Tamara J. Davis | Woman of Achievement & Courage Award Honoree
- Year: 2025
- Location: WomanUp and Celebrate Kalamazoo
Title: Director of WMU Starting Gate, assistant director of the WMU Center for Entrepreneurship & Innovation
Tamara J. Davis is the director of WMU Starting Gate, a student business accelerator, where she works with students across Western Michigan University to assess the feasibility of business concepts and determine their readiness for commercialization. In addition to this role, she teaches entrepreneurship courses within the Department of Management at Haworth College of Business and serves as the assistant director of the WMU Center for Entrepreneurship & Innovation.
Tamara’s extensive background prepared her well for her current roles. She served as regional director of the Michigan Small Business Development Center (SBDC) for 16 years and has experience in both the private and public sectors. Her career began in advertising before she transitioned into public service, working in state government under Governor Howard Dean in Vermont. She later found her passion in higher education, serving as a business consultant when the SBDC was housed at Kalamazoo College. She also chaired the Departments of Marketing and Management at Davenport University for the campuses in Battle Creek, Holland, and Kalamazoo.
