Learn about The Opportunities Project’s Team
Tracy Brisson, Founder and Chief Executive Officer
Our Founder and CEO Tracy Brisson is a recognized career expert, recruiter, educator, author, and leader. Her career coaching expertise has been featured in the national press, including the New York Post and The Star Ledger, and on Monster+HotJobs, CBS MoneyWatch, Mashable and The Ladders. Before starting The Opportunities Project, Tracy worked in recruitment for over a decade, a career option she never dreamed of when she was in college. Writer, maybe. Even a potential tax lawyer at one time. However, it turned out that helping others meet their personal and professional goals was what she was meant to do.
Tracy started her career as a Teach for America corps member in Washington Heights. She taught fourth and sixth grade and piloted an award-winning laptop program with her students who now keep her abreast of their 20-something lives via Facebook. In 2000, she joined the founding management team of the NYC Teaching Fellows, a program that recruits and trains high potential career changers for teaching positions and has received over 100,000 applications since its inception. Through that experience, and throughout her career, Tracy has reviewed over 10,000 resumes and conducted thousands of interviews with people from multiple industries.
From 2007-2010, Tracy was the Director of Teacher Recruitment for the New York City Department of Education and was responsible for recruiting high quality teaching candidates for 3,000 to 7,000 annual teaching positions across 1,600 schools. Tracy and her team were recognized in 2009 when they won Second Place for Best Employer Brand in ERE’s Recruitment Excellence Awards based on their use of social media to improve their applicants’ experience. She also implemented a successful national and local college recruiting program, increasing applications by over 30% from key New York City universities.
In addition to being a Certified Professional Coach, Tracy has a BA in Public Affairs from the Maxwell School at Syracuse University, an MPA in Public Finance from the Wagner School of Public Service at New York University, and completed the coursework for her doctorate in Educational Leadership at the Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development, also at New York University. She is also writing a forthcoming book on how to integrate corporate recruitment strategies into public sector recruitment. Tracy is also a graduate of the Kauffman Foundation’s Fast Trac NewVenture Program for early stage entrepreneurs.
Tracy’s full resume is available on LinkedIn. You can also read more about why she started The Opportunities Project on the blog.
Contact her to schedule a free 30 minute phone coaching or consulting consultation.
Sera Bishop, Executive Assistant
Originally from Connecticut, Sera transferred her way south, graduating from the Savannah College of Art and Design in 2008 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts. She majored in Interior Design with a focus in Electronic Design.
In January 2009, she moved to Saint Louis and began her networking adventures: Architecture for Humanity, Habitat for Humanity, City Affair, and the Social Media Club. In October 2010, she became a Crew Leader Trainee for Habitat for Humanity.
In February 2012, Sera returned to Savannah, GA and joined The Opportunities Project team in March 2012. She is currently involved in the local Social Media Club and other networking groups geared toward creative professionals.
Through her personal networking experience, she has become fascinated with social media for both personal and professional growth. She writes and meditates daily, and is fascinated with the psychology of human interaction. You can connect with her via Twitter or through her LinkedIn profile.
Tanisha Christie, Recruitment Consultant and Coach
Tanisha Christie has extensive experience in the field of arts, entertainment, education and activism. As an educator and designer of creative and educational curriculum, she has consulted with teachers, administrators and not-for-profits. Organizations include, The Lowell School, Martha’s Table, Maya Angelou High School, Lookingglass Theater, The Federation of East Village Artists and The Kennedy Center. While Assistant Artistic Director at the former Living Stage Theatre Company – the preeminent theatre for social change, she spent four years conducting workshops with members of the Washington, DC community – ages 3-103 – including Garrison Elementary School, Bell Multicultural High School, Ballou High School, the Congressional committee for Faith and Politics, the National Psychologist Association and the Center for Inspired Teaching.
Tanisha holds a BFA in Theatre from Arizona State University with an emphasis on Production/Holistic Drama and a Masters in Media from The New School. Thriving on an entrepreneurial spirit, she remains committed in aiding educators, artists and community workers to be agents of change in their classrooms, communities and lives. Her full resume is available via LinkedIn.
Rachel Eckhardt, Recruitment Consultant and Coach
Rachel joined the Opportunities Project in July 2011 to support teacher recruitment and selection for Teach Newark. She has been working in education support for more than ten years, in both non- and for- profit environments. Her love for education was sparked while working at The Princeton Review on a teacher professional development partnership that served 140 schools in the Bronx. During that program, she visited many classrooms, supported and managed a team of more than 35 veteran education professionals, and reduced the cost of internal professional development by 33%.
At New Leaders, Rachel took on launching and facilitating a professional learning community for over 100 Principals and Assistant Principals in district and charter schools in New York City and Newark. Working closely with school leaders on their successes and struggles played a large part in the professional development feedback and planning process. She managed large-scale professional learning and networking events that ran twice per school year, allowing school leaders the opportunity to come together for both training and inspiration. Rachel piloted monthly collaborative groups for school leaders to participate in mutual support and problem solving, a process that became a standard practice for several small groups and continued over multiple school years.
Rachel was born in New York, grew up in New Jersey and received her Bachelor of Arts in philosophy from The College of New Jersey. She has served as a volunteer with the New York Lesbian and Gay Experimental Film Festival since 2007. She completed the Rockwood Art of Leadership program and has a strong interest in change management, leadership development and collaboration. Rachel is a lifelong advocate for social justice and considers access to a high quality education an essential human right. Her full resume is available on LinkedIn.
