SREB-State Doctoral Scholars Program Graduate #971 – Tiah McKinney, Ph.D. 

Tiah E. McKinney, Ph.D., co-founder and executive director of The McKinney Foundation Inc., is committed to ensuring equity in health, education, and high-quality instruction for priority engagement youth to promote and sustain America’s competitiveness in the 21st century.

In her 20-year career as an educational leader, she has served in many roles, including director of education for the Detroit Science Center, district-level curriculum supervisor of Science, acting science consultant for the Michigan Department of Education, and science consultant to several U.S. school districts.

McKinney’s scholarship and research interests include reducing health disparities and improving educational outcomes for priority engagement youth by mitigating the social determinants of health through public-private partnerships. She believes, “health equity is education equity.”

“Due to the social determinants of health, not every American has an equal opportunity to be healthy,” McKinney said. “Over five decades of research has revealed a causal relationship between a child’s health and their learning outcomes. Thus, safeguarding student health is not a nice thing to do, it is a mandate.”

Health equity is education equity.

McKinney sees her research as praxis; in conducting it, she is deliberate about moving from theory to practice. Consequently, helping schools create healthy learning environments that support and improve student learning in STEM education is among her priorities. 

In 2021, McKinney co-founded The Equity Institute, a 501c4 social welfare organization that operates from a health equity framework to inform, shape, and design a more just and equitable society. “The COVID-19 pandemic was a global watershed moment. We witnessed first-hand how health was under threat, and learned there are health disparities that disproportionately impact certain communities more than others, namely people of color and low-income families residing in resource strapped communities. This post-pandemic era beckons that we safeguard our health.”

McKinney has received numerous honors and distinctions, including past president of the Metropolitan Detroit Science Teachers Association. As an Albert Einstein “Distinguished Educator” Fellow, she was co-director of the Opportunity for Enhancing Diversity in the Geosciences Program, an $11 million program in the Office of the Assistant Director, Directorate of Geosciences at the National Science Foundation.

She holds a B.A. in Marine Affairs (Marine Biology and Business Administration) from the University of Miami, Coral Gables, FL; a Master of Arts in Teaching Science Education (with Distinction) from the University of Michigan; and a Ph.D. in Education Policy (specialization) and Nonprofit Management (secondary concentration) from George Mason University, Fairfax, Va.

McKinney, who graduated with her doctorate degree in 2019, credits SREB, “for giving me the requisite support to overcome obstacles and move forward from a position of strength. My SREB network offers various opportunities for me to showcase my leadership and feature my scholarship. Still the most impactful aspects of this SREB experience are the professional relationships that I have formed over the years which continue to shape my journey today.”