Tisha Cannizzo

WHAT DO YOU LOVE MOST ABOUT BEING YOUR AGE?
I am confident in who I am, the skills I have, and the value I offer to others. I am comfortable with my own company.

DO YOU LIKE BEING 40+?
Yes, I am aware that time is ticking, and I want to make time for the things and people I care about the most. I am more concerned about health and making the most of my time than I am about who others want me to be.

WHEN IN YOUR LIFE, SO FAR, HAVE YOU FELT MOST CONFIDENT, AND WHY?
I have always felt confident that I was capable because of the support I’ve had from my parents. I always knew I had a place to land when things went awry. However, as I’ve aged, I’ve realized that the foundation you take for granted can shift at any time. Tragedy can come when you least expect it. Knowing Jesus, though, helps me understand that the plan for my life was set in motion long before I was born. What feels like a tragedy in this world is just a small blip in my eternal life with God.

WHAT BRINGS YOU THE MOST JOY AT THIS AGE?
a. My three kids are beginning their careers and getting married. I cherish the opportunity to spend time with each of them individually. With one living overseas, it is a prized time when we can all be together.

b. I love seeing kind and loving women succeed in following their dreams. This is particularly true for the women who access The Women’s Network’s programs. Learning their stories and seeing them grow, and feel confident about who they are and what they’re learning is quite an honor.

WHAT IS YOUR SUPERPOWER?
I love bringing people together and facilitating opportunities of mutual benefit. The work we do to support women is even more powerful when we partner with other organizations.

WHAT DO YOU CONSIDER YOUR GREATEST ACHIEVEMENT?

I have had a great career where we’ve made a difference in people’s lives. However, raising three young adults to be responsible, kind, and fun to be around is what I’m most proud of.

WHAT IS YOUR GREATEST EXTRAVAGANCE?
I am quite frugal. Raising teenagers as a single mom didn’t allow for extravagance. However, I was thankful to have been able to support the kids’ extra-curricular interests that had expensive fees and travel expenses.

WHAT IS YOUR MOST TREASURED POSSESSION?
I have my grandma’s china hutch. She kept large photo albums in the bottom of it. As kids, my cousins and I would pull them out and lie on the floor at her house, looking through our family history.

WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE THING YOU HAVE CHECKED OFF YOUR BUCKET LIST?
I don’t have a bucket list. However, one of the experiences I’ve been thankful to have is traveling to Italy with my three kids and my mom. We took the train from Rome to Florence to Venice. Being in Rome felt like walking on sacred ground, and Venice was magical, almost felt like an out-of-body experience or being on a movie set.

WHAT IS YOUR IDEA OF PERFECT HAPPINESS?
I don’t know that perfect happiness exists. However, what I’m striving for is being confident and at peace, where I can find joy in everyday experiences. I want to be energetic, love well, and laugh frequently.

WHAT IS A TRAIT YOU ARE MOST PROUD OF?
I am thankful for my ability and interest in listening to others.

