The Scoop with Tanya Flanagan

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This is a Kun V studios original program. The content of this program does not reflect the views or opinions of 91.5 jazz and more the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, or the Board of Regents of the Nevada System of Higher Education.

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Good morning, and thank you for joining me for the scoop with Tanya Flanagan, I'm so happy you decided to wake up and start your day with me

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here on the scoop, where we talk about life, joy, funny moments, trending topics and so much more. We promise to keep you in the know and find out what you know. So let's get started.

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You

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Good morning Las Vegas, and welcome to another edition of the scoop with me. Tanya Flanagan, here on 91.5k U, N, V, jazz and more, I am always delighted to have you here with me, and very grateful that you have decided to wake up very early on a Sunday morning to spend some time with me. As always, I look forward to bringing you interesting conversations with unique people, or people who I think are unique and dynamic and worth getting to know a little bit better. This morning is no different. I have in the studio with me a beautiful woman who I have always admired from afar. She was kind of like a mystery. And you see someone and you think, Oh, they seem so cool. And it's not because they are untouchable, but it's because they're doing something that harnesses power, their power, and they're giving it back to the universe, to the community, in a positive way. And I would see her and just thought, Oh, she seems so cool. And then I had the pleasure and the privilege of getting to know her better, and I have the opportunity to introduce her to you this morning. So without further ado, I am delighted to welcome to the show. Trisha Braxton, thank you. You're welcome. Good morning. So much. Good morning. I know I surprised you with that introduction too. Yes, you did. That's the things that people don't know. You think about them until you say it, and then it surprises them, genuinely, because they don't know. But yes, I do. I always thought she seemed so cool. I would love to know more about her, and I would see you at different functions, and that would be a light and pleasant, simple sort of passing conversation. And I always wondered more about you. And whenever I would hear you talk about different issues that you were passionate about, I could tell how much

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actual, genuine, sincere effort you were putting to the places that you spend your time, you know. So I receive that. I receive it. Thank you, and the feeling is mutual. Well, thank you, and thank you for being here once again. Well, Tricia, let's make sure that people know why I am impressed by you and share with them who you are and you know what you do. So sure. So by day, I'm Dr Tricia Braxton, and I'm an educator. I've been an educator in Nevada for 15 years now.

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I'm originally from New York, not New York City, although I'm born and raised, you know, in New York, in the suburbs, and

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I have a a commitment. I think this, this draw to issues in community and education in community and

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and that's transferable regardless of what I'm doing right, whether I'm in the classroom formally as as a teacher, right, first or third grade teacher, or with the work I do currently, which involves community based education,

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or if I'm just engaging in community, let's say in what I used to do before I moved to Nevada in New York, I was a New York City police officer, and you know, that was almost like a family business, because both of my parents were New York City police officers, and I enjoyed being with community and engaging

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with kids. You know, we had the Police Athletic League, and, you know, I remember when I first started

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working with with kids in the community, and they're talking about how they wanted to, of all things, you know, play basketball, be on a basketball team. I was like, All right, I know about cheering about basketball.

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Cheerleader like, I'm great on the sidelines,

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and I can coach a game from, you know, from the scenes. But when the kids were like, yeah, no, we really want to be a part of this, you know, basketball

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event coming up made it happen, you know. And it was so funny because, you know, they were able to teach me a lot about basketball. But here we were, kids from the community, me as a.

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Cop, and we had this opportunity to to

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just dive into this basketball topic, where we no longer, you know, I didn't see them as just kids, right? You know, needing interventions or diversions. And they, I believe, they no longer just saw me as a cop. They saw me as a mentor, all right? And we were going to work together to get on this basketball event or League and make it happen. And they ended up winning

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this, this look, I still don't know what it's called, but they ended up winning that, that season event.

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I remember, I am, I didn't realize you were a police officer in your past life, before you moved here from New York, very familiar with the Police Athletic League. I actually had a very dear friend who, when I first became, I was beer reporter, and when I first it was my first story was to do it on these officers who were working so Long Beach, it was in college at the time, in Arizona, but then Long Beach, doing an internship. And they were

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working their assignment was the Police Athletic League, and it was working with the kids playing basketball. And the kids picked a university to name their team after, and then they learned about that university and specializations, majors and what it was good college and all this stuff. So really neat, how your work in that space as a police officer crossed over to education, and then you came here and decided to dive deeper into the space of education. Yes, and you work for the University of Nevada, Reno extension to Reno extension. Congratulations on a recent elevation in that space. Thank you. You are welcome to senior coordinator over partnerships, programs and people. Engagement is quite the mouthful. It is by by day and then your your dual hat. You've also placed your name on the ballot in the vein and universe of education for a position on the State Board of Education, yes, specifically, district one. And so there's just a lot of overlap and a continuous theme in your life that we're seeing, that I'm seeing in this conversation centered around education

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and kids. That

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kind of sounds like it was born, and you really early on.

