Meet Tanji Johnson
I am an educator with over 18 years of experience supporting students, teachers, and school communities. I began my career teaching grades 1st –3rd and later expanded my work to support learners and educators across K–5. Over the years, I’ve served in a variety of roles—including interventionist, instructional coach, professional learning consultant with NWEA, and student support liaison.
My work in supporting students included coordinating Section 504 services and serving as an MTSS specialist. MTSS (Multi‑Tiered System of Supports) is a schoolwide framework that uses data, collaboration, and targeted instruction to ensure every student receives the academic, behavioral, and social‑emotional support they need.
I hold a masters degree in Mind, Brain, and Education, which allows me to bridge neuroscience and classroom practice in meaningful, practical ways. In addition, I am a certified Brain Trainer through Brain Academy, deepening my ability to help educators and families understand how the brain functions, learns, and how to create environments where students thrive.
Across every role, my passion has remained the same: empowering educators, students, and families with the tools, strategies, and insights that help all students learn with confidence.
The Heart Behind the Work
I know what it’s like to sit in the quiet after the kids are finally asleep, feeling a heavy mix of love, worry, and sheer exhaustion. My journey into the world of the brain wasn’t born in a textbook—it was born at home, fueled by the deep desire to see my two children thrive.
My daughter arrived at just 24 weeks. Her early entry into the world came with a grade 3 brain bleed, resulting in cognitive impairments and developmental delays. I worked relentlessly trying to offer my daughter an enriched environment to prevent her from becoming a “vegetable” and having a poor quality of life. Years later, our son was born, and diagnosed with ADHD in the first grade.
Suddenly, my life was a whirlwind of special education and Section 504 meetings. For both children, life was an uphill battle. My husband and I had to go through trial and error to keep our son organized and on top of his academics. We wondered whether he would ever be able to function on his own. Some days, the outlook seemed less than promising. We knew our daughter needed mental stimulation to keep her as sharp as possible for her situation. I spent years desperately seeking resources, trying to bridge the gap between their potential and their daily struggles. I found resources that helped us become the prefrontal cortex for our son. We learned how to provide the tools he needed to support his areas of weakness.
Naturally, this passion followed me into my career as an educator. I saw my own children’s faces in my students. I started implementing the same supports in my classroom that I used at home, but as I moved into leadership roles, I noticed a heartbreaking pattern. I sat in countless meetings where I passed tissues to parents who felt a terrible sense of guilt. I saw parents who felt lost because nothing they tried worked. Tensions would arise between parents out of misaligned parental approaches. Some parents mistakenly believed that simply handing paperwork to the school of the new diagnosis would “fix” the struggle. They didn’t realize that this was just the beginning, and structures and supports would be needed at home too.
While earning my Masters in Mind, Brain, and Education, I had a realization that changed everything. I saw that while schools are filled with well-meaning people, there is often a fundamental gap in understanding the brain and how it actually learns. We must move beyond accommodations to being actual brain changers. I realized that for a child to succeed truly, the parents and teachers must be empowered architects of the child’s environment.
My Mission: Empowering You
I founded this work because I want to be the difference-maker I needed years ago. You shouldn’t have to navigate this “new normal” in the dark. My goal is to give you the neurological “why” behind your child’s behavior and the practical “how” to navigate at home and the education system. You deserve to make informed decisions, understand your child’s educational rights, and move from a place of helplessness to a place of hope.
You aren’t alone in this. Let’s build the groundwork for your child to thrive, together.