Tara Linney currently works as the Founding Director of TL Specialists, an organization centered on providing SEL-infused professional learning to schools, districts and educators around the world. Tara also works part-time for BreakFree Education, providing personalized technology training opportunities for Returning Citizens in Washington, DC.
In 2016, she received the 21st Century Learning Award for Innovation in Educational Coaching. Since the start of her career in Education, Tara has played an active role in many professional communities. In 2017, she also served as the ISTE Global Collaboration PLN President, where she led an organizational pivot to focus on SDGs in Education. In 2019, she served as a Leader on the ISTE Computer Science PLN. She has had the privilege to speak at over 100 conferences in 10 different countries and online, impacting the work of thousands of educators all around the world.
In addition to her many professional achievements, Tara has also worked in schools in Singapore, France and the United States of America, helping each one with launching and sustaining effective 1:1 programs ever since the year 2012. She holds a B.A. in Mass Communications with a concentration in Public Relations from the University of South Florida (2006). She also holds an M.S. in the Science of Instruction, Elementary Education certification and a certification as an K-12 Instructional Technology Specialist all from Drexel University (2012). While at Drexel University, Tara maintained a 4.0 GPA and was a member of the Golden Key National Honor Society. In 2023, she earned her M.S. in Data Science from Meharry Medical College’s School of Applied Computational Sciences (SACS).
