Tanya Vanderford joined the RCU in 2023 as a project manager on the assessment team. Vanderford assists in the coordination, development, implementation, and evaluation of career and technical education programs in the state. Before joining the RCU, Tanya spent 15 years teaching math in the Smith County School District to both middle school and high school students and 5 years in the Starkville Oktibbeha Consolidated School District, where she taught high school math and AP Computer Science. She earned Bachelor of Science degrees in both math and computer science from Mississippi State University and a Master of Education degree in Secondary Education from William Carey University. In 2013 she achieved National Board Certification in Mathematics, and recently worked to maintain certification through 2029.