Tonya Whitaker is an English composition instructor with experience teaching at the community college (three campuses in Dallas College system) and university (Stephen F. Austin State University) levels. She began her teaching career in higher ed August 2013 as an adjunct instructor at Paul Quinn College, an HBCU in Dallas. A veteran newspaper journalist and copy editor for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Port Arthur News, and North Dallas Gazette, she emphasizes strong communication and critical thinking in her teaching.

Whitaker makes learning engaging and relevant to her students. Underneath the relevant topics lie lessons in writing that deliver a specific purpose, audience, and context. Through her work as a faculty integrator for marketable skills at Dallas College, Whitaker is instrumental in guiding her students to connect the skills learned in her courses to those sought by employers, including critical thinking and personal responsibility.

Recognized by Women in AI + (Higher) Ed in November 2024 for her dedication to responsible and ethical Artificial Intelligence (AI) integration in her courses, Whitaker further demonstrated her commitment by earning an EDSAFE AI Alliance Fellowship in January 2025. Each semester, she prioritizes equipping her students with the skills to “recognize biases in these tools and properly cite their usage according to the MLA style guide.” Actively involved in faculty inquiry groups focused on AI in higher education, Whitaker strives to ensure her predominantly Black and brown student populations are not disadvantaged in the job market due to a lack of AI literacy.

Born in Houston and reared in Port Arthur, Whitaker earned a bachelor’s degree in sociology from Lamar University in Beaumont and a master’s degree in English from Texas Woman’s University in Denton. When she is not teaching, Whitaker can be found cheering on Houston professional sports teams or watching true crime reality television.