Tamika Walters

Tamika Walters is Burr & Forman’s Chief Diversity & Inclusion Officer (CDIO). In this role, she leads initiatives and develops firm-wide policies to both foster a diverse environment and create an inclusive culture where each person, regardless of their background, feels that they belong and have a fair opportunity to succeed. Tamika works with leadership to align recruiting, retention and professional development priorities with the firm’s strategic diversity and inclusion goals. To further these goals, Tamika directs inclusion trainings, plans firm-wide programs honoring the history and traditions of diverse cultures and provides oversight for attorney resource groups. Tamika also supports the firm’s efforts to enhance client service through diverse and inclusive legal teams.

Tamika has held a variety of diversity and inclusion roles. Prior to joining Burr & Forman, Tamika, served as the senior diversity & inclusion manager at Kilpatrick Townsend. Previously, she was a member of the diversity committee at Alston & Bird while also practicing as a securities litigation associate. During law school, Tamika interned for the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law where she worked on school desegregation matters and participated in the coordinated efforts of civil rights organizations to write amicus briefs in support of preserving diversity in education in the landmark Supreme Court case Grutter v. Bollinger.

Outside of her work in the legal industry, Tamika has been involved in various efforts to promote diversity and inclusion. As a teacher with the Norwood School in Maryland, Tamika led seminars for teachers and administrators through the SEED (Seeking Educational Equity and Diversity) program, and she helped to expand the curriculum to reflect diverse cultural backgrounds. In addition, her former non-profit roles include serving as the Secretary of the Board for HARMONY: Atlanta’s International Youth Chorus and as a board member for the ACLU Foundation of Georgia.

Tamika earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Educational Studies from Brown University, where she was coordinator for the African-, Latino, Asian-, and Native-American Mentoring Program and chair of the school’s Harambee House, a living center for students interested in the politics, history, society and other aspects of African and African-American culture. She earned her law degree from Georgetown University Law Center, where she received the school’s prestigious GULC Public Service Award. At Georgetown, she served as the community service chair for the Black Law Students Association and litigated civil rights cases through the Institute for Public Representation.