Tamala Barnes, Director of the Enterprise Services Center, celebrates 25 years of federal service this November. She began her career in the late 1970s as a software developer. She worked in various IT roles, including software development, systems analyst, project management, and non-IT roles. Some of her work involved being an executive advisor and corporate trainer and providing corporate quality management at various levels of leadership.
When joining the FAA, she started as an IT manager in the legacy Aviation System Standards organization. Later, Tamala became the IT manager in the Air Traffic Organization (ATO) as the ATO began to consolidate IT. When the FAA created the Information and Technology Services (AIT), she was put into a software management position and was then promoted to Director of Solution Delivery Services.
Among many of Tamala’s successes, she is most proud of her time working in the Enterprise Services Center (ESC). She believes that ESC is a well-operated, federal shared service provider. It is recognized in the Financial Management Quality Service Management Offices (QSMO) Marketplace as a federal financial services provider. The Enterprise Services Center is known for providing complete financial services to the Department of Transportation (DOT) and all modes within the DOT and to many agencies outside of the DOT, including the Office of Personnel Management and the Securities and Exchange Commission.
ESC is also recognized by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in the Cybersecurity Marketplace, where it provides a variety of services. Tamala’s organization was recognized by DHS for the $11M+ savings to its cyber customers in FY23. ESC has saved its cyber customers over $70M in the past six years.
The ESC Data Center, located on the grounds of the Aeronautical Center, is above enterprise class. It provides many IT services, from application development and management to hosting, network management, Enterprise Content Services, and the National Wireless Program. ESC manages all FAA wireless devices at a $2.5M per year savings to the agency.
Tamala shares, "Working in ESC is rewarding and challenging. We operate under the FAA Franchise Fund, with customer revenue vs. appropriated funds. We balance the needs of a wide base of customers varying in size and requirements. We’ve begun growing through expanding service offerings in the past couple of years."
When asked why she is so proud of her work at ESC, she quickly points to the mission and the people. "I can’t think of anything the federal government needs more than shared services. More than ever, budgetary and cyber climates drive the need to leverage centers of excellence," Tamala explains.
Tamala believes that the ESC leadership team rocks! She touts that they’ve driven a strategy that unifies the organization, encourages learning and innovation, and has built the foundation upon which ESC is now growing. Tamala loves to tell people that ESC employees are remarkable. "I’ve not worked with a team more committed to customer success. We satisfy global customer requirements while targeting individual customer needs, and creating the experience that comes only when a provider truly cares about customer success. ESC employees are the backbone of this organization and the differentiators in our success," Tamala shares.
When asking Tamla about some of the biggest challenges she’s faced in her career, she will tell you that it was standing up the Solution Delivery Services organization while simultaneously standing up the FAA CIO Office (AIT). She explains that it required bringing together a massive inventory of IT systems and IT staffing from across the FAA, and it was not an easy task. Tamala notes, "We needed to do that while maintaining smooth operations for our FAA customers – many of whom were not on board with that consolidation."
Tamala clarifies that managing the systems and contracts was daunting. The team inherited 1,500+ things that were thought to be systems and 99 discrete contracts or task orders. With that many moving parts, the team experienced some form of a weekly contract crisis for months. Additionally, they brought hundreds of federal employees together as part of a new organization (with warranted concerns about their new roles and future careers).
When Tamala was a child, she dreamt of becoming an archeologist. She checked out every dinosaur book in the library at least twice. In Junior High and High School, however, her new love became physics and solving scientific problems using math.
Tamala’s High School Physics teacher expressed that places like NASA would never hire women as physicists. "I was encouraged to become a teacher if I wanted anything to do with a Physics major. But I had no interest in teaching. My teacher guided me into our school system's first computer programming class, knowing financial institutions were hiring women as computer programmers. He thought that I would enjoy problem-solving with software development, and I did," says Tamala. While she enjoys the career path she chose, Tamala still loves anything related to a dinosaur, woolly mammoth, or elephant.
In 1976, Tamla played with her high school orchestra at the dedication of the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C. To this day, she still looks at that Cathedral in awe. She reflects on when our nation’s presidents have been honored there, and watching funeral processions from the Cathedral always leaves her in tears. She was able to play the violin during times when our presidents lay in their caskets. She is reminded dutifully of now spending 25 years of her own life serving our country in the FAA.
A teenage Tamala toured the new Smithsonian Air and Space Museum that same year. She recalls that it may have been during its two months of existence. "Thinking now, I never dreamed I would spend a quarter-century of my career traveling to work at FAA Headquarters just across the street, especially given what I was told about NASA by my physics teacher," Barnes reflects.
When Tamala first started working as a young person, she had a variety of jobs. By the age of 10, she babysat and cleaned houses. As she grew older, she nannied and de-tasseled corn. At age 16, she landed a cushy job working at Sears and continued there through her college years.
Tamala admires traits in others that demonstrate a passion for serving, whether their country, a mission, or simply the people around them. True service requires courage.
Tamala elaborates, "I also admire people who invest themselves in whatever they do, operating with integrity, creating, and nurturing partnerships necessary to succeed, and the skill of really thinking about the work they do. If you’ve worked with me, you’ve likely heard me say, ’I love people who think.’"
She expounds, "In my FAA career, I’ve been blessed to work with many people possessing those traits. It’s been an amazing environment for the second half of my career."
When people think of retiring, they think of vacationing. For the most part, Tamala’s favorite vacation spot is being outside. She loves the Oregon and Washington coasts and can’t imagine any prettier alpine meadows than those on Mt. Rainier. She also reflects on the thrill of stepping into the cold water of Lake Superior and drawing a breath of the unique scent of Minnesota’s North Woods. Some of the activities Tamala might be doing in retirement may involve gardening, growing, and preserving food. She also loves to read and has done so since she was 4. She’s also been known to throw a hook into water. Laughingly, Tamala says, "My husband decided I was marriage material when he learned that I fished and baited my hook." She loves exploring and hiking with her husband, and when it’s too cold to be outdoors, you may find her curled up on the couch, knitting and crocheting.
Any time she can spend with her grandkids is a great time. Tamala is also an animal lover to the core. Her husband has questioned whether she loves animals more than people… but that verdict is still out, depending on the day.
Tamala shares a few pieces of advice she has received in her life that have stayed with her. She shares:
My Grandma Y used to say, "If you don’t open your mouth, you won’t make a fool of yourself."
"When things don’t work out according to my plan, My mom has always said ’There’s something better around the corner.’ She’s always been right. I learned long ago that love is a choice we make in everything we do. I keep a small plaque in my office that says, ’Above all things, put on love.’ I can’t imagine any better advice, whether love for a person or people, an organization, a mission, or our country. I don’t do everything perfectly, but I don’t regret my motivation."
As a new journey awaits Tamala in her retirement, she reflects on her incredible working opportunities at the Aeronautical Center. Tamala reveals, "The MMAC plays an interesting and crucial role in the FAA. There is nowhere else in the FAA that you can experience the breadth of the FAA focus, while working on operations collaboratively. If you’ve not toured the Center or participated in something like an AsCEnD Cohort, I encourage you to find an opportunity. We have all benefited from the great opportunities the MMAC and the Oklahoma City location have presented us. We must act as ambassadors for the Center. I’ve spent 25 years working here and letting people know about many outstanding job opportunities offered here, and I don’t plan to stop in my retirement."
