Andrea G. Tatum
I have never been afraid to ask for exactly what I wanted out of life. My friends and colleagues will say that I am passionate, bold, and confident. It is those qualities that have led me to where I am today. I grew up often being the only Black person in my class and many other spaces. It was an awkward feeling, even for someone with a big, outgoing personality. I was acutely aware from a young age of what it felt like to think I didn’t belong in certain spaces. Throughout my career, I have been focused on helping companies create spaces that are open and welcoming for EVERYONE!
I began my career in marketing for non-profit Arts organizations. The Arts lack diversity in their audiences, in the admin offices, and often on stage. By the end of my first year at the Tennessee Performing Arts Center (TPAC) in Nashville, my co-workers were calling me the Diversity Guru because I was challenging the way things were done. I was fortunate to have leadership that was open-minded and didn’t ignore me because of my youth. I went on to work at the Alliance Theatre in Atlanta, GA, and during my time there, was named one of Rolling Out Magazine’s Most Influential Women in Atlanta for the work I was doing focused on audience diversity. After moving to San Francisco, I worked for the San Francisco Symphony where I helped create and promote programming for more diverse audiences such as our annual Día de los Muertos and Lunar New Year Concerts, and oversaw our annual presence at San Francisco Pride.
After 10 years in the arts, I decided I wanted a full-time career in Tech. I worked for a few smaller tech companies before joining Tableau to oversee a portfolio of product marketing events. I was active with the grassroots Diversity & Inclusion group and spearheaded the #VisualizeDiversity initiative which brought awareness to Diversity and Inclusion through data, social media, and employee stories. The initiative garnered over 1 million impressions in the first year. During this time, I also became the D&I lead for the company’s annual 20 thousand+ customer conference. Eventually, I handed a job description to the head of HR outlining how my skills and experiences would benefit the company in a full-time capacity, helping bring together the disparate D&I efforts, creating strategies for recruiting talent from underrepresented groups, and building a more inclusive company culture where everyone feels a sense of belonging. During my time at Tableau (which was acquired by Salesforce during my time there) I helped build out our employee resource groups and overhauled our employer brand by infusing employee stories to our career site.
Before venturing out on my own and starting AGT Diversity Consulting in 2020, I worked with Catalyst Inc. as the Sr. Director of Corporate Equity Engagement where I helped some of the top companies in the world create inclusive workplaces where all women can thrive and succeed.
In 2022, I launched the DEI Career Center, where I help experienced professionals explore the various careers in diversity, equity, and inclusion while helping them gain clarity and confidence about how their skills and experience are transferable into “What’s Next” in their careers.
I am a graduate of Middle Tennessee State University and hold the following certifications:
Certified Associate of Project Management (CAPM)
Certified Culture & Belonging Facilitator
Certified Professional Career Coach
Certified Interview Coach
Certified Digital (LinkedIn) Career Strategist
