Welcome to my e-Portfolio!

My name is Támara C. Walters and I am originally from Washington, D.C. I currently reside in the Southern Maryland area.  I attended the University of Maryland Global Campus (formerly University of Maryland University College) where I completed a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration.  I graduated Summa Cum Laude with a 4.0 overall G.P.A. and I am an active member of the Delta Sigma Lambda Honor Society – Tau Chapter.  I chose this area of study because I recognize my innate leadership abilities and because I always knew that I wanted to serve in a management capacity in the workforce since early childhood.  I have also always aspired to become a business owner.

Outside of my academic career, I have been fortunate enough to realize my childhood aspirations.  For one, I am currently enjoying a thriving professional career in Personnel Security & Adjudications for the federal government, for which I also maintain a Top Secret Security clearance. Previously, I successfully served in management roles in the Accounting, Asset Management, Operations Management, and Procurement fields as a contractor at the National Archives and Records Administration, the U.S. Department of Justice, and the U.S. Department of State. 

All the while, another exciting part of my life is being a dedicated wife and mom with three awesome kids!  While I continue to thrive in an extensive career in my desired field, I appreciate that becoming a “mompreneur” has allowed me to the opportunity to realize my goal of becoming a small business owner, four times over!  For one, I was the owner of CHYÉ Marie Designs, a custom jewelry, event planning, and graphic design company for over 15 years.  Secondly, I have been the owner of Leilani Confections, a thriving online bakery, for over 10 years.  Thirdly, I was the creator of Butter Me Up Naturally, an all-natural skincare, hair care, and cosmetics line for which I have been the sole owner for over 8 years.  Lastly, I am over-the-moon about the opportunity to merge some of my previous businesses into one, Melanin on Paper, an exclusive e-boutique that provides clean, classic, yet stylish stationery, planner, and lifestyle products. Truly, entrepreneurship has afforded me the opportunity to further discover and better understand my unique leadership skills and how I can leverage innovation to adapt in a variety of professional environments.

It is my well-rounded career in and small business ownership experience that has led me to particularly pursue the knowledge necessary to establish effective communication practices within organizations and my businesses.  This has helped me to establish a foundation for growth and advancement.  All the while, I must say that the Organizational Communication course that I completed during my tenure at University of Maryland also proved to be a particularly invaluable resource for gaining this knowledge and providing insight into how I can ensure that information is communicated effectively across multiple channels and at various levels of leadership.  So I invite you to peruse this e-portfolio to get a more in-depth look at my academic accomplishments in this particular course and how they specifically relate to three of the course’s outcomes:

• Outcome #1:  Apply appropriate communication media and methods to various situational needs in organizational settings.
• Outcome #2:  Recognize and respond constructively to cultural differences in communication.
• Outcome #3:  Analyze and assess the communication dynamics of an organization through the completion of a communication audit.

I have used key artifacts such as papers, written discussions, presentations, and audio files to demonstrate my understanding of how information is clearly transmitted and received using both verbal and nonverbal cues.  These artifacts also demonstrate my understanding of the importance of assessing the appropriateness of communication methods across different cultures.  And lastly, the artifacts demonstrate my understanding of how organizations are evaluated in order to determine if their ability to send, receive, and share information with both their internal and external audiences is effective.  All in all, this e-portfolio provides an opportunity to gain a better understanding of how my academic accomplishments serve as a reflection of my organizational communication skills.