Mrs. Taja N. Cunningham is married to Douglas Cunningham and is the mother of one son, Ezra. She is a 16-year science educator who is actively engaged in her community. She is a native of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, now residing in Gautier, Mississippi. She currently serves as the Founding Director of Girls ARE & Boys CAN while teaching middle school full time. She earned her B.S. in Microbiology, Master’s in Business Administration, and Master’s of Educational Leadership. Mrs. Cunningham has successfully secured funds to provide services to youth and families in under-served communities along the Mississippi Gulf Coast. Her interests include juvenile justice policies for at-risk youth; vulnerable, underserved populations, and community and economic development policies for impoverished areas. Mrs. Cunningham spends countless hours assisting with efforts through the development of programs that will encourage positive engagement and behavioral changes. She avidly searches for opportunities to introduce and engage minority youth in both traditional and non-traditional opportunities. Additionally, her passion for creating opportunities, along with the development of new initiatives, and desire to promote excellence among youth has motivated her to provide assistance and support to youth in under-served areas through her 501(c)3, Girls ARE & Boys CAN. Mrs. Cunningham understands that there is a dire need to strengthen and expand resources for youth and their families. Mrs. Cunningham’s special interests include grant writing at both state and federal level, researching and analyzing policies that affect populations labeled "at-risk," mentoring youth in urban and rural populations, developing STEM activities, writing curriculum, reading nonfiction, traveling, and spending time with family and friends. Her community involvement includes, but is not limited to, revitalizing under-served, minority communities through mentorship; grant writing at both federal and state levels; creating and writing curricula for various programs, registering voters in rural parishes; planning community events; career training; tutoring youth in science; creating forums to engage youth in the political process; implemented STEM Super Saturdays; hosted a youth leadership training workshop and founding Girls ARE & Boys CAN youth community group.