With a passion for empowering individuals and communities through her work, Tamara Lumpkin is a nationally recognized expert in the education reform movement, noted for her depth of knowledge and experience in charter schools and charter school authorizing. Ms. Lumpkin brings a sensitivity to and awareness of state and local dynamics in working with authorizers seeking to improve their practices and establish quality charter schools, and is a regular presenter at national charter school conferences. Ms. Lumpkin is best known for her work in establishing the District of Columbia Public Charter School Board (PCSB) as one of the nation’s leading charter school authorizers. During her tenure at PCSB, she managed and oversaw processes to hold charter schools accountable for academic, organizational, and financial performance. Most notably, Ms. Lumpkin is credited for garnering funds from the Bill and Melinda Gates and Michael and Susan Dell Foundations for the development of the PCSB’s Performance Management Framework, heralded nationally as a sophisticated and cutting edge accountability and portfolio management system. Additionally, her work contributed to the PCSB being recognized by the National Association for Charter School Authorizers (NACSA) for improvement in charter authorizer practices in 2008. Prior to joining the PCSB, Ms. Lumpkin was a Senior Education Policy Analyst with the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO).Ms. Lumpkin currently serves as Education Director at Sowing Empowerment and Economic Development, Inc. (SEED), the operator of EXCEL Academy Public Charter School. Her role involves oversight of EXCEL Academy, an extended learning program, and the SEED Children’s Defense Fund Freedom School, which operates in Maryland and Michigan. Ms. Lumpkin holds a Bachelor of Arts in Mass Media Arts with a Minor in Journalism from Hampton University, and a Master of Public Administration from The Maxwell School for Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University. Ms. Lumpkin is a Lifetime Member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.