarship Savings Plan, and Junior Servant Leader training into its daily programming.
Through “Neighbors” Tami built community by coordinating over 100 volunteers from the Catholic, Episcopal, Lutheran, United Methodist, Presbyterian and Baptist churches, American Association of University Women, Brevard College and the community at large who provide 1:1 and 1:5 academic mentoring and advocacy for “Rise & Shine” scholars. Tami also leads a multi-racial, intergenerational and interdenominational team of trainers to provide anti-racism education for middle and high-school aged youth, their parents, local teachers and the community at large, through the Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation funded “Dismantling Racism: Inside & Out.”
Tami currently serves on the board of directors for United Way Transylvania, and has also served the Center for Dialogue, Brevard Academy Charter School, Transylvania County Schools Superintendent’s Council, Brevard High School Improvement Team, Mud Creek Missionary Baptist Association Christian Education Committee and Co-Chaired the Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation State Advisory Panel. She is the Associate Minister of Christian Education at Bethel “A” Baptist Church under the leadership of Pastor Frederick L. Gordon, serves as a Bible teacher for persons of all ages at Bethel “A” Baptist Church, and is currently the Director of Christian Education for the Mud Creek Missionary Baptist Association in Western North Carolina.
In 2006 Tami was awarded the American Association of University Women’s-Woman Who Make a Difference Award, was featured in the premiere issue of WNC Magazine-March/April 2007 for her racial equity work and most recently was a recipient of the 2008 Transylvania County African Awareness Community Leadership Award.