Dr. Tiffany Quinn was in high spirits as she eagerly made her way to the Genesys Conference and Banquet Center on March 23rd.
The renowned social work and mental health professional was elated to be among the speakers at a Women’s History Celebration Luncheon. Following her speech, Quinn settled into the crowd, which included her daughter Fueschie Jones, and listened to other presentations in anticipation of the keynote address “All Souls Matter to God” by friend and esteemed colleague, Dr. Alfreda Riley.
All the while, Quinn was unaware that some others in attendance were anticipating something else.
Roughly halfway through the event, Dr. Darcele Robinson, one of Quinn’s closest friends and most influential role models, took to the podium and began to speak about honoring someone.
“She started to say that this person was being recognized for volunteering their time to several causes and their dedication to building a stronger, healthier community for some 30 years and I started to wonder if she might actually be talking about me,” Quinn recalls. “Then, Dr. Robinson mentions this person has been instrumental in serving the underserved population and has authored books and journals. When she began listing my specific education, I started to tear up.
I found out later that my daughter and a few other people there knew what was going to happen.”
Quinn, and later an equally stunned Riley, were both presented with Presidential Lifetime Achievement Awards. Only those who have volunteered in their communities for at least 20 years are eligible for the honor.
Quinn’s award package included a certificate signed by President Joseph Biden, a plaque and gold medal. Quinn also posed for photographs in front of a large, stand-alone poster featuring Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris and signifying that Donations With Love Foundation, an organization Robinson helps run, nominated her.
“The award was quite a surprise and a little overwhelming, but I’m very grateful,” Quinn says. “It’s more than just personal recognition for me, but a testament to the resilience of the community that I came from and the spirit of the people I’ve been able to help, and the partnerships I’ve formed to do important work in the community to make life better for all who are in it.”
Nominations for the award must be made by a certified organization – one granted authority through an application and review process to do so by the Presidential Volunteer Service Award (PVSA) Committee.
Once Donations With Love Foundation achieved certification, its board unanimously voted to nominate Quinn. The PVSA Committee selected her for the honor after evaluating her body of work and personal story.
“The Lifetime Achievement Award is a fitting honor for Dr. Quinn, acknowledging her substantial impact on the Flint community and her decades-long dedication to helping vulnerable individuals,” Robinson says. “Her selfless efforts have significantly impacted many lives, providing crucial support and guidance to those facing challenges. Dr. Quinn has also been a mentor, role model and advocate for many in the field of social work, inspiring countless students and colleagues.”
“It’s more than just personal recognition for me, but a testament to the resilience of the community I came from and the spirit of the people I’ve been able to help, and the partnerships I’ve formed to do important work in the community to make life better for all who are in it.”
Quinn, 60, works tirelessly to serve the Flint area in ways almost too numerous to list. Her entire schedule, it seems, is dedicated to helping others in some form or fashion.
Among other things, the Flushing resident is administrator for the Flint Social Worker Network, a community of over 700 professionals dedicated to promoting collaboration and advocacy in social work. She takes great pride in mentoring younger social workers.
Quinn also serves on the boards of organizations like the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, Serenity House, Mothers of Joy Institute for Parenting, and The Etiquette and Self-Image Institute based at Mott Community College. There, she mentors girls ages 13-19.
Other area organizations and groups request her services for various reasons. For example, they might need someone to lead a class in coping skills. Quinn has worked with students at several area schools, including Madison Charter Academy and Grand Blanc Community Schools.
Her resume also includes writing or co-writing four self-help books along with five journals.
Quinn is a very active member of the Church of God in Christ and Bountiful Love Church, where she regularly delivers messages of hope and encouragement through faith and assists in the community outreach efforts of both churches. Overall, she averages about two speaking engagements per month at various events, workshops, seminars and celebrations.
How does she juggle it all?
“Fortunately, I’ve always been an organized person,” Quinn shares. “I live by my calendar, reminder settings, Siri and Alexa.”
She would not have it any other way. For Quinn, a full calendar means she is serving her community to the fullest.
Photo Courtesy of Dorothy Cole
Overall, her areas of expertise include self-care and mindfulness practice, race-related stress, mental health, generational and cultural trauma, and the intersection of faith and mental health.
