Our Why

The TAP+ team envisions a day when the standard learning experience for early learners is one in which their unique funds of knowledge are leveraged to ensure their success - and our collective success - in the 21st century (UNESCO, 2015).

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Products & Services

  • The Affirmation Project is inspired by, and in celebration of, all the learners that Jillian has encountered over the course of her twenty year career, and the ways in which respectful curiosity, asset-framing, and meaningful connection have supported many in their personal journeys and evolution.

  • Over the past twenty years, Jillian has worked at the classroom, program, and regional levels - as well as nationally and internationally - to translate child and adult learning theory and practice into contextually-relevant experiences for use in formal and informal settings.

    Since returning to her hometown of Detroit, Jillian has led several city-wide initiatives (from concept to completion) that were geared towards optimizing learning outcomes and/or arts exploration within local learning and living communities.

    • Children & Youth :-)

    Presentation highlights:

    • Guest Speaker, Community Engaged Research: Building Habits of Practice, Detroit Community Engaged Research Program, University of Michigan (2023)

    • Guest Lecturer, EDU S310D: Cultural Work and Education, Harvard Graduate School of Education (2022)

    • Presenter, S999: The Role of the Arts in Asset-based Pedagogical Practice (Independent Study), Harvard Graduate School of Education (2022)

    • Webinar Facilitator, Supporting Social and Emotional Learning through the Arts, Saul Zaentz Early Education Initiative, Harvard University (2021)

    • Session Co-Facilitator, Maker Spaces for Little Learners, Allied Media Conference (2020)

    Project highlights:

    • Pushing the Pedal to METALS (Math, Engineering, Technology, Art, Literacy, and Science), LearnEarly as part of Kresge’s Detroit Early Childhood Education Support Initiative, (2019-2023)

    • Outstanding Mentor Award, Detroit’s Art Renaissance - A Study of Access and Opportunity, Undergraduate Research Opportunity Program, University of Michigan - Ann Arbor (2019)

    • Juneteenth: 153 Years Later, Participatory Art Event, Play House, The Hinterlands, Hamtramck (2018)   

    • Art for Learning’s Sake Project, Arts Resurget & LearnEarly in partnership with the University of Michigan’s Undergraduate Research Opportunity Program (2017)

A Founder’s Journey