Tiarra Bryant is Deputy Director of PDA.
She is responsible for providing national technical assistance and support to jurisdictions in all phases of the implementation of local LEAD programs. LEAD provides a community-based alternative to jail and prosecution for people who engage in crime related to unmet behavioral health needs and extreme poverty. Tiarra has focused her community work in youth services, post-prison education, re-entry, and recovery. She is passionate about criminal legal system reform and has dedicated her career to helping others with healing from the effects of intergenerational trauma, addiction, and incarceration. Tiarra is a member of the Klamath Tribes of Oregon and values advancing racial and social justice for historically excluded communities.
Tiarra has been involved with Civil Survival, focusing on post-incarceration community re-entry and legislative change for communities impacted by the criminal legal system. She is Co-chair on the Advisory Council for the Husky Post-Prison Pathways project at UW Tacoma. Tiarra is a member and local community leader for the Formerly Incarcerated College Graduates Network. She has facilitated addiction recovery groups as a volunteer with SMART Recovery. She earned her Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology, and minor in Nonprofit Studies, from the University of Washington Tacoma in 2019.