Tosha Downey
A non-profit director of advocacy discusses the importance of approaching all students as individuals with high levels of potential and recognizing that education’s role is to ignite and support that potential.
Director of Advocacy, Teacher Town Memphis
Tosha Downey is director of advocacy for the Memphis Education Fund, a partner organization in the city’s effort to transform chronically underperforming schools. Prior to joining the Memphis Education Fund, Tosha served as director of government affairs at the Noble Network of Charter Schools in Chicago, IL. Prior to joining Noble, she worked for the Academy for Urban School Leadership, Comer Science & Education Foundation, and the Ryan Family Foundation. Tosha has spent more than 15 years leading and supporting non-profit teams in charter school management, college access, student recruitment, community engagement, and talent acquisition. A native of Memphis, Tennessee, Tosha completed her Bachelor of Arts Degree in education at Clark Atlanta University. She also holds a Master’s Degree in public policy from the University of Michigan and a Juris Doctorate from the University of North Carolina School of Law. She is the only child of William & Geraldine Downey, who reside in the Soulsville community in South Memphis. Tosha has one stepdaughter, Dana, a graduate of Cornell College and one goddaughter, Ebony, a graduate of Kalamazoo College and now a biology teacher on Chicago’s South Side.