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You know? I think this is

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when people use the term full circle. Full circle means that there's eventually a closure, right? But I'd like to think of my journey as being a series of loops, a loops, loops, or ebbs and flows, if you will, with a common theme, whether I

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want to

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work in a particular field or not, there's a field that's been decided for me, I think, right? And so, you know, it's, it's a total sum of my experiences, of how I've been raised, of the values, for example, that my parents have instilled in me. You know,

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one of those values is, empathy and compassion,

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and

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how that's defined is based on my interactions right with people. So I am empathetic toward youth development, I'm empathetic toward youth empowerment. I'm compassionate for

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issues concerning our youth in education and what that might look like,

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and so

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I've, over the years, just learned to embrace it

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and dive in and and understand that, you know, we all have our our parts to play if we want to live in

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in a productive society, and if we want to have meaning assigned to to our lives. So I've just accepted that this is the space I need to be in. You know,

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if I were a computer engineer or an inventor or, you know, something like that, I'd want to move forward and passion in those spaces. But this is who I am, you know, unapologetically, just a person who enjoys doing what I do for the people, for kids.

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If you had to look back at your life and the things that you have given time to,

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what would you say is your greatest accomplishment my two daughters? Hmm, I am a mom.

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Um, thank you. I mean, no, I mean mothers are I love my mom. May she rest in heaven, rest in peace, because they do so much to shape your life and the sacrifices that mothers make good mothers, you know, is endless, and it takes you to no end, and even for those who aren't mothers biological children, but women who have aunties, girlfriends, godmothers, who have being taken that time, to take someone under your wings and to make sacrifices, to instill in them direction and support advice and to be a role model to that young woman. A lot of times we see our young girls, and it feels like etiquette just keeps falling by the wayside, because there's so it's like an over sensory experience in our society. We used to say that to describe the casino, we used to actually say that to describe check in at the Mirage to be perfectly honest, because they used to work in gaming, public relations, and one of the things, one of the words we used to describe checking in at The Mirage Hotel was that it was an extra sensory experience, because you're walking in and you have the atrium, you have a rainforest, you have a huge aquarium, you have the potential to go see white tigers and dolphins, and it's just like all this stuff. And I think Vegas as a whole has this pulse and this energy, but society as a whole has this pulse and energy that our young people are it's both an amazing time and it's can be frightening, but it engulfs them. So having mothers, women and men too, but Ron you being a mom. So we're talking about that there to provide direction and support. I think any woman who does that for children, whether you're doing it as their teacher at school, as a family friend, as an aunt, as a mom, it is a beautiful sacrifice, and it's a gift that

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is like no other gift. My my niece called me the other day, and she was playing Raheem Devon's mo better, the song just better, or whatever it is, and she says, I was calling you auntie, because this song reminds me of you. And I was like, that song really kind of about relationships. She's like, not per se, the song, but the concept that

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you make my life better. It's just the simplicity of what the song I said, Oh, that's really sweet. Thank you baby. And you know, she's, you know, 40, which means I'm aging myself, but it's, it's nice to know that. And so to USA, that's beautiful. Yeah, you know what you've done with your daughters. I also want to add to it,

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because if you had to add to that and say, maybe for them or because of them, something that you've done that you're super proud of, that not only helps them, but it helps community, because you're a community person.

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My daughters inspire me.

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You know, through our journey,

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we've had our ups and downs as all families, you know, as all families, and I am divorced, and I divorced when they were young, and

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I had to reevaluate and reassign my role. Right? I was now both,

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you know, that that that nurturer and protector, that provider and that comfort

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for them. You know, I had to be that all encompassing parent and and that was okay. You know,

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seeing how my daughters have navigated through their life and, and, and, and just being with them

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as if they have an issue, or have you, you know, knowing that they can come to me right with with questions or concerns, or, you know, hey mom, you know, today I dealt with this, and this person said, you Know, XYZ, and it made me feel, you know, upset. You know, being able to talk to them about that, it's really important, but that's the that's the environment that

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I've created for them. You know, being a parent, many people have different definitions on on how they should move in that space. I see it as a joy, I see it as a privilege. I see it as an honor, and I don't take it lightly.

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I really believe that my role is to help these young people, these people who I've brought into the space, learn how.

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To thrive with whatever tools needed for success. And I don't have all the answers, but I enjoy speaking with them now. They're in their 20s, you know, and talking about

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opportunities to to

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move in a way that that brings either success or just a learning opportunity, right? There are no failures, there are only opportunities to learn. What do you think is your most useful tool that you've developed,

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that you intend to or you've used in other spaces that impact education, that further qualifies you to be

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a voice

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understanding viewpoints and without marginalizing or mitigating a particular viewpoint. Right? What I mean by that? Here's the example.

