Tamara Lawrence, APR (M)

Experience

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  US Navy

  Nov 1998 - Jul 2020

  Public Relations Role: Expert Prescriber / Problem-Solving Process Facilitator. Served as principle public affairs advisor and command spokesperson to two successive 2-Star Navy Commanders. Directed and led communication efforts for all U.S. Naval Special Warfare issues. Provided additional public affairs support and counsel to subordinate unit commanders and commanding officers.Directly supervised eight officer, enlisted and civilian personnel. Provided daily oversight, mentorship and leadership of 50 officer, enlisted and civilian personnel in public affairs departments across seven geographically separated commands.Immediately recognized and sought actionable solutions to counter negative perceptions of the role of public affairs amongst the U.S. Special Operations Forces community. As a champion of change, met with key department heads, senior enlisted members, and former senior staff members to listen to their perspectives with a focus on building trust and relationships between the PA and SOF communities.Led media training of new Commanding Officers, Executive Officers and Command Master Chiefs, which reinforced that public affairs functioned as a command imperative. This training focused on the role of effective communication to further their command’s mission and priorities, while enhancing the media literacy and use of social media of its personnel.Recognizing a need for increased public affairs alignment and professional development across all Naval Special Warfare PA/VI personnel, developed and hosted the first ever Naval Special Warfare PA/VI training conference.Developed and established a strategic communication plan in support of the U.S. Special Operations Command Comprehensive Review and the Commander, Naval Special Warfare Command Force Ethics Assessment. Show less Served as senior public affairs advisor to two successive 2-Star Navy Admirals on a wide range of issues affecting manpower, budget, and operations. Primary U.S. Navy liaison between Congressional communication staff on issues of public interest and media engagements.Developed the Department of the Navy’s Legislative Strategy for two consecutive Legislative Sessions and a change in Presidential administration. Spearheaded the development of an engagement map that was recognized by senior Navy Military and Civilian leadership as exemplary for aligning engagement with purpose and message.Brought new capability to the position by establishing relationships with press secretaries of core oversight committees and key Members of Congress. By leveraging this network, increased Congressional understanding and support for Navy programs and policies as evidenced by the successful ratification of successive National Defense Authorizations Acts.Refined and executed the Office of Legislative Affairs Caseworker Workshop. This workshop was a highly effective three-day course that trained Congressional staffers on Navy processes, programs and policies, and familiarized caseworkers with Navy platforms, including ships, aircraft and submarines. These workshops provided Congressional district offices foundational knowledge about the Navy to assist constituents with their concerns and fostered our positive relationships with Congressional offices across the country. Show less Public Affairs Role: Expert Prescriber / Problem-Solving Facilitator / Communication Facilitator. Served as principal public affairs advisor and spokesperson to the Secretary of the Navy.Principal advisor promoting the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps to mass media outlets. Through these outlets, we increased understanding of the departments’ policies and programs among the American people, Congressional leaders, DoD stakeholders, and Sailors, Marines, and government civilians serving in the Navy and Marine Corps.Provided critical crisis communication advice and counsel to the Secretary and senior leaders in the immediate aftermath of the Navy Yard shooting. Personally managed the Secretary’s initial visit to the Navy Yard in the wake of this tragic event. During a palpable period of media interest, carefully curated a phased release of known information by subject matter experts to media and Congressional leadership while balancing commitment to maximum transparency and the safeguarding of the on-going investigation.Developed and executed a communication plan highlighting the Secretary’s priorities for the department. Targeting specific audiences, this plan leveraged extensive invitations from a variety of well-known organizations, while strategically balancing the Secretary’s ongoing engagements around the world and Washington, D.C. Incorporating elements of both owned and earned media, media engagements, speaking venues, and briefings allowed a basic assessment on how the Secretary’s priorities were resonating among our targeted audiences. Show less Public Affairs Role: Problem-Solving Facilitator / Communication Facilitator. Served as advisor to the U.S. Navy’s Chief of Information (CHINFO), a 1-Star Flag Officer, facilitating communication at multiple echelons. Communicated taskings and issues at the appropriate levels and ensured CHINFO had the properly coordinated information to make timely, informed decisions affecting the public.Managed a dynamic front office, anticipating and prioritizing requirements and issues requiring CHINFO’s attention. Balanced an array of demands from administrative and personnel matters, to strategic planning and communication.With deep knowledge and public affairs acumen of issues facing the U.S. Navy and naval leadership, provided daily advice and counsel to CHINFO, senior Navy military and civilian leadership. This counsel proved crucial to developing and amplifying narratives that supported the National Defense Strategy, while being prepared to counter any potentially negative narratives. Simultaneously tracked a multitude of extremely sensitive, high-visibility priority issues and ensured staff were prepared to present fully researched and coordinated decisions. Ensured staff met with key subject matter experts and took into account potential audiences reactions.Worked with detailers and community managers to guide the careers of hundreds of officers and enlisted, both active and reserve. Show less Public Affairs Role: Problem-Solving Facilitator. Served as Officer in Charge of one of the operational arms of Navy Public Affairs. Responsible for the man, train and equip mission of one active duty center and three active duty detachments in three states and Japan.Coordinated creative sourcing solutions in the deployment of more than 150 Sailors and 20 officers. Provided public affairs and visual information support to 14 aircraft carrier and expeditionary strike group deployments, six humanitarian missions, 10 joint or combined exercises, four contingency operations, 25 regional requests and 11 individual augmentations in support of forward deploying forces and combat operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. Designed operational planning training to better prepare officers to work on embarked staffs. Implemented language and cultural training to better prepare Sailors for expeditionary environments and qualification standards for enlisted personnel at all detachments to improve their visual information professional standards.Focused on building trust and credibility with various Navy stakeholders in the NPASE West area of responsibility. Met with regional public affairs and command leadership on a routine basis to ensure a thorough understanding of current and emerging requirements for PA/VI support. Instituted formal tasking requirements for tracking and assessment of the command’s ability to support with the given manpower. By developing these key relationships, the command met 100% of Regional command production requests, vastly improving customer service aspect of the command. Show less Public Affairs Role: Problem-Solving Facilitator / Communication Facilitator. Served as public affairs advisor and primary spokesperson for the Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Research, Development and Acquisition. Provided public affairs counsel and support to numerous Navy Flag officers and senior civilians throughout the organization.Engaged with media daily to ensure key stakeholders understood the Navy’s position on acquisitions programs critical to efforts in Iraq, Afghanistan and the future Navy Fleet. Engaged in environmental scanning to determine current and emerging issues that would need senior leader attention.Traveled with the Principal in support of public engagements, coordinating on the ground logistics support with the venue, and engaged with local media throughout the visit.While responding to media queries, built professional relationships with local, national and trade media that assisted in agenda setting and an open system of communication. These established relationships with trade and national media who reported on acquisition programs provided sound information on current and emerging issues. Show less Fielded, researched, staffed and responded to more than 1,000 reporter requests for information on joint and coalition operations in support of the Government of Afghanistan on numerous topics including: operational engagements; reconstruction efforts; and personnel casualties. This required immense coordination with subordinate commands, U.S. Central Command, Office of the Secretary of Defense, U.S. State Department, NATO and international partners.Developed a senior leader media engagement strategy enabling greater awareness of Combined Forces Command-Afghanistan’s mission and support to the Afghan and International community. Developed and facilitated media roundtables that highlighted key campaign initiatives that worked to build and maintain public trust in the Coalition.Researched, developed key messages, and prepared media engagement preparation books for the Commanding General and other senior military leaders. Show less Responded to countless media queries about naval operations, built professional relationships with local, national and international media that assisted with agenda setting and an open system of communication.Primary spokesperson for high-level acquisition programs including the Department of the Navy Fiscal Year Budget and the 30-year shipbuilding and aviation plans. Crafted national-level public roll out plans including flag-level media training and developed key messages to achieve objectives for identified audiences. Provided senior leadership with public affairs support during Congressional testimony, ensuring message alignment with CNO Guidance, the Maritime Strategy and the National Defense Strategy. Show less

