Tanisha Chea
"I believe my unconquerable Spirit of Yes! Is a catalyst to inspire girls and women to be changemakers.”
I've been focused on developing other women my entire career. I didn’t plan it that way, it’s just an innate quality I have. And now I seek ways to broaden my access to women. My career has led me to launch more than 100 products for multinational corporations you all know such as Taco Bell, KFC, Carrabba's Italian Grill, and Krispy Kreme, and has included leading national partnerships with Sony, the NBA, Bobby Bones, Match.com, and MTV. Work has moved me across the U.S., and around the world to the UK, Australia, and Asia and I’ve climbed the corporate ladder to the C-Suite as a Chief Marketing Officer and now as the President of Sir Grout - a residential and commercial restoration company.
Among all of those resume accolades, it is the privilege of coaching women at all levels of leadership and experience to say YES! to themselves in their businesses, careers, and lives that define my purpose and success. Having served as Miss Connecticut, a Top Ten finalist at Miss America, Miss Georgia USA, and now Mrs. North Carolina 2022, these titles have given me the opportunity to mentor women and young girls on leadership, create an executive presence and cultivate a winning mindset. As a Global Ambassador Volunteer with Dress for Success, I can directly speak to women from all backgrounds and influence their own definition of success. I am an innovative, forward thinker, with a passion for tapping the current cultural trends to identify opportunities where women can create relevant experiences for national and global brands. And I take pride in applying this same approach to working with women as we identify the opportunities in their lives to create platforms for growth, leadership development, and more.
It's the motto of my alma mater, Clark Atlanta University, "Find A Way Or Make One" - that inspired me to pursue entrepreneurship. It is also a guiding principle of how I live my life. After a long IVF journey and the birth of my twin boys, I knew I had to find a way to take my time and career growth into my own hands. Giving birth to your legacy puts things into a greater perspective. With determination and a desire to fearlessly pursue what would set my soul on fire, I found a way to combine my and my husband’s talents (He's a 20-year educator and K-8 Principal) to open our own business - IDEA Lab Kids - a S.T.E.A.M Enrichment center for kids! I’ve had ventures in entrepreneurship, but this was the biggest. We scaled to more than six figures of revenue in less than 6 months and plan for multiple locations and spin-off businesses. After years of conceiving and managing integrated multi-channel launch campaigns, orchestrating menu architecture, strategy development, and leading product marketing - I am now doing it for myself and my soul is on fire!
Our professional endeavor was built specifically to create space for our family life. I’m a proud resident of Charlotte, North Carolina with my husband Kosal and our twin 4-year-old boys, Zealand and Rhodes.