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There might be an issue, let's say,

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what to wear, right? You know, students, some parents are for uniforms, and some parents are not, right, okay, general topic, and there might be a reason why some parent might really want uniforms. You know, adamant that uniforms are a thing, and it might be another reason why another parent might be totally against those uniforms, and

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hearing what the concerns are

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puts me in a place to evaluate

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and evaluate in a way that considers

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the issues or the experiences that these two people with two different views bring to the table. Right?

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The reason why that parent with advocating for the uniform might want the uniform maybe because they simply can't afford to continue buying all these clothes and and that's a real issue, you know. And the other parent who doesn't want the uniforms wants this sense of identity for themselves. And there might be a cultural aspect involved, you know, and so being a mediator, a collaborator.

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That's who I am. That's what I bring to the table.

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I'm solution oriented, solution driven, and

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I can work with people from opposite ends of a viewpoint, right opposite ends of a situation, to at least look for common ground,

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because at the end of the day, we all just want the best for our kids. All right, yeah, or at least that's what we should this should be your focus. Sure, throwing your head into the space of State Board of Education and some people,

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a lot goes on in Las Vegas and the valley and the space. So you have Clark County School District, you have the Board of Regents, and then you have the State Board of Education. And I think for a lot of people, there's

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an overlap. I would think the overlap would be the understanding of the differentiation between State Board of Education and Board of Regents, but you have said in different times, and I've seen you that it's between CCSD and state board and just

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say someone hasn't really dialed into this for whatever reason.

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What's the distinction that they should I mean, I know what it is, but from you sure, and then how you play into the role sure of what you're pursuing? Well, if you look at education in any state, there's an organizational structure of education, right? So when I say organizational structure, there's a top and that's going to be the Department of Education, the Department of Education for Nevada

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starts with that, and then there's an accountability arm, or an accountability aspect to the Department of Education. The Accountability arm is that state board of education that gathers information and resources from our school boards. So CCSD is one of 20. We actually have 20 school boards in Nevada, all right, every county has a school board. There's charter school corrections and one other brain fog right now, but there are 20, okay? And the State Board of Education also gathers information from our colleges and universities. And so that's our Nevada System of Higher Education, and there was the Board of Regents.

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And we have several schools, you know, many people may think of just UNR, UNLV, you know. But we have Desert Research Institute, you know. We have CSN College of Southern Nevada. We have Nevada State University.

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And so taking information from our 20 school boards and our Nevada System of Higher Education and then helping inform legislature on what some of the concerns or priorities might be, that's what the State Board of Education is responsible for.

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And so it's a wonderful synergy, if you will, right of looking at, being able to look at and work with our school boards, people use that term school board all the time,

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and I've been in situations where I'll stand up and I'll talk about the state board of education and my intentions with the State Board of Education. And at the end of the conversation, an individual might say, thank you so much. I learned so much about the school board,

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which is why I kind of brought this up, because I'm hoping that in our short time to talk this morning, for those who are listening or curious about it, because I know we're just inundated right now with all things that are political conversations, but it's really important that we understand the aspects that affect our everyday lives, whether it's your children, your grandchildren, maybe your children work for work as teachers or administrators in one of these institutions, and the policies and procedures that are in place and what goes on to govern affects their everyday life, and then, either directly or indirectly, it affects your life too. And so I thought it was, it is, I believe it is really worthwhile to have

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to take the opportunity, and in layman's terms, as people put it, to explain what the structure is here and how it works together, and how it affects you, even when you think it doesn't, whether it's your workforce that you're employing, and looking at curriculum decisions and correct disciplinary decisions and knowing knowing who to go to, right? You know? And so I can understand that, that there are, you know. Look, let's face it, education as a whole,

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there are major challenges. Do you ever feel defeated? No, okay, you always feel optimistic? No, no. I mean, for me, it's, not down and go, You know what? I'm knocked down day or in this moment, but I'm going to get back up and here's how I'm going to recharge, maybe, but in probably, I'm giving my age away a little bit. But over time, I've learned it's not so much of thinking whether the glass is half full or the glass is half empty, it's understanding what's in that glass,

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and really, that's it. What are you filling your cup with? You know, if your glass is full with sludge

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and that's what's offered to you, or that's what you offer, then that's you got to evaluate that, right? If your cup is empty, then maybe that's an opportunity to start over and fill your cup with something, something of of nutritional value. You know, that can really be helpful in some way. And so, so it's a perspective. I think there are two words that I move forward with these days. It depends.

