Ta-Tanisha Wallace currently serves as the Chief Strategy Officer for the District of Columbia Department of Employment Services. In this role, she oversees the Education and Workforce Innovation Bureau that includes the Labor Market Information Department, Office of Talent and Client Services, Office of Training and Professional Development and the Office of Youth Programs.
Ms. Wallace has nearly 20 years of strategic planning and performance management leadership in both the public and private sector. After spending the first part of her career providing direct care service to court involved youth, she developed a passion for program monitoring and assessment. Ms. Wallace is particularly skilled in developing systems of performance improvement and quality assurance. She is currently a Results for America State and Local Workforce Fellow identifying data-driven, evidence-based strategies to address systemic challenges in government. With her motivational management and transformational leadership approach, she inspires organizations to define strategic priorities to support agency missions and exceed expectations.
Over the course of her career, Ms. Wallace has served on several executive teams and partnered with leaders of various governmental organizations and non-profits to identify strategic priorities, assess risk, manage crises and evaluate programs. In District Government, Ms. Wallace served as the Deputy Director for Strategic Change and Quality Assurance at the Department of Youth Rehabilitation Services where she played an integral part in reform efforts during its transition to a cabinet level agency and the exit strategy of a 30 year-old consent decree. She also developed the system of performance management and continuous quality improvement for a staff of over 1500 at the Office of the State Superintendent of Education-Division of Student Transportation in her role as the Associate Director for Audit and Compliance. Ms. Wallace has directed offices of professional development, research and evaluation, investigation and integrity, risk management and performance improvement. In addition to over 15 years of experience in the public sector, Ms. Wallace holds a Master of Public Policy and Administration and is pursuing her PhD in Public Policy and Administration with a concentration in Public Management and Leadership.