Tamara Miller

Tamara Miller is the co-founder of DiverseUSA, LLC, an accomplished civil rights trial attorney, a retired Senior Executive in the U.S. Departments of Homeland Security and Health & Human Services, and a retired Air Force Lieutenant Colonel with over 37 years of legal, policy and leadership experience. What is most notable about Tamara’s career is that she has worked tirelessly to advance diversity and inclusion in multiple sectors:

As a Deputy Chief and Trial Attorney at the U.S. Department of Justice, Tamara successfully prosecuted and supervised federal criminal and civil rights cases involving the color of law brutality by police officers and prison guards; hate crimes, including cross-burnings at Black family’s homes, and racially motivated attacks on Sikhs and Muslims thought to be terrorists following 9/11 due to their appearance; sex trafficking of women and slavery cases involving the forced labor of domestic servants and agricultural workers, in federal courts throughout the country.

As the second Director of Civil Rights at the Transportation Security Administration, Tamara provided executive direction and oversight of TSA’s EEO programs, mediation, and workforce diversity initiatives and established its external civil rights program to review complaints of discriminatory screening practices, including racial profiling and accessibility, at the nation’s airports. As a Special counselor, she also leads the Privacy Office, Freedom of Information Act, Ombudsman, Executive Secretariat, GAO/IG Audit Liaison, Sensitive Security Information, and Transportation Security Redress Offices.

As Deputy Director for Civil Rights at the Department of Health & Human Services, Tamara provided national-level leadership and oversight to ten regional offices and headquarters staff to investigate and resolve complaints of denial of equal access and discriminatory treatment in healthcare, social services, and child welfare programs through enforcement action, technical assistance, and training. She enforced federal laws through settlements and corrective actions in over 20 major cases against State agencies and HHS contract companies receiving federal funds.

In the U.S. military, as a JAG officer, Tamara prosecuted serious crimes, including sexual assault and child molestation; and she represented the Department of Air Force as agency counsel assessing and defending employment discrimination claims brought in Federal courts throughout the country, including trying the first Air Force jury trial under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1990. After separating from active duty, Tamara joined the Maryland Air National Guard, where she served as the Staff Judge Advocate and provided expert advice and counsel to commanders and service members on all aspects of military justice and civil affairs affecting Air Force operations in the state.

She has received several Senior Executive Service performance awards, the TSA Gold Award for Leadership, and numerous military awards and decorations. Tamara is a volunteer guardian ad litem for disadvantaged children and was named the 2019 Volunteer Lawyer of the Year by the D.C. Volunteer Lawyers Project for her service as a guardian ad litem.

Tamara earned her law degree from the University of Michigan Law School, her B.A. degree with honors from the University of Notre Dame; and is a member of the District of Columbia, Illinois, and Maryland Bars.

Tamara was born in Seoul, South Korea, to a Korean woman and an African-American soldier. After her adoption as an infant by an African-American couple, Tamara immigrated to the United States and became a naturalized citizen. She is married, has two children, and one grandchild.