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I like that. But you know what? I really also kind of stuck with me in the moment as you were talking about what's in the class, it took me back to the analogy you gave

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with regard to the uniform explanation and bringing the two facts together, but not just for the parents who are expressing their concerns about something, but also

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your comment that you feel your best tool is your ability to listen and to build synergy and collaboration. What that also means to other people who will serve in these capacities, and your ability to work with different people. I think pointing that out is a really nice thing to learn about you. Thank you.

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Now that's not to say that space Thank you, and it's not to say that I'm not willing to make a decision. Right. Decisions have to be made, and hard decisions have to be made. I think what you said was, I'm willing to work with people to make the decision. I'm willing to find

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to dig in, to find what creates balance on both sides of an argument, and to respect the differing viewpoints that come before me at Tricia Braxton, and commit to working

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to build collaboration between regardless of who it is on any given day and what the issue is centered around education that you're willing to work on, on the issue. Yeah, I like to make sure, as we creep toward the end and we're not running out of time, but we're getting into the zone.

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Okay,

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as we get to know you better, others may be even more curious about you, and I want to make sure that they know how they can learn a little bit more about you.

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Well, social media. I mean, if a person wants to know more, they may know that they may want to know. I have a Instagram, Trisha for envy.

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And they may want to check out. You know, my website, which is Trisha. What is it? Www, dot Trisha, Braxton for envy. And you know, I'd like to keep it simple, I am four, and it's a number four, okay, for ending, yeah, yeah, that's fine. I always think it's cool how people I didn't do that, but I think it's very cool how people use the number because it's really easy and it shortens things up. So that's going we'll give those out again, just we have a few more minutes to talk about things that. One of the things I want to say to you was somewhere the other day, and we were talking about how platinum hair has become this new thing, and the young people are choosing it. And there was a time when you as you got older, for women, for men to have salt and pepper hair is distinct and it's distinguished. Sure he's handsome and, oh, there are these Tic Tacs going around right now with a group of silver fox the men, or whatever, Silver Fox squad. The Silver Fox squad is just a treat to look at, refuse ladies, if you have not seen that the silver fox squad on social media, trust me for eye candy, well dressed, well groomed, amazing. Pull up the silver fox squad, I must give them their props. That group of groomed salt and peppermint is like, wait what? Let me play this again and again and again. At any rate, we were somewhere the other day having a conversation, and someone said, oh, you know who looks amazing. It's fabulous. And it was actually Commissioner McCurdy. And he said, what's her name? Tricia. I said, Trisha Braxton. And he said, Yes, so you are. Yeah, people have something that people remember them by. And I think one of the things that people remember you by is your my hair, lustrous, beautiful, salt and pepper hair. Thank you. Well, you know, I like to refer to it as platinum. No, it is platinum. Platinum. Yes, flecks of black with white accent.

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I wear it proudly. You know,

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I had been graying since 18, for a long time, and that meant I'd been dyeing my hair since 20 Yeah, and my hair was, I'd say, a full platinum presence in my 30s, but I always dyed it. And then, you know, my hair good really quickly. And now I'm dying it often, but I decided just to it gets exhausting, just to stop it, you know, and let it grow out and

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and I love it, you know. I love it. I love there was a

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comment, Marvel Comics,

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Halle Berry, play, Storm, yes, you know. And so I embrace that you are fit and fabulous, so it all goes together. I appreciate. Dave Nourse, really welcome on this. I am loads of compliments for you. I think you are just awesome and fun. Can you just stay around me like all the time?

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Relations mouthpiece, absolutely, we are taken down to the wire again. I want to make sure your social media stuff is shared one more time. Yes. So, so people, you know, they may reach me through www dot Trisha Braxton for nv.com,

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there's a Contact page if they want to contact me, or they can check out my IG with Tricia for the number four NV. And folks, if you're just curious and you're wondering, it is the dynamic woman with the platinum hair. So if you've been seeing signs around town and running around saying, Who's that woman with the platinum hair, it is the amazing Trisha Braxton. We are down to our last few seconds here. And I just want to say thank you again for spending some time with me. Thank you to the listening audience for tuning in. We will see you next week. Next month is breast cancer awareness month, and we'll focus on that. Stay safe, stay well and goodbye. I

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want to thank you for tuning in to the scoop with me. Tonya Flanagan, and I want to invite you to get social with me. I'm on Facebook and Twitter. My name is my handle, T, a n, y, A F, l, a n, a G, A N. You can also find me on Instagram at Tanya almanize Flanagan, and if you have a thought, an opinion or a suggestion, don't hesitate to shoot me an email to tanya.flanagan@unlv.edu

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Thanks again for joining in. Stay safe and have a great week. You.

Transcribed by https://otter.ai