WHAT HARDSHIPS HAVE YOU ENDURED THAT YOU FEEL HAVE MADE YOU STRONGER?
As a young woman, I wasn’t sure I wanted to be a mother; I was more interested in building a career. In 1994, my only brother had a son, and I fell in love. He was charming and funny, making everything lighter when he was around. He became like an older brother to my kids and teased them that if it weren’t for him being so cute, they would never have been born. In June of 2020, when the world was reeling from COVID, at 25 years old, he was farming with one of his best friends when he was electrocuted and then fell to the ground from the top of a grain bin. My kids and I watched his medevac flight land and then stood by as he was rushed into the hospital. We waited outside the hospital for two days, knowing it was unlikely he could survive two catastrophic events, but praying for a miracle. Just four months after we lost him, my daughter was rushed to the hospital from a complication due to a new diagnosis and treatment of an autoimmune disease. She was 17, admitted to the PICU, and was luckily still a minor, so I was allowed to stay with her. She was septic, tested positive for COVID, and her room was a few doors down from where her cousin had recently died. That was the most terrifying six weeks of my life as I watched her fight for her life. She sobbed as her beautiful blond hair came out in clumps and washed down the drain. As she finally started to heal, it took two weeks to discover she was experiencing withdrawal symptoms from abruptly coming off narcotics. In addition to worrying about her, I was concerned about her siblings being isolated at home. We missed Thanksgiving and her brother’s birthday. Through this experience, I witnessed the power of prayer. Friends, family, and people we’d never met were praying for her. I remember her being taken to add a 5th tube to drain the infection from her abdomen. She was scared and looking to me for protection until the second her anesthesia kicked in. As I walked back to her room in a daze, I prayed constantly and harder than I knew possible while I waited.  I was stunned to see her laughing as they wheeled her back into her room. I will forever be grateful for the love and support we received. I felt the presence of God in her medical staff, the texts, her friends showing up to sing Christmas carols outside her window, and just in the air when fear ramped up. We both learned how strong we could be independently in our own roles and together as a team.

WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE YOUR YOUNGER SELF?
Enjoy life and have fun. You don’t know how serious life will become. Keep those who support you close and be willing to recognize and let go of those who don’t.

DO YOU HAVE ANY WORDS OF WISDOM FOR YOUNGER WOMEN?

You are worthy of respect and love. You teach people how to treat you by what you will allow. Believe people’s actions over their words. Don’t make excuses for their behavior.

WHAT IS YOUR MOTTO OR FAVORITE QUOTE?
When someone shows you who they are, believe them.
~ Maya Angelou

WHAT DO YOU MOST VALUE IN YOUR FRIENDS?
I have different people who each fill in the holes of my life in different ways. Some are amazing role models as mothers, while others are steadfast in their faith and remind me to take everything to God rather than relying on my own understanding. I have friends who are silly and funny who help me lighten up when I’m consumed by my responsibilities and tendency to be so serious. In general, though, I’m so thankful for the people who see my worth and have been willing to sit with me in my pain, accepting me without judgment. I tend to be the facilitator, so when someone else does the inviting or planning, that feels like love.

HOW DID YOU CHANGE OVER THE YEARS?
a. I’ve learned from betrayal, whether by a spouse, an employer, or a friend, to be cautiously optimistic when entering into new relationships. I’ve learned that people earn our trust, which is built over time, and behavior that exhibits their reliability.

b. I’ve become more accepting of differences. I’ve seen how fortunate I’ve been to have parents who love each other and myself, who’ve worked hard to provide for our family. I’ve come to realize how truly special that is.

c. I’ve gradually developed a relationship with God that has provided peace and steadiness in my life. In general, I accept that what is supposed to happen will. Some things will happen that I wouldn’t choose, but as long as I look to Jesus for comfort, I will be ok. He has a plan for me, and it’s my job to look to him for guidance.

IF YOU COULD CHANGE ONE THING ABOUT YOURSELF, WHAT WOULD IT BE?
a. The internal thing I’m constantly telling myself is to get some exercise.

b. If I could wave a magic wand, it would be to allow others to always understand the intention in my words rather than interpreting them through the lens of their history. That’s not really about something I could change about myself, but more so about humanity’s ability to hear and understand one another.

WHAT DO YOU HOPE FOR THE FUTURE GENERATIONS?
I hope future generations have the benefit of healthy leadership that values the differences in people. I hope for a time when people can turn away from substances and addiction, and that families can heal and come together in support of one another.

IS THERE ANYTHING ELSE YOU WOULD LIKE TO ADD?
I feel so honored to be part of this publication, surrounded by these pages by courageous women who have experienced the difficulties of life. Nobody gets to avoid them; it’s in how we navigate them and the social capital we have to support us through them. I’m thankful for Yvette’s vision to highlight strong women and, in doing so, support women who are struggling to find their way. I am delighted for this project to highlight the work of The Women’s Network and the Dress for Success program.