NY4NY Honoree Spotlight: Tanesha "Coach Tea" Ingram

New Yorker, Leader, Healer 

Tea Ingram on Building Community and Empowering Youth

Tea Ingram, a leader, writer, healer, and mom, wears many hats and uses them all to empower her community. CitizensNYC is proud to partner with Tea and to recognize her exceptional leadership as one of our 2024 New Yorkers for New York. In a recent conversation, Ingram discussed her journey as a community leader, the Bronx Collab, and the importance of collaboration and mentorship. 

For Tea, "stepping up for my community" is not just a phrase, it's a way of life. Whether it's addressing youth issues, homelessness, or the justice system, she believes in finding solutions and being part of the answer. 

Tea's leadership journey began early in her life, fueled by the challenges faced by her Bronx community, particularly the issue of mass incarceration. She saw that when people are incarcerated, the community itself was missing integral members. This ignited a passion to make a difference, leading her to co-found Bronx PRYDE (Promoting, Revolutionary Youth Development & Empowerment) at the age of 19. Bronx PRYDE offered a safe space for young people, fostering a sense of community and empowering them to act. Through the rest of her career, she has carried with her the understanding that the formula of having a safe space for young people to create change is essential.  

From this early experience, Tea discovered that the means of solving problems within her community comes from the understanding that she can take action to be a solution. In her words, ”the problem and the solution live within the same body,” reflecting the fact that those who are a part of the community and experiencing the problems are the best suited to collectively enact change.  

Tea’s leadership has continuously evolved. While initially focusing on her own development as a leader, she recognized the importance of nurturing others. As a result, she shifted her approach towards mentorship and leadership development – particularly by creating spaces where they can flourish and connect.  

The Bronx Collab - A Hub for Growth: 

Tea is the driving force behind the Bronx Collab, a magical space designed to empower individuals through creative and entrepreneurial pursuits. The Collab, a CitizensNYC grantee partner, addresses a critical need in the community by providing a haven for creatives, entrepreneurs, and community leaders. It offers them the opportunity to develop their skills, collaborate, and connect with others who share their passion, putting community over competition. One example is Angelica Taveras, a young writer who found her voice as part of the supportive Collab community. She gained the confidence to publish and share her work, exemplifying the impact of Tea's commitment to fostering the potential within every individual.  

Tea's leadership shined during the challenges of COVID-19. By creatively adapting the Collab's purpose, she ensured it continued to serve the community by initiating a food pantry, art programs, and even turn the Collab’s outdoor space into a restorative community garden. One specific program, Creative Kids, met the needs of children who were adjusting to online school and had more time on their hands than ever before. Tea explained that when young people are out of school, they need the most to do. Creative Kids allowed for the youth to gather, socially distanced and masked, to do art projects, work on school projects, play games, and have a space for community and conversation.  

CitizensNYC – A Supportive Community of Leaders: 

CitizensNYC is best known as a micro-grantmaking organization, but Tea highlighted the multiple ways that our partnership has played a crucial role in the Collab's success. She specifically appreciated the sense of community within the CitizensNYC network, which has helped her access new resources and opportunities. For Tea, collaboration is the heart of everything she does. She emphasizes the power of listening, sharing, and reminding individuals of their inherent strength and potential. By leveraging those strengths, she helped facilitate an even stronger sense of connection within the CitizensNYC community by hosting our first Bronx Network Convening in October 2023 – bringing together leaders from across the borough to learn from each other, find support amidst the demanding work they do, and identify new ways to uplift their communities. 

Looking to the Future: 

Looking ahead, Tea is passionate about sharing her journey, moving her work to another level, and inspiring others. She plans to continue cultivating the Collab and using her voice to empower future generations of Bronx leaders. Her dedication extends far beyond the Collab's walls, she serves as a curator at the Just Write Community Project and coaches non-profit leaders, sharing the wisdom gleaned from her multifaceted and impactful career.  

Tea Ingram is a testament to the power of one person, armed with dedication, compassion, and a deep love for her community, to create positive change. Her story is an inspiration, a reminder that the solutions to our challenges often lie within ourselves and the communities we call home.