About
Mrs. Field’s Closet

I’m Tammy White, a lifelong educator and community advocate. I turned personal loss into a mission of love — and created a nonprofit that’s changing lives, one child at a time.

I grew up in North Dakota, where I learned early the value of community, compassion, and resilience. After getting married and having my first daughter, I made the decision to pursue my education — earning a four-year degree in elementary education. During my first three years of teaching, I returned to school and completed my master’s degree in education while teaching full time. That time in my life was challenging, but it shaped my passion for empowering students and strengthened my commitment to building a better future through learning.

Before founding Mrs. Field’s Closet, I worked for over a decade in local schools, witnessing firsthand how a lack of basic necessities can create invisible barriers to learning and confidence. I saw how something as simple as not having a toothbrush or clean socks could make a child feel isolated — and how even small gestures of support could completely transform their outlook.

The loss of my dear friend and mentor, Mrs. Becky Field, a beloved counselor at Longfellow Elementary School in Minot, shook my world. Becky was a person who built deep, meaningful relationships with students. She mentored others in the importance of connecting with students first, believing that once you build the relationship, the learning will follow. No matter how challenging a student’s needs were, she treated each child with dignity and respect. Her life was a testament to compassion in action. After her unexpected passing, I felt compelled to do something that would carry her spirit forward in a lasting, meaningful way.

In 2019, I opened the first Mrs. Field’s Closet at Longfellow Elementary. What began as a tribute grew into a mission.

Michelle Irmen is a School Counselor and Licensed Baccalaureate Social Worker with over 25 years of experience dedicated to the well-being and success of children and families. As a School Counselor at Longfellow Elementary, she develops data-informed counseling programs, provides crisis intervention, and works side by side with educators and parents to help ensure student success. Her extensive background includes roles in family support, training educators, care coordination, foster care, and providing services to Unaccompanied Refugee Minors. Mrs. Irmen holds a Master of Arts in Counseling with a K-12 emphasis from the University of North Dakota and is a certified trainer in Trauma Sensitive Schools and Trauma Informed Practices. Her commitment to advocacy and mental health makes her a strong partner in the mission of Mrs. Field’s Closet.