Our Team
Who we are
Executive Director
Tia Gaines, M.Ed
Tia Gaines is the Executive Director of UnifiEd: A Center for Hope and Unity, and she also serves as Associate Director in the Office of Social Equity and Community, part of the President’s Center, at the University of Pennsylvania. A seasoned consultant, writer, and conference speaker, Tia is passionate about advancing kingdom diversity, unity, and belonging within Christian education. With over 20 years of experience in education—spanning international, suburban, and urban settings—she brings a rich and varied perspective to her work. Tia has developed curriculum and resources focused on cultural humility, intercultural competency, dialogue, and reflection, with a particular passion for urban education, community engagement, and school partnerships. Tia sits on the Board of Trustees for the Association of Christian Schools International (ACSI) and the board for B2THEWORLD, a nonprofit organization that establishes schools in war-torn countries. She is a Senior Fellow at the Center for the Advancement of Christian Education (CACE). She and her husband, Joel, live in Philadelphia, PA.
Joel Gaines, M.Ed
Leaders Like Us Global Standing Committee
Shanté Brown Major
Program Lead
Shanté Brown Major joined UnifiEd in 2023, bringing 20+ years of expertise in operations, project leadership, and organizational strategy. Her career spans education—including urban schools and conflict-impacted global communities—and philanthropy focused on survivor justice. Shanté prioritizes building people-centered, equitable systems that translate organizational vision into sustainable, real-world impact.
Ashley Codner
Communications Lead
Ashley is a University of Pennsylvania alumna and PhD candidate in English Literature at Rutgers University—New Brunswick. Her research explores how HBCUs creatively resist anti-Blackness within higher education. She serves as Program Coordinator at Makuu: The Black Cultural Center at UPenn, sits on the advisory board for Philly-based creative writing nonprofit Cosmic Writers, and works as a pre-major advisor at Penn.
Dionne Delany
Hospitality Lead
Dionne Delany is Lead Office Manager at The City School in Philadelphia, bringing over 20 years of school administration experience and a B.S. in Business Administration from the University of Delaware. With over 30 years in church ministry, her role in Christian education brings together her passion for the Kingdom of God, her desire to see children flourish, and her gifts in administration and leadership. Married to Jay for over 25 years, Dionne enjoys family, fellowship, traveling, and baking.
OUR MISSION
Doctrinal Commitments
The Bible
The Holy Bible was written by men divinely inspired and is God’s revelation of Himself to man. It is a perfect treasure of divine instruction. All Scripture is totally true and trustworthy.
God
There is one living and true God who is the creator, redeemer, and preserver of the universe. God is infinite in holiness and all other perfections and reveals himself as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.God the Son: Christ is the eternal Son of God. In His incarnation as Jesus Christ He was fully human and divine. While he was without sin, his substitutionary death and resurrection made provision for the redemption of sin.
Salvation
Salvation is by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ’s atoning work alone, and is evidenced by Christ’s Lordship in the believer’s life.
Faith & Culture
All Christians are under obligation to seek to make the will of Christ supreme in our own lives and in human society as a sign of God’s coming Kingdom.
The Family
God has ordained the family as the foundational institution of human society. It is composed of persons related to one another by marriage, blood, or adoption. Marriage is the uniting of one man and one woman in covenant commitment for a lifetime.
