Tamara is uniquely skilled with facilitation methods that enable her clients to fully participate in the learning experience while she gently guides the process. Her wit and contagious laugh occur at the moment when you least expect them and most appreciate them. Authenticity and down-to-earth smarts combine to make Tamara an agent of positive change ready to tackle her client’s most demanding challenges.
Her life experience includes a cultivated academic career that launched her into the professional world of design problem solving. Combining an immersive understanding of design research pedagogy with the practical realities of 21st century business, Tamara designs effective training, ideation, and research programs that fuel product and service design efforts. She demonstrates collaborative leadership across multiple disciplines to oversee complex projects and foster fruitful cross-functional relationships. Tamara is an innovative coach and researcher, having demonstrated her dedication to utilizing insights as creative fuel for clients including Johnson Controls, Bausch + Lomb, DPSG, Coca-Cola, Heinz, Sony, Dolby, Logitech, Intuit and VML.
With multiple degrees in design and research plus doctoral work in creative thinking and education, Tamara masterfully synthesizes a theoretical understanding of design thinking with practical application and training in a variety of business contexts. Her curious and creative spirit paired with a commitment to human-centered design fuel Tamara’s approach to the development of ideation and training experiences. An expert teacher and learner, she artfully engages all of the senses and strategically designs for a variety of learning styles and preferences to ensure that all participants feel comfortable and confident.
Tamara received Bachelor’s degrees in Italian and Industrial Design from the University of Kansas. She has a Master of Science in Design (MSD) with a focus on Design Methodology, Theory, and Criticism from Arizona State where she also completed cross-disciplinary doctoral studies in creativity and education. She has successfully completed creative facilitator training with the Creative Problem Solving Institute. In addition to teaching undergraduate and graduate courses in multiple universities, Tamara delivers keynotes and workshops at creativity and innovation conferences around the globe.
Her greatest joy is being the proud mom of an aspiring Willy Wonka Mythbuster.
