Tamara E. Springs is a native of Wichita, KS and currently resides near Atlanta, GA. Since 2023, Tamara has served as a training manager for the largest reentry organization in the USA - Center for Employment Opportunities (CEO). Day-to-day, she helps people cultivate their innate leadership skills and develop the courage to seek gainful employment after successfully completing the Emerging  Leaders Program (ELP) internship experience. In addition to Tamara's expertise in Leadership Development, she also viewed as a credible messenger for criminal justice reform and reentry services.  Prior to her current role, she worked for Gideon’s Promise; a national nonprofit based in Atlanta, GA, where she served as program director and Interim Chief Operating Officer (COO).

 

Tamara  has more than 30 years of  leadership training and development and experience and has held a  number of leadership positions. Since 1992, she has served as a classroom teacher, principal, assistant superintendent, executive director, adjunct professor, and leadership development consultant  She has a passion for serving others and believes that the skills required to lead courageously must be developed and honed for optimal effectiveness.

 

As a member of the " APS 12";  a group of Atlanta Public Schools Educators indicted and criminally charged with R.I.C.O,  Tamara endured two trials lasting nearly 11 months.  In the first trial, Tamara was acquitted, however in the second trial Tamara was convicted of R.I.C.O charges because three teachers in her region changed answers on a state test.   This grave miscarriage of justice was highlighted in the documentary "One Child Left Behind" by award winning producer and director Jodi Gomes. The irony of the charges is that she had never been in close proximity to a test and never received a penny of  “bonus money” during her tenure with APS.