Tamia Booker is the Deputy Chief of Staff to US Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ). In her role as Deputy Chief, she is responsible for coordinating with organizations and stakeholders on key issues that impact women and communities of color.
Previously, Tamia served as the Director of Constituency & Allied Groups Outreach at the Democratic National Convention Committee.
In her role, she produced and executed an extensive outreach plan to reach hundreds of national organizations from across the country to ensure that the 2016 Philadelphia Convention was the most diverse and inclusive convention in the Democratic party’s history.
Once the Convention concluded, Tamia joined Hillary Clinton’s campaign and served as the African American Outreach Director for the Hillary Clinton campaign and worked with African American stakeholders to turn out the black vote.
Prior to joining the Convention team, she served as the Associate Director of External Affairs, covering African American, Women and Children’s Outreach at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, where she served as a liaison and advisor to these constituencies on President Obama’s monumental shift in health care—the Affordable Care Act. In this role she worked for Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and Secretary Sylvia Matthews Burwell, where she was responsible for facilitating outreach and education around the Affordable Care Act and several other health issues relevant to these communities. She also served as a liaison to the White House Office of Public Engagement, where she coordinated with the White House on key health care initiatives.
For her work at the Department of Health & Human Services, she was a presented the 2014 NAACP Unsung Hero Award. Before joining the Department of Health and Human Services, Tamia was the Executive Director of the College Democrats of America at the Democratic National Committee. While handling her duties as Executive Director, Tamia was also a Youth director on the Obama for America Campaign. Prior to joining the Campaign, she worked at the Center for American Progress as a director of Events for the Campus Progress Division.
Tamia completed her undergraduate education at THE Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University and is from Pennsylvania. Tamia credits the extremely politically active environment at FAMU for her exciting and impactful journey in politics.
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Sneak Peek Into What You’ll Learn…
3:13 – Tamia tells us more about what it means to be the Deputy Chief of Staff to busy, high-profile US Senator Cory Booker.
8:01 – We learn about the biggest challenges Tamia faces in her role and how she navigates them.
10:22 – How did Tamia get to where she is today? She shares the steps she took as she grew during her early days working in politics.
16:30 – Tamia discusses the origin of her commitment to service and how the values her parents instilled in her prompted her to get involved in politics.
24:40 – Tamia describes the personal habits she has that help her to maintain balance in the midst of a busy life working for US Senator Cory Booker.
27:22 – Brass Tacks: The lightning round of concrete advice and tips
Quotable quotes:
“One of the best pieces of advice I ever got was never send an angry email…if there’s an issue, talk to the person directly or pick up the phone…”
“Be OK if the pathway you set out for yourself isn’t ‘it’…”
“If you do really well where you are, someone is always watching you…each job I have gotten has come from someone recommending me before I even went for it.”
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