Tamar Simpson

Vice President of Marketing and Communications

Tamar Simpson is the vice president of marketing and communications at the James Beard Foundation.

Before joining the Foundation, Tamar served as the associate vice president of marketing and communications for the YMCA, a nonprofit community-service organization dedicated to youth development, healthy living, and social responsibility. At the YMCA, she oversaw a team that led the strategic development and execution for all marketing, advertising, public relations, and communications to drive membership and fundraising. Prior to that, she served as the senior director of marketing and communications and entertainment marketing at UNICEF (United Nations Children’s Emergency Fund). There, she led a robust team of specialized professionals to develop and execute integrated marketing and communications campaigns. In addition, she was responsible for the department’s strategic partnerships with corporate, foundation, government, civil society organizations, entertainment companies, and global celebrities to support UNICEF’s programs for the world’s most vulnerable children in 190 countries though fundraising, advocacy, and education in the United States.

Tamar began her career in advertising at DDB Worldwide before moving into the entertainment industry, where she spent more than fifteen years. She worked in the publicity department at Disney Pictures and Miramax Films as part of a team that led several film campaigns to Golden Globe and Academy Award wins. With a desire to build brands and public image, Tamar worked for nearly a decade at ID, a full-service public relations and marketing agency in New York and Los Angeles as a senior publicist in both the talent and entertainment brand strategy departments.

Tamar holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in communications with a minor in marketing from the University of Hartford. Tamar resides on Long Island with her husband and two children.