Ms. Friend is beginning her 22nd year in education. Before joining the Ricebird family, she was a K-12 Literacy Specialist for the Arkansas River Educational Service Cooperative. Additionally, she was the G.U.I.D.E. for Life Specialist at the Arkansas Department of Education, Division of Elementary and Secondary Education. 

She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism from the University of Arkansas, Little Rock and a Master of Science degree in Educational Leadership from Arkansas State University. Ms. Friend has served as the news editor for The Saline Courier, holds a p-12 building level administrator’s license, and has 18 years of classroom experience teaching English, journalism, theater, and oral communication in the North Little Rock, Bauxite, and Bryant School Districts. 

  She is an Arkansas Communication and Theatre Arts Association member and enjoys reading, traveling, and volunteering at the Historic Royal Theater in Downtown Benton. Tammy is from Saline County where she resides with her husband, Richard, who is retired from the military, and her son, Aidan, who currently attends Hendrix College in Conway and serves in the Arkansas Army National Guard.