  • Director of Public Affairs, U.S. Naval Special Warfare Command

    Aug 2017 - Jul 2020

  • Director Of Public Affairs, Department of the Navy's Office of Legislative Affairs

    Aug 2015 - Jul 2017

  • Special Assistant (Public Affairs), Secretary of the Navy

    Jul 2013 - Jul 2015

  • Deputy Chief of Media and Executive Assistant, U.S. Navy Public Affairs Headquarters

    Feb 2010 - Jul 2013

  • Officer in Charge, Navy Public Affairs Support Element (NPASE) West

    Aug 2008 - Jan 2010

  • PAO for Assistance Secretary of the Navy (Research, Development, and Acquisition)

    Oct 2006 - Jul 2008

  • Media Operations, Combined Forces Command – Afghanistan

    Mar 2006 - Oct 2006

  • Media Officer, U.S. Navy Public Affairs Headquarters

    Jan 2005 - Mar 2006

  • Liaison Officer, Department of the Navy’s Office of Legislative Affairs

    Jun 2002 - Dec 2005

  • Training Officer, USS ANZIO (CG 68)

    Nov 2000 - Jun 2002

  • 1st LT & EDO on USS Camden (AOE 2)

    Nov 1998 - Nov 2000
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  U.S. Naval Forces Europe/Africa - U.S. 6th Fleet

  Aug 2020 - Jun 2024

  Director of Public Affairs, U.S. Naval Forces Europe and Africa

  Public Affairs Role: Problem Solving Process Facilitator / Communication Facilitator. Serves as public affairs principal advisor and command spokesperson for 4-Star Navy component commander in a consolidated headquarters staff. Provides additional public affairs counsel and support to 3-Star Navy fleet commander, 1-Star Navy Admirals and theater task force commanders and commanding officers. Directs and leads communication efforts for three unique commands to international and domestic audiences on operations, exercises, command programs and strategic initiatives.Leads thirteen officer, enlisted and civilian personnel. Provides daily oversight, mentorship and leadership of 75 officer, enlisted and civilian personnel in public affairs departments throughout four separate commands.Led the communication planning and alignment of the 14-person, joint, multinational team in three geographically separate locations during Exercise SEA BREEZE – an annual, multinational maritime exercise held in the Black Sea and co-hosted by Ukraine and the United States to enhance interoperability and capabilities among participating forces. Thirty-two countries from six continents committed 5,000 troops, 32 ships, 40 aircraft and 19 special operations and dive teams to this year’s exercise.In direct support of the Tri-Service Maritime Strategy successfully drove the public narrative by strategically translating ongoing operations into plain English for the first U.S. Coast Guard cutter to visit the Black Sea since 2008 and the U.S. Marine Corps deployment of High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) during exercise Baltic Operations (BALTOPS).Selected to serve as Executive Assistant to the Commander during a four-month absence of the incumbent. As the Executive Assistant, managed the front office for the 4-Star Commander of U.S. Naval Forces Europe and Africa, who simultaneously serves as the NATO Allied Joint Force Commander, Naples, Italy. Show less

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  UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY

  Oct 2023 - now

  Deputy, Chief of Information