09 Oct From Adversity to Advocacy: Tanisha Wins David B. Lifsey Scholarship, Inspiring Others at Goodwill

Everyone who visits Goodwill’s Lifsey Career Solutions Center in downtown Nashville gets the privilege of meeting Nashville native Tanisha Johnson. You can’t miss her, partly because she sits right at the front desk as the center’s administrative assistant, but even more because of her welcoming smile and enthusiastic wave.

Since childhood, Tanisha has been passionate about caring for others. Though she was the middle child of three, Tanisha’s mother says she always assumed the role of caregiver and protector. She carried that keen sense of empathy and responsibility everywhere she went, including school, church and the softball field.

When Tanisha made a mistake in 2010 that sent her to jail for eight months and caused her to drop out of college, she felt she let her family down. She had a hard time forgiving herself, and with her confidence shattered, she put her ambitions on a shelf. In 2019, Tanisha became a mother to a little boy. A few years later, a daughter came along.

Determined to give her children the best life possible, Tanisha went to interview after interview until she finally landed a job with a finance company. Just as things were starting to look up, an act of violence devastated Tanisha’s family in 2022. Her step-father, Emmanuel, who had been working at the Bellevue Goodwill retail store, was shot and killed. Tanisha and her mother say the Goodwill employees who worked with Emmanuel surrounded their family with love and support, calling and checking in on them for weeks after the tragedy. That kindness made Tanisha want to work for Goodwill.

After becoming employed with the non-profit, Tanisha went through Goodwill’s Goodpaths Program, which is a 12-week training and development program that helps employees develop leadership skills and achieve career goals. Tanisha worked with Goodwill Career Solutions coaches who helped her build confidence and realize the path she had once envisioned for herself was still possible. With their support and encouragement, Tanisha enrolled in classes at Nashville State Community College with the goal of becoming a social worker. She hopes to one day work with children and senior citizens who are unable to advocate for themselves.

David B. Lifsey Scholarship

This annual scholarship, sponsored by Neal Brad Thomason, is named for Goodwill’s past president who served four decades. It is presented to a Goodwill training program graduate who plans to enroll, or has enrolled, in post-secondary education or a credentialed certification program.