Tatum Walker, 39

Tatum Walker has worked in government jobs in Lee County for two decades. In 2019, she moved to the county’s economic development office — months before COVID spread across the globe.

After business came to a standstill in the U.S., Walker was named Lee County’s federal programs operations manager. In that role she was responsible for the distribution of $32.5 million in economic recovery aid to Lee businesses. That included a variety of tasks, including creating a business plan to lead more than 100 staff members in distributing federal economic recovery funds. The county partnered with multiple organizations, from Florida Gulf Coast University to SCORE and the School District of Lee County, to accomplish the tasks. 

Photo by Mark Wemple

But help didn’t stop there. “What we realized during the relaunch was that a lot of people are good at their trade but not necessarily good at operating a business,” she says.

That’s where the county’s partners offered advice specific for each business. Some received accounting help. Others needed an improved marketing plan. Many were in need of a business continuity plan in the event of a disaster, given the region’s exposure to hurricanes.

Lee County Economic Development Director John Talmage, who is both Walker’s mentor and boss, says she “takes on complex programs, operationalizes them and produces impactful results.”

Talmage and Walker first worked together years ago for the city of Fort Myers. He was chief of staff; she was managing the city attorney’s office through a reorganization. Walker, in her 40 under 40 survey, says Talmage “took the time to…understand not just my skills, but how I worked and where I wanted to go, while providing expertise and guidance.” Talmage, she adds, “gave me room to lead, challenged me to think bigger and offered steady support. He never micromanaged — he trusted." 

While Walker’s work focus is back to attracting businesses and projects to the region to stimulate economic growth, her contributions to the community don’t stop there. She volunteers with the American Cancer Society, the Take Stock in Children program, the Lee County Fallen Officer Memorial Fund and Special Olympics.

She has also participated in church mission trips to Jamaica, Mexico, New Orleans and West Virginia. “After Katrina, we reroofed a lot of houses and community centers and worked in the schools that had been flooded,” she says. 

In her spare time, she and her spouse, Andrea Walker, have a small farm in Buckingham, a rural community in Lee County, east of Interstate 75. The farm includes a quarter horse, named Quizzy, 15 chickens, a mini cow, donkey, three dogs and two cats.