Tiffany Gilmore is not your typical school administrator. She’s a CEO, a founder, a creative strategist, and a bold educational architect building a multimillion-dollar charter school from the ground up. At the intersection of business acumen, cultural responsibility, and academic reform, Gilmore is ushering in a new model of leadership that blends purpose and profit, education and enterprise.

As the founder, CEO, and Superintendent of Garvey Allen STEAM Academy in Moreno Valley, California, Tiffany is leading one of the most ambitious grassroots educational builds in recent memory. With construction underway and a $500,000 GoFundMe campaign launched to complete the project, she is proving what is possible when visionary leadership meets relentless execution.

But this isn’t just a story about education. It’s a story about ownership. About strategy. About a Black woman entrepreneur leveraging every skill, credential, and lived experience to build something that doesn’t just work — but works for us.

Garvey Allen STEAM Academy is a public charter school focused on empowering Black and Brown students through a rigorous fusion of STEM and the arts. Tiffany didn’t just imagine the school. She designed it, funded it, and is now scaling it with the precision of a seasoned founder and the heart of an educator who has seen the impact of inequity firsthand.

Raised in Compton and Carson, Tiffany’s journey reflects the spirit of generational ingenuity. Her grandmother was an entrepreneur. Her mother, a single parent who instilled discipline and drive. Tiffany took those lessons with her from the classrooms of LAUSD to the halls of King/Drew Medical Magnet High School, and then to Cal State Dominguez Hills, where she earned her first degree in English and Communications. She went on to earn two master’s degrees — one from Pepperdine and another from National University — and is currently completing her doctorate at Grand Canyon University.

With nearly two decades of experience in public education, Tiffany tackled some of the most persistent challenges facing marginalized students. She spearheaded equity-focused programs, led curriculum reform, and implemented behavioral intervention initiatives that significantly reduced suspension rates for Black students. Her Young Black Achievers program became a model for culturally responsive education, bridging the gap between academic rigor and identity affirmation.

Yet even with all she accomplished within the system, Tiffany knew real change required building something new. That decision — to step away from traditional administration and into the role of founder and CEO — was not only courageous, it was strategic. It allowed her to operate with autonomy, to scale on her terms, and to create a blueprint other educators and community leaders could follow.

Garvey Allen STEAM Academy is not just a school. It is a platform. A proof of concept that culturally grounded, academically elite institutions can and should be led by people from the communities they serve.

Now with her school under construction, Tiffany is managing capital campaigns, overseeing architectural plans, directing curriculum strategy, and leading talent acquisition — all while raising three children and running two businesses: The D.O.P.E. Educator and Educated Threads.

The D.O.P.E. Educator, which stands for Delivering on Promises of Equity, provides workshops, curriculum tools, and leadership training for educators committed to inclusive, justice-centered teaching. Educated Threads is a lifestyle apparel brand that centers affirmations and empowerment for Black students and professionals. Both ventures extend her mission while generating additional streams of income and impact.

Tiffany Gilmore is not waiting on approval or applause. She’s operating with clarity and conviction, building in real time, and demonstrating the power of having both a heart for service and a mind for business.

“We are not just building a school, we are building a legacy,” she says. “I’m not doing this to prove anything. I’m doing this because the world we want for our children will not exist unless we create it.”

For forward-thinking CEOs, impact investors, and leaders looking to align business with social transformation, Tiffany’s model is a masterclass in purpose-driven innovation. She is expanding the definition of entrepreneurship to include education as enterprise, and making space for more Black women to lead, fund, and own at scale.

To support Garvey Allen STEAM Academy’s $500K GoFundMe campaign, visit:
https://gofund.me/5275a6e7

To learn more about Tiffany and her ventures, visit:
www.garveyallenacademy.com