I met Tara awhile back at a local volunteer project. Right away I could tell I liked her – her warm persona and smile is contagious. After following her for a few years on Twitter, I got curious about what all she’s involved with and decided to sit down with her to chat about her passions – namely diversity, bullying and how she got her start writing children’s books.
Over coffee, I learned Tara left the corporate world 3 years ago after writing her first book, Who I Am, Not What I Am. She simply said a prayer asking what she should do with her life. Hours later, she resigned her cushy job and hasn’t looked back since. I admire her faith.
With a degree in journalism and public relations, now she’s not only an author – she is her own company – Tara Michener, LLC. Her business promotes the message of diversity and inclusion through books, speaking engagements and curriculum builders for all ages.
She’s involved in everything under the sun – from founding the Black Women In Business Brainstorm, a networking group; Dream Esteem Detroit, a conference for middle school children; and a Small Business Summit. She also founded a Professionals Against Bullying group.
She also is an author. Her children’s books are well written and illustrated beautifully (by her hubby!) and perfect for little ones who may have questions about why they are different. Two of her books are geared toward teens and the issues they my face – Summer Camp Survival and No Longer Besties.
A cool thing she has started is the “Pass A Note” program, which encourages people to get back to sending thoughtful notes via postcard. The cards cost $1 each or 6 for $5 and the proceeds help Tara to provide programming for the community and students at low or no cost.
She is also working on an Out-Of-The-Box program where people speak on video about the box that they have been put in and then they get to tell who they really are. Here’s an example:
You promote diversity in your curriculum. When someone comes to you, what message do you hope they leave with?
I hope that they leave me with a better understanding of who they are as a result of diversity. I believe that one thing diversity teaches us is that we all have unique qualities and strengths. Learning about someone who has a different strength from myself should motivate me to be more aware of my self as well as my community.
Why are you so passionate about bullying? Have you been bullied?
I was bullied as a young person and I am passionate about it because I believe that our communities as a whole could use better dialogue sessions and solution oriented methods to discover why people decide to become bullies and what can we do to make our schools, communities and computers safer.
Of your four books, which one reflects challenges you personally have faced the most?
Good question – most of them reflect a piece of me at a different stage of life.
GIVEAWAY
Today, I have a copy of one of her books to give away – 100% Real. It’s a story about a girl named Zoey, who wonders what it means to be “real” after her classmates question her about being adopted. With the help of a friend and her parents, she discovers she has more in common with her family than she realized.
To enter, simply leave me a comment answering the following: If you could have any job, what would you want to do? {Inspired by Tara’s journey into discovering her passion and making it into her career.} Must be a U.S. resident to win. I will pick a winner at random next Monday, Sept. 5.
For an extra entry, tweet the following: “I entered to win 100% Real, a book by @taramichener through @laurenweber84 http://tinyurl.com/3kcm6co”
To check out all of Tara’s books, visit Amazon here.
Thanks so much, Tara for the opportunity to get to know you better. You are such an inspiration to me!
I love my job, but if I could have the ideal situation, I’d like to do it from home. I’d like to be more available if my family needed me and be able to work late at night or early in the morning so I can do preschool pick up and start dinner at a reasonable time. Sigh. AT least I love my job!
If I could quit my job I would be a stay at home mom! And then start working towards my goal of working in social media from home.
I tweeted too!
Well, I really do enjoy my job as a teacher…..some of the political crap I could do without, but I LOVE the kids! I wish I could teach part-time and make enough money to spend more time at home (singlemom life is crazy during the school year). I would also love to publish a book or 2 or 3, be some sort of speaker/counsler for children. I would also enjoy helping people through divorce, being a realistic “been there” kinda resource. Would love this book for my classroom! And will definitely look up Tara’s other books.
Jackie, you are the winner – congrats 🙂