Thaïs Bass-Moore, a native of Los Angeles, CA, received her B.A. from UCLA in African American Studies & English. Upon graduation, she taught elementary school in Los Angeles before getting married and relocating to Louisiana. Thaïs, an actress at heart, studied fine arts and playwriting at several institutions nationwide and served as founder and director of The Black Theatre Company of Baton Rouge where she produced many of her own works. After being a stay-at-home mother for 10 years, she began working at the University of Texas at Austin as a program coordinator. Seeing the need for a holistic development initiative for Black women on campus she partnered with colleague, Dr. Tiffany T. Lewis and created the Fearless Leadership Institute in 2013. In 2018, she earned an M.A. from The University of Texas at Austin in Human Dimensions of Organizations. She currently serves as director of the Fearless Leadership Institute. Thaïs is the author of A Syllabus for Black Women: 110 Life Lessons for Sistahs in College, co-founder/co-host of the FLI Girls Podcast, and founder of the Austin Black Theatre Company. She is married to Leonard Moore and they have three amazing children. Follow her on IG @tibassmo.
Dr. Tiffany T. Lewis was recently appointed to Assistant Vice President of the Division of Diversity & Community Engagement where she oversees the Longhorn Center for Academic Equity. The primary goal of the center and its programs are to increase the college retention and graduation rates of its participants and facilitate the process of transition from one level of higher education to the next. Dr. Lewis received all three of her degrees, B.A., M.Ed., and PhD. from The University of Texas at Austin. Prior to becoming the AVP, she joined the Longhorn Center for Academic Equity team and led the Faculty & Staff Mentor Program, the Achieving College Excellence Program, the Gateway Scholars and Longhorn Link Programs. She is part of the leadership team of FLI which she helped to found in 2013 and co-founder/co-host of the FLI Girls Podcast. Tiffany is married to Shelton Lewis and they have three beautiful children.
Cydni Cox is a native of San Antonio, Texas. She received a B.S. in Economics from The University of Texas at Austin in December of 2019. During her time on the 40 acres, Cydni launched a chapter of the national campus ministry, The Impact Movement, and served as the campus liaison. She became a member of the Fearless Leadership Institute as a freshmen and served as the FLI Marketing Ambassador during her senior year. She participated in the FLI Around the World Movement and studied abroad in Cape Town, South Africa. Upon graduating she was hired as the program coordinator for the Fearless Leadership Institute (FLI) and supports DDCE’s global program taking students to Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and South Africa. She is the producer and co-founder/co-host of the FLI Girls Podcast. When she is not working, Cydni is usually singing or writing music. Follow her on IG @nelyssa_music.
Aniyah Reed is our new graduate assistant. Originally from the DC Metro Area, Aniyah is here in Austin pursuing her master’s in Global Policy at the LBJ School of Public Affairs. She earned her bachelor’s in Political Science from Howard University in 2022 and is excited to continue her education at UT. Aniyah is interested in diplomacy and human rights, the effects of neocolonialism, and promoting fair and transparent governing institutions. She doesn’t get to read for fun as much as she used to, but her favorite books are Their Eyes Were Watching God and The Secret Life of Bees.
