Tiera Gilyard graduated from the University of Texas at Arlington with a bachelor’s degree in Kinesiology and a minor in History, with the desire to coach and teach history at the high school level. Tiera’s path shifted when she became passionate about at-risk students at a middle school in Arlington ISD. Gilyard has served in the education industry in non-traditional ways for 14 years from being an after-school coordinator at Title I schools, physical education teacher, restorative practices coach and trainer for teachers, and a dean of students. Currently Gilyard is an alumni director at a private school in Fort Worth, Texas with a Master’s in Education in Trauma-Informed Education where she continues her passion to empower administrators and teachers to build community and relationship in their schools with a trauma-informed lens.