Mission

TAF prepares underserved children of color for higher education and professional success by providing a rigorous and relevant K-12 curriculum.

History

One afternoon Trish Millines Dziko (a Microsoft employee at the time) and Jill Hull Dziko (a Seattle Mental Health employee at the time) were walking their dogs near Lake Washington. While chatting, the subject turned to education and they discovered that they both wanted to start a school for under-served kids of color. Jill focused on the lack of quality education for children of color and Trish, of course, focused on technology.

After many meetings with friends, family, community members and professional peers, they decided a foundation that collaborates with existing organizations to focus on education and technology would be a better leverage of resources.

Their respective business, technical and social service talents were a natural combination to launch the Technology Access Foundation (TAF).

They quit their old jobs and TAF opened its doors October 1, 1996.

Values

All of our endeavors are guided by the following principles. These core philosophical beliefs determine the way we approach our work and articulate our priorities.

1. Technology and Life Skills
Technology skills are as important as reading, writing, and arithmetic. They are building blocks for the future. While specific technologies change over time, the need for solid life skills remains constant and is a critical element to success.

2. Access to Opportunity
Skills are best used when opportunity presents itself. We create educational and employment opportunities for our students while giving them the tools to take advantage of those opportunities.

3. Strategic and Collaborative Leadership & Partnerships
We strive to take a leadership role in preparing our students for the future. However, we also understand that leaders can only be effective when there is a collaboration of ideas with others invested in the quest.

4. Fiscal Responsibility and Sound Business Ethics
We conduct our business with integrity and fiscal responsibility.

5. Continuous Improvement and Learning
No matter how successful we may be, there is always room to learn more and improve. We strive to continually improve our internal structure, training methods, and curriculum in order to give our students the best educational experience possible.