About – tnprospers

Who We Are

About TN Prospers

Who We Are

TN Prospers is a non-partisan policy and advocacy group that works with everyone in the community who shares our goal of creating long lasting opportunities for all of our families, from cradle to career. We collaborate with diverse social, civic, and economic leaders to build partnerships, have hard conversations, and foster innovative policy solutions, funding and scaling that will make Tennessee an example for the nation.

All children and families deserve a bright future. We know that when we all work together, our state has the ability to make this a reality. We do this by changing the conversation to focus on what really matters: putting our families first.

Our Mission

To collaborate, innovate, and construct solutions to improve the social and economic future of all children and families in Tennessee

Our Vision

Our vision is to be at the forefront of creating policy that makes Tennessee a place where all children and families prosper

Our Impact

Pulling together many different ideas – to come up with the most effective and long lasting solutions – is the only path to real prosperity for Tennessee and its families.

Staff

Our People

Haley Simmons

Chief Public Policy Officer

Anthony Hanna

Director of Public Policy & Advocacy

Anthony (Tony) Hanna is a native Tennessean and education policy specialist. He recently moved back home to Memphis after spending time in Washington, D.C., working on advocacy campaigns at the Center for American Progress and writing education policy for a member of the U.S. House of Representatives. He is returning to Memphis to continue his prior work with community organizations dedicated to the education of underserved communities. Tony holds a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science and International Studies from Rhodes College, as well as a Master’s degree in International Education Policy from the Harvard Graduate School of Education. He, his wife (Jill), and his two dogs (Toph and Zuko) are excited to be back in the city that they love.

Charity Porotesano

Deputy Director of Public Policy and Analysis

As a first generation college graduate in her family, Charity deeply understands the connection between education and access to better opportunities. Her personal experience growing up in American Samoa inspired her to study political science and education as a policy system with the goal to improve access to opportunity in under-resourced areas whether they were insular, rural, or urban.

Charity graduated with a Master of Arts in Educational Leadership, Politics, and Advocacy from New York University and a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Grinnell College as a Truman Scholar. She has worked as an educator, having taught at Matafao Elementary School in American Samoa and the New York Public Library’s out-of-school program Literacy Leaders. Charity also served as a policy specialist for the National Marine Sanctuary of American Samoa and a Truman-Albright Fellow at the Federal Office of Rural Health Policy.

Charity joined Seeding Success in 2020, eager to serve the city of Memphis through research and public policy focused on strengthening K-12 education. She enjoys meeting with community partners to learn about education issues and discuss solutions. Charity has grown to appreciate the strong sense of community that she says can be felt throughout Memphis. In her spare time, she enjoys exploring the city and all its greenery with her partner. Charity is a proud cat mom of a chonky kitty named Pitty Pat, whom she adopted locally.

Who We Are