Tamara earned her M.A. and Ph.D. in Journalism from The University of Texas at Austin, and her B.A. in Journalism from Texas A&M University. In a former life, she was a journalist. She also worked in the Texas Legislature as chief of staff and press secretary for two House members and as a senior policy analyst for a Senate Committee, as founder and editor in chief of a nonprofit online news site for millennials, and freelance publicist.
Today, Tamara is an Assistant Professor of Instruction in both the School of Journalism and Media and School of Advertising & Public Relations at The University of Texas at Austin, where she teaches Journalism Practices, Integrated Communication Campaigns, and Brand Podcasting. She also was named to the 2023 Texas 10 list of the most inspiring UT professors, chosen by the Ex-Students' Association.
In addition to teaching, Tamara coaches entrepreneurs on how to write and use their personal brand story to transform lives, starting with their own. And she's founder of Two Bells Media, which among other projects produces the "Talking Movies with My Mom" podcast, co-hosted by her son, Jackson (RTF, Class of ’21).
She also serves as an Advisory Board Member for Limestone Post Magazine, an independent magazine committed to publishing informative and inclusive stories about Bloomington, Indiana, and the surrounding areas. And every second weekend in March, she’s blogging for the SXSW Pitch startup competition.
