Educators, consultants, program creators, and NYC businesses trust me to show them how schools actually buy, so they can stop guessing and start landing real contracts.
I started as a math teacher and Dean of Discipline at DeWitt Clinton High School in the Bronx. That's where I noticed what was missing: real opportunities for our young people in non-traditional sports and experiences outside the classroom. So I started building something about it.
I wrote a grant to bring Olympic-style archery into NYC schools, and I got it funded through Hidden Gems Inc., the nonprofit I'd already set up. That's when I learned two things at once. First, I could raise real money for real work in schools. Second, relying on grants alone wasn't going to scale, and I didn't have wealthy friends to keep asking. I needed a revenue model. So I built Hidden Gems Archery, the for-profit, and that became the vehicle for everything since.
Hidden Gems Archery is over a decade old now. It runs in 80+ NYC neighborhoods, serves more than 1,000 students every year, holds DYCD contracts, is MWBE certified, and pulls funding from multiple public and philanthropic streams. I've closed contracts, been passed over for contracts, and learned the unwritten rules of who schools trust and why.
For most of those years I was also working 9-to-5s in tech and community roles. Not because I needed the paycheck to survive, but because I needed to learn things I couldn't learn running a small nonprofit and a scrappy archery business. How to scale. How to build a community that actually shows up. How software products get built, because I'm developing one of those too, a platform to connect students and families to the resources schools are trying to deliver. Every 9-to-5 was an apprenticeship I chose on purpose.
Last year I went all in. Now everything I've been learning in parallel comes together in one place.
That's the knowledge I teach now. The real mechanics of how schools decide who gets paid, so the people doing meaningful work for students and communities can finally be part of that list.
Today I run two businesses and a nonprofit, all focused on schools, all funded through the systems I help you learn to navigate.
Everything I teach at Sell to Schools comes from running these three, day after day, for more than a decade.
Wherever you are in your journey to getting paid by schools, there's a right next step. Pick the one that fits where you are right now.
A 30 minute masterclass plus a quick start guide that teaches how K to 12 schools actually make buying decisions, so you can figure out your first move without guessing.
A 2 hour 1:1 strategy session plus a 14 day check in. You leave with the line item map, the positioning, the purchase agents who matter, and warm introductions where I see real fit.
Ongoing advisory, retained consulting, or custom programming for organizations, agencies, and funders who want deeper support across the NYC school ecosystem.
If you're just starting to think about selling to schools, join the list. You'll be the first to hear when I host my next free Q&A session, where you can ask me anything about how schools actually buy. No pressure, no weekly spam.
Enter your name and email below. I'll let you know when the next live Q&A is scheduled.
"Just got off the phone with the assistant superintendent. I kept my pitch short and straight to the point and they sounded excited. They're reviewing my proposal and getting back to me."
"Tasha didn't just hype me up. She gave me a simple framework I could actually follow. I stopped overthinking and finally knew my next steps for approaching schools."
"I had the expertise and the book, but I didn't have a strategy for schools. Tasha helped me create a clear plan and made the whole process feel doable instead of overwhelming."
Follow along on Facebook for daily real talk on selling to schools, or email me directly if you're thinking about a custom engagement.