TEAM: Tyra Banks

Tyra Banks is a proven strategist and program manager with more than a decade of experience in building programs from the ground up. Throughout her career she has focused on finding and implementing innovative solutions to her community’s needs.

Tyra worked with the Louisiana Minority Business Development Agency to establish a federally funded program to serve businesses across the state from the grant writing phase to implementation, developing processes to onboard partners and spearheading the development of a communications strategy. She has also worked with BREC to develop their first disadvantaged business program, which included analyzing different department budgets to find opportunities to spend money with small businesses, revising policies and procedures to aide in program implementation, and organizing training for executive level staff to implement key strategies.

Tyra honed her skills in program design and project management as a consultant to MetroMorphosis on the LaunchBR Business Development Program and the parent-leaders initiative they spearheaded. She is very proud of her work as an inaugural teammate on the MOVEBR Small Business Outreach Program that used research-based strategies to bring innovative public policy and engagement strategies to East Baton Rouge Parish’s largest infrastructure investment to date. Tyra has led corporate training programs at public and private corporations such as NOLA Public Belt, Hood Container, and Baton Rouge Community College. She is experienced in various paradigms including the 7 Habits of Highly Successful People, Collective Impact, and Technology of Participation.

She is committed to using her nearly 20 years of experience in program development and public policy to empower small businesses and the citizens of Louisiana. In this pursuit, she has completed fellowships at The Ford Foundation, The Center for Progressive Leadership, Urban Leaders Development Institute, and American University to develop a deeper understanding and view into the research surrounding underserved populations. She specializes in responding to RFQs, stakeholder engagement, long-range strategic planning, program design, and project management.

Tyra Banks

Know Your Organization Needs Help, But Not Sure What Kind?