Program Analyst II
City of Oakland Economic & Workforce Development Department
Tamara Walker is a Program Analyst for the City of Oakland’s Workforce Development Board and oversees business engagement and services. Since joining the OWDB team in 2013, she has been a catalyst for several workforce initiatives in the City of Oakland including the Dental Assistant workforce initiative, the Early Childhood Education pre-apprenticeship initiative, and the development of the Oakland Workforce Collaborative She has been instrumental in building partnerships with community organizations and businesses. Prior to the City of Oakland, Ms. Walker was the Fund Developer of the Richmond Police Activities League (RPAL), for 8 years, where she was responsible for planning and coordinating all aspects of fund development, public relations, and providing leadership on all fundraising initiatives including special events, major gifts, planned giving, sponsorships, donor cultivation and grant writing. As fund developer, she raised over $10M to help build RPAL Youth One-Stop Center. Ms. Walker has over 24 years of experience in youth and workforce development and has previously been the Youth Program Manager for the City of Richmond’s Employment & Training Programs. She was instrumental in creating the private sector summer employment program, early adoption of the Workforce Investment Act, and securing funding to open 2 transitional houses for runaway and homeless youth. She also authored several OJJDP demonstration grants and governor 15% grants for working with at-risk and formerly incarcerated youth.