Biography
“One Person Can Make A Difference,” seems to be Tamara Banks’ motto. Ms. Banks is currently combining 20 years of journalism and her work as a Mayoral Appointee to evoke positive social change in our community and globally through media and civic engagement.
In fact, she recently returned from Sudan where she filmed a documentary on slavery.
Ms. Banks is also host of KBDI-TV’s “Studio 12,” a provocative one hour, live weekly talk show taking a close look at relevant issues in Denver, Colorado, the nation and the world. She also hosts Denver’s Channel 8 “Issues and Options,” a program delving into issues that impact Denver residents and its leaders. Ms. Banks recently was the host and producer of a public affairs show, “Clearly Colorado,” which aired on Martini 101.5 FM and One FM 107.1.
Ms. Banks is also a media consult and trainer, facilitating numerous civic programs and workshops for organizations, neighborhoods and government agencies. Banks has facilitated town halls between Denver, Colorado’s Mayor John Hickenlooper, and other government agencies including Community Planning and Development, the Denver Police Department and the Parks and Recreation Department. She has also performed similar duties with the Governor’s Office of Colorado.
Her passion for journalism and social justice is seen in her work with emerging democracies on free press issues. Her vision is to give insight and training to journalists and government officials in developing democracies about the importance of a free press in a democracy. She recently traveled to Sudan to film a documentary on slavery and the abolitionists who put their lives in danger to help free them.
Ms. Banks is a well known former anchor/reporter at KWGN-TV’s WB2 News @ 9. Before coming to Denver she was an anchor/reporter at the ABC Affiliate at KRDO-TV in Colorado Springs, Colorado. She’s also worked in TV and radio news in a number of markets including Dallas, Texas and Albuquerque, New Mexico. The Colorado Broadcasters Association, Associated Press, the National Association of Black Journalists and the Colorado Association of Black Journalists, just to name a few, have all recognized Tamara for her journalism work.
Ms. Banks is the immediate past President for the Colorado Association of Black Journalists and served on the National Association of Black Journalists Board of Directors for five years. As the NABJ World Affairs Committee Chair, Ms. Banks traveled to Kenya in East Africa where she lead a group of ten other African-American journalists who worked with Kenyan journalists and government official on issues of a free and autonomous press. Ms. Banks also recently filmed a documentary in Sudan focusing on slaves and the 21st Century Abolitionists who are working to free them. Ms. Banks is also producing a documentary in Senegal, West Africa on American doctors serving the very needy. Closer to home she has produced videos for the Spring Institute which works with refugees who come to the U.S., the Kempe Foundation which serves neglected and abused children and a piece highlighting the efforts and accomplishments of the Little Rock Nine, just to name a few.
She has also written articles published in the Denver Post from the Middle East as well as Sudan and has traveled around the world to tell fair, balanced stories about people of color in Haiti, Kenya, Peru, Senegal, Jordan and Panama. She also shares her experiences and knowledge and passion for journalism and civic engagement as a key note speaker and serves the community as a mistress of ceremonies at countless events.
Ms. Banks is an avid polo player and has traveled to Argentina to play the “Sport of Kings (and Queens).
