As a women’s career strategy speaker, Tonya gives growth-minded professionals the framework, tools, and strategy to advance their careers.
15, 000 +
Participants
350+
Programs
55
17
Tonya Tiggett has spent her career helping ambitious professionals find their voice, own their value, and move their careers forward, boldly.
Tonya helps women recognize their value, speak up to share how it impacts their work, and build the case that moves their careers forward without waiting for others to do it for them.
But her career didn’t begin in Corporate America or on a stage. It began in a middle school classroom and in another language!
After teaching ESL and Spanish in public schools and at The Ohio State University, Tonya pivoted into Corporate America, where she built and led an immersive Spanish language multi-month program in three states for employees in all lines of business, while also working full-time in professional and leadership development in Operations.
Different audiences. Different rooms. Same mission: give people the confidence and tools to be heard and the relationship-building strategy to turn their voice into opportunity.
Accomplished women, including those more tenured than Tonya, began asking her how to advocate for raises, build influence, and advance. They had never been shown how. Tonya had the tools and strategies to help and couldn’t wait to share them.
Those conversations sparked Tonya to form Tiggett & Co., and create the flagship program “Lead with Confidence,” where Tonya equips women to be heard, be seen, and to build powerful career relationships that get career results.
While Tonya might be only 5 feet tall, she is mighty with her career coaching impact from the stage and in the classroom!
Tonya brings both corporate learning experience and decades of hands-on professional development help to professionals in corporations and to MBA students in academia to move their careers forward. Apart from her tenure in Corporate America, she has also served as adjunct faculty and as a coaching consultant for MBA cohorts at The Ohio State University Fisher College of Business. She holds a Chief Learning Officer Certification and is a Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses alum.
Because Tonya has the gift of gab in two languages, Tonya also equips and develops professionals across the Spanish-speaking world.
Tiggett & Co. is a certified diverse supplier, giving corporate clients a way to invest in career development while supporting their supplier diversity goals.
“This program is the most impactful and valuable, hands-down.”
Lead with Confidence Certified Facilitator, American Electric Power
Freedom a la Cart is a Columbus nonprofit whose workforce readiness program serves survivors of human trafficking.
As an in-kind contribution, Tonya and four Tiggett & Co. team members created an eight-part leadership curriculum tailored to women starting over, drawing on principles Tonya also teaches in Fortune 500 companies. Since its launch in 2024, the program has helped 41 women begin building their careers and sense of self-worth.
The workforce readiness curriculum helps women recognize the talents and strengths they already possess, speak to them with more confidence in interviews, and build people-centered skills for lasting careers. For some participants, it was the first time they saw themselves as leaders.
Tiggett & Co. donated the curriculum to Freedom a la Cart under the nonprofit’s own copyright. Freedom can use and reproduce it as its program grows, including if it expands to other cities.
“It’s giving them a solid foundation, a growth mindset, and the tools they need to succeed.”
Tonya Tiggett knows career growth means more than a promotion. Fewer than half the women in her programs name promotion as their immediate goal, but almost all want their contributions recognized and the freedom to keep growing, through a schedule that helps them thrive personally and professionally, a certification that opens doors, or a greater say in decisions that shape their work.
Tonya meets her audiences where they are, no matter their job level or goals. She gives professionals the practical tools to articulate their value, build influence, and pursue opportunities they may have previously hesitated to seek.
These strategies extend beyond one career milestone to serve participants no matter their level or stage in their career, and no matter the group; the men in the room (there are often a brave few) benefit too, while gaining a deeper appreciation for colleagues who may be the only women on their teams or in daily meetings.
Tonya brings her programs to Fortune 500 companies, member associations, conferences, and graduate business schools. Before taking the stage, she surveys participants and brings their answers into the discussion so they hear their experiences reflected back, realize they are not alone, and lean into the conversation more as a result.
Many in the audience have been told to “be more influential” to get ahead, without ever being shown how. Simply saying “be more influential” isn’t a strategy that works. Tonya brings the “how” with clarity, energy, candor, and concrete strategies that help turn strengths into impact, evolve co-worker and manager interactions into stronger, more strategic relationships, and transform “jobs” into attainable and sustainable careers to proudly celebrate!
