Tammie Causey-Konaté

Tammie Causey-Konaté serves as deputy director of the Southeast Comprehensive Center (SECC), in which she supports the development and implementation of a robust personnel management system that enables timely access to routine and ongoing exploration of staff and client needs, as well as feedback on services provided. She leads efforts to source and build effective project teams that produce exemplary materials and outcomes. Dr. Causey-Konaté has collaborated with nationally recognized experts and professional AIR staff in the region to establish strong relationships with state and local leadership in Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, North Carolina, and South Carolina and to support their capacity building efforts through impactful school improvement and educational equity projects.

Dr. Causey-Konaté has deep expertise and international and regional experience in educational leadership, diversity and equity, cultural and linguistic competence, cross-education system partnerships, and the postsecondary development of school leaders for urban and rural education contexts. In the area of educational leadership, she has served as an assistant dean, associate professor (tenured), and doctoral program coordinator. She also participated in a 3-year presidential literacy initiative in Guinea, West Africa (through a partnership with Dillard University and USAID). Her work there culminated upon the development of 1–12 grade culture-centered language arts textbook development and implementation of adapted teaching methodologies.

In her work with SECC, Dr. Causey-Konaté recently designed and co-led a two-day regional equity summit, Accountable Leadership: Opportunities for Equitable Systems, that served as a catalyst for a range of post-summit state- and district-level equity initiatives. In addition, Dr. Causey-Konaté provides support to the Center on Great Teachers and Leaders in the form of curriculum and tool development and capacity building trainings in the areas of equity, cultural competence, and workforce diversification.

Prior to joining SECC, Dr. Causey-Konaté served as a research alliance liaison with the Regional Educational Laboratories Southwest and Southeast—supporting the efforts of educator effectiveness and charter school research alliances. Dr. Causey-Konaté has nearly 30 years of experience as a professional educator, with her years in K–12 and higher education divided equally. She has served in several capacities in K–12 and higher education, including middle and high school English/language arts teacher.