Tiarra Asia Knox, aka Ms.T is entering year 3 as Lupine's Lead Teacher, and is Urban Montessori's founding.   In 2012, She created and introduced UMCS’s core safety guidelines, facilitating schoolwide mindfulness lessons with an emphasis on Space Bubbles, Walking Feet, and Calm Voices.   Before beginning Lower Elementary instructional training with Montessori Training USA in 2013, Tiarra could be found delivering art and science lessons to hundreds of students throughout the Bay Area.  She has been contracted to share STEAM-inspired curricula arts integration techniques in professional developments for K-8th grade teachers. In 2006, Tiarra earned her double-Bachelor’s in Creative Writing and Marketing from SFSU, and discovered her love for working with youth during her residency as a teaching artist at MOCHA, the Museum of Children’s Arts in 2007 and as a Lead Art/Science Instructor with Camp Galileo.  Between 2007 and 2013, she has also worked with Mad Science ©, Ruby Bridges Elementary LEAPS program; coordinated Park Day School’s PM Program, and has served school residencies via Opera Piccola, Pro Arts Gallery and her own company Anew Day Arts.  Tiarra is entering the 2017/2018 school fresh from a summer spent with Science Camps of America in Hawaii and Flourish Agenda's Camp Akili hosted at Sonoma State University. As an experience-creator and a changemaker-maker, Tiarra is passionate about her work with Oakland youth and incorporating Radical Healing into her teaching. She understands that this Radical Healing approach transforms the trauma urban communities carry by inspiring and empowering youth to courageously embrace a political stance and take political action in avenues that they have yet to create.  She is actualizing as an activist and changemaker by training year-long with Practice in Transformative Action (PiTA) and earning her certification as a Coach for "Check Your Attitude", both programs that explore the neuroscience of meditation and success. She loves to love, meditate, explore, learn, teach, eat, hula-hoop, do hand-stands in the pool, surrender to ocean waves, and in service of life, explore the elasticity of comfort zones. She is a courageous, collaborative, determined, visionary, and reflective innovator committed to being the change.