Staff

Most recently, Ms. Tidwell provided outreach support for the Columbus Crew SC Stadium and Training Facility project (completed in 2021) where 117 contracts were awarded to more than 80 minority and women-owned businesses. She also assisted the Columbus Metropolitan Library in exceeding the diversity and inclusion goals for its 2020 Vision project, which included the construction of five new buildings and renovation of three. On one library alone, two minority contractors were awarded contracts in excess of $1.5 million. Ms. Tidwell continues to provide diversity and inclusion services to projects throughout the Central Ohio area, including and most notably high profile data centers.

Above and beyond the scope of work requested by any of her clients, Ms. Tidwell has helped to remove barriers for small contractors by the leadership she has provided in establishing a minority contractor mobilization program at the Economic & Community Development Institute in Columbus, Ohio. This program, Capital for Construction, provides industry-specific training and much needed low-interest short-term loans for small contractors who cannot afford to wait on delayed payments from general contractors. In response to the growing labor shortage in construction, Ms. Tidwell has also led by creating a construction skills training program for unemployed and underemployed individuals (See Special Projects) and is currently managing the development of an incubator/accelerator for minority construction contractors.

Education of African American Children. For 15 years, Ms. Tidwell made it her mission to educate communities and empower families to become strong advocates for children who struggle to learn. In 2000, she founded the National Association for the Education of African American Children with Learning Disabilities (AACLD), a national non-profit group organized to promote parent advocacy for children who learn differently. Ms. Tidwell directed the AACLD, which served thousands of families nationwide by responding to an extraordinary number of requests for information and providing trainings for parent and community leaders. Beyond its own programs and activities, Ms. Tidwell provided representation from a cultural perspective for the national Coordinated Campaign for Learning Disabilities, the National Joint Committee on Learning Disabilities, and the Learning Disabilities Roundtable.

She has served on the Professional Advisory Council of the National Center for Learning Disabilities and participated in the African American Leaders Roundtable on Education hosted by then U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings and the late Dr. Dorothy I. Height, former Chair and President of the National Council of Negro Women. She is the author of One Child At A Time: A Parent Handbook and Resource Directory for African American Families with Children Who Learn Differently and has authored many articles, including a contribution to the Encyclopedia of Cross-Cultural School Psychology. Ms. Tidwell has presented at numerous meetings and conferences and made appearances on Black Entertainment Television (BET) and other cable television programs.

While the AACLD closed in December 2015 for lack of sufficient funding, a state university is exploring the possibility of re-opening the organization on its campus.

AWARDS

Ms. Tidwell has received several awards throughout her career, including most recently the 2021 Columbus Business First Lifetime Achievement Award. She was also named a 2018 YWCA Woman of Achievement. In 2016, Ms. Tidwell was one of seven individuals to receive the inaugural Grace Award presented at the Five Year Anniversary Celebration of the Columbus African American News Journal for her work in maximizing the inclusion of minority and female-owned businesses in construction. And, in 2012 she received the International Fierce, Focused, and Fabulous Award from the Foundation for the African Diaspora.

AFFILIATIONS

• Economic & Community Development Institute Mobilization Program Advisory Board (2017-Present)

• OSU Community Extension Center Advisory Board (2015-Present)

• National Center for Learning Disabilities, Professional Advisory Board (2001-2006)

• National Center for Culturally Responsive Educational Systems (NCCRESt), Networking and Dissemination Core Team (2004)

• Reducing Disciplinary and SED Referrals for African American Males: Model Project, Hubbard Elementary School Advisory Committee (2002-2003)

• Franklin Park Conservatory Joint Recreation District, Board of Trustees (1997-1999)

• Columbus Montessori Education Center, Board of Trustees (1996-1999), Chair, Advocacy Committee, Community Child Care Fund

• YWCA Board of Trustees (1997-1999), President, Safe & Sound (Homeless Child Care) Advisory Board

• Action for Children, Board of Trustees (1989-1995) and Homeless Child Care Special Advisory Task Force

• Alliance of Black Women, Inc., Executive Board Member (1993-1994)

• City of Columbus Martin Luther King Holiday Advisory Council, Appointed Member (1986-1987)

• Columbus Area Women’s Political Caucus, 1979 Screening Committee

• Columbus Chapter, Jack and Jill of America, Inc., Past President, Retired Member (1998)

• Columbus Chapter, The Links, Inc. (1987-2000)

• League Against Child Abuse, Women’s Executive Board Member (1982-1983)

• Area Coordinator, Project LEAD: High Expectations!