Our Team

OUR
TEAM

From the Community.
For the Community.

Portia Richardson

Founder + Executive Director

A native of Southeast, Washington, DC., Portia Richardson started her entrepreneurial journey as the Executive Director and Founder of Tumaini DC, Inc, a 501 (c) (3) nonprofit organization that designs and facilitates holistic Social and Emotional Learning resources and experiences for students and adults. A Sky Zone Trampoline Park Owner, former DMV Top 30 Under 30 Award recipient, Teach for America alumni, Founder of the Impact Institute Accelerator for aspiring non-profit leaders, Author of the 21-Day Purpose Challenge and Virtually Resilient e-books, Restorative Justice Practitioner, Social Emotional Learning Expert, The Tumaini Way Curriculum Developer, and Captivating Speaker, Portia Richardson has a deep passion for pushing individuals and organizations to their greater purpose, cultivating trauma-informed and culturally responsive social and emotional learning, advocating for equitable outcomes for ALL students.

A former public school educator with 10 years of experience in DC public and charter schools, Portia has witnessed the gaps in our education system firsthand. Her upbringing in Southeast, DC coupled with a temporary relocation to Beijing, China, and ongoing moments of reflection perpetuated her belief that a holistic education is essential to student success. Portia is dedicated to tackling issues of trauma and educational inequity in her community and abroad through the development of social and emotional learning resources and experiences for students and adults.

Portia started her post-educational career at North Carolina A&T State University, where she earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Criminal Justice and later earned a Master of Science degree in Public Policy from Drexel University and a second Master of Science degree in Special Education from George Mason University. In her spare time, Portia enjoys traveling and immersing herself into other cultures, spending time with her husband & children, and attending cultural festivals.

Lorice Young

Operations + Human Resource Manager

Lorice Young is a proud native of Washington, DC. She is a graduate of DC Public Schools and later advanced her academic career at Winston Salem State University. There, she earned a dual Bachelor of Science degree in Human Resource Management and Business Administration. She is currently located in the Atlanta, Georgia area and she serves as The Operations Manager at Tumaini DC, Inc.

In addition to earning her bachelor’s degree, she has continued her professional experience in various aspects of Human Resources for over 12 years. She has a passion for uplifting and managing Administration and Human Resource, including compliance monitoring, employee performance, credentialing analysts, company documentation processing, administering financial infrastructure, payroll implementation, timekeeping, policy and procedure development while leading all external and internal Human Resource functions. Lorice has provided extensive and transformative human resource consulting to federal and local governments, non-profit organizations, small businesses, and large corporations.