“One of the most satisfying aspects of what I do is seeing the peace of mind I can give to people through working with them,” Quinn says. “I also value the relationships I’ve built with people and groups in the community to sustain our work. Seeing people I worked with as young students succeed is also very gratifying, like one young man I met when he was in sixth grade who now works in Gov. Whitmer’s administration.”
Robinson, who received some noteworthy recognition of her own with a National Service Impact Award during the Governor’s Service Awards ceremony in November, has long admired Quinn’s passion for her profession.
“Dr. Quinn has exceptional mediation skills, and excels in crisis management, providing empathetic guidance and supportive solutions,” Robinson states. “Her work in Flint has been instrumental in providing much-needed support and resources to some of the most underserved populations, reflecting her unwavering commitment to social justice and community well-being.”
Originally from Ohio, Quinn’s family moved to Flint when she was eight years old after which her parents divorced. Quinn and her two siblings were then raised by their mother, who began working for General Motors while also taking time for community service.
Seeing her mother somehow balance raising children on her own with a career and serving the community is what ultimately inspired Quinn to become a social worker and such a strong advocate for the underserved.
“My mother nurtured me to work hard and believe in the importance of serving the community,” Quinn says. “We were part of a big church organization that reached out to those in need. Also, just seeing her advocate for my brother’s medical care as he suffered from juvenile diabetes was inspiring. Overcoming our struggles made a lasting impression on me to help others do the same thing.” Her mother was also part of a group that raised money for a playground to be constructed at Wilkins Elementary School in Flint.
Quinn graduated from Beecher High School in 1982, the same year she became a mother. She later married and had two more children during the 1980s, went through a divorce and was a single mother for 20 years.
Before transitioning to social work, Quinn owned a gift basket shop in Downtown Flint and worked in accounting and retail management. Along the way, she earned several degrees, including associate degrees in general studies and social work from Mott CC, a bachelor’s in social work from the UM-Flint and a master’s in social work from Wayne State. She then earned a doctorate in theology from Midwest College of Theology.
In addition to education, life experiences – some tragic – have helped Quinn become more effective in her work. In 2019, her youngest son, Kourtney Jones, died suddenly from an undiagnosed heart condition at age 31. Quinn has also lost her mother, and David, her husband of 15 years, died in June.
“Each of my painful losses have served to reshape my life in different ways and certainly affected who I am and how I approach social work and being a mentor,” she explains. “I’m still being guided by the light from my mother and losing her unleashed a vault of compassion and understanding I didn’t know I had. The loss of my son was just devastating, but gave me insight into how important having a support system is, because the community wrapped its arms around me and my family.”
Her husband’s passing brought to light other life lessons for Quinn.
“Losing David reminded me of the importance of cherishing every moment with the ones we love and I still post memories of our time together to his Facebook page on a weekly basis,” Quinn says. “He was often by my side as we worked in the community. David’s death also taught me how to lean on others for support, because that’s not always easy when you are the one usually providing it. I just feel more connected now to the depths of suffering that people can go through.”
“Each of my painful losses have served to reshape my life in different ways and certainly affected who I am and how I approach social work and being a mentor.”
From a young age, Quinn found writing, especially journaling, to be therapeutic. She began publishing her work the year her son died, beginning with the book Girl, Get Up and Win. Her other books are Joy 365 Days a Year and Girl, Get Up and Win Every Day. She is also included in Unseen Heroes: Stories of Triumph in Social Work, an anthology of writing by mental health professionals.
Quinn’s journals include Self Care, Write to Heal, The Self Care Men’s Journal, The Devotional Self Care Journal, and The Self Care 365 Days of Gratitude. She also created a social work notebook.
“I started getting my writing published because I want to leave a footprint and a legacy for my grandchildren,” the grandmother of two says. “I can’t stress enough the healing benefits of journaling one’s private thoughts and wanted to make it easier for people to get started doing that while offering encouraging messages. I created a social work notebook to aid in the professional development of others in my field.”
Clearly, Quinn has impacted countless lives and accomplished plenty during her career, but feels there is plenty more for her to accomplish.
“My future plans include expanding my impact through education and mentorship and I’ll continue to work on initiatives to help make changes in education to better meet the mental health needs of students,” she says. “I also plan more books, maybe a memoir and other inspirational work based on my life experiences as a way of providing people with more resources and coping skills.”
That is Dr. Tiffany Quinn’s mission – always seeking ways to better the lives of others.
