For almost 30 years, Tomeka Hart Wigginton has worked to improve education outcomes and increase social and economic mobility at the local, state, and national levels. Specializing in building and managing strategic partnerships and coalitions, she founded The HarWigg Group in 2023, a consulting firm serving nonprofit, public sector, and philanthropy leaders and organizations. She currently serves as President & CEO of the United Way of the MidSouth.
Tomeka has served in multiple roles including managing director and special advisor to Blue Meridian Partners, where she provided leadership on critical business priorities and led innovation efforts. With a focus on supporting comprehensive place-based strategies, she explored new philanthropic investment opportunities, led due diligence on potential Blue Meridian investees and managed relationships with current investees.
Prior to Blue Meridian, she served as a Senior Program Officer at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, leading education policy and advocacy grantmaking to civil rights and equity organizations. In prior roles she served as VP of Strategic Partnerships at the Southern Education Foundation, VP of African American Community Partnerships for Teach For America, and as the President and CEO of the Memphis Urban League. She is a former middle and high school teacher, and a former labor and employment lawyer.
Hart Wigginton served two terms on the elected school board in Memphis, including a term as Board President. She currently serves as chair of the First Eight Memphis board of directors, and as a member of the boards of the Education Trust, the Data Quality Campaign, the Memphis Education Fund, the Schott Foundation for Public Education, and the Think Tennessee boards. She is a Public Voices Fellowship on Racial Justice in Early Childhood fellow, an Aspen Institute Rodel-Fellowship in Public Leadership fellow and a Pahara-Aspen Institute Education Fellow, and she is a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., where she serves on her chapter’s social action committee.
Tomeka Hart Wigginton holds the Public Leadership Credential from the Harvard Kennedy School; a Certificate in Education Finance from Georgetown University; a J.D. degree from the University of Memphis; an M.B.A. from Kennesaw State University; and a B.S. degree in Education from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.
Hart Wigginton is married to Dr. Russell Wigginton, President of the National Civil Rights Museum at the Lorraine Motel. Her stepson Ryan is a graduate student at Vanderbilt University.
Why does education equity matter?
Equity is acknowledging, understanding, and accounting for the systemic and structural injustices that have led to entrenched gaps in outcomes of communities of color and their white counterparts. Equity matters a great deal in education as the only way to ensure equal outcomes for all students is by ensuring every student has access to the resources and opportunities they need to thrive in school and life. Equitable inputs (every student has what they need) lead to equality of outcomes.
Why are you passionate about being on EdTrust’s board?
I have admired EdTrust’s work for over a decade, so I join this board with great passion and gratitude. When I served as CEO of the Memphis Urban League, and as a member of the school board in Memphis, I frequently referenced EdTrust’s research in my work. EdTrust’s bold commitment to highlighting and dismantling racial inequity through policy and practice at the federal and state levels is essential for reaching the goal of educational equity so that all students can reach their highest potential and thrive.
