Experienced educational advocate serving families in Arizona and California.
Ballou Education was founded to give families a genuine partner in the special education process. Tamara brings decades of hands-on experience with IEPs, 504 plans, gifted education, twice-exceptional (2e) learners, and complex educational placements — and we serve families from offices in Scottsdale, Arizona, and Beverly Hills, California.
We are educational advocates, not attorneys: we help you understand your rights, prepare for and attend meetings, interpret evaluations, and negotiate with your school team — and we connect you with an experienced special education attorney whenever your case calls for one.
Tamara Ballou is an educational advocate with over 32 years of experience supporting families. She specializes in special needs and gifted education, helping parents navigate IEPs, 504 plans, and school communication. Her work focuses on building collaboration, resolving challenges, and ensuring every child receives the support they need to succeed.
Schedule a free consultation to talk through your child’s IEP or 504 plan and find out how we can help.
Tamara Ballou is the Founder and CEO of Ballou Education and a highly sought-after educational consultant, bringing more than 32 years of experience in education, advocacy, coaching, and consulting to families navigating complex educational needs.
Tamara specializes in complex and high-stakes educational matters, providing individualized advocacy and strategic guidance in special education, gifted education, twice-exceptional (2e) learners, educational placement, and cases involving significant academic, behavioral, developmental, or emotional needs.
Throughout her career, Tamara has worked with hundreds of families navigating IEPs, 504 Plans, evaluations, eligibility and service disputes, school and program placement, and other complex educational decisions. Her comprehensive approach includes an in-depth review of educational records, evaluations, medical and clinical information, and school data to understand the whole student and develop an individualized strategy for moving forward.
Tamara also brings significant leadership and experience in gifted and twice-exceptional education. She played a key leadership role in introducing and advancing gifted education legislation in Arizona, helping lead the effort that resulted in its passage into law. She has extensive experience working with students whose exceptional abilities coexist with disabilities or other educational challenges.
As an educational advocate, consultant, parent coach, and expert witness, Tamara collaborates with families, attorneys, clinicians, psychologists, evaluators, schools, and other professionals. Her work includes educational record analysis, meeting representation, strategic case consultation, school and program recommendations, forensic educational review, and expert witness services.
For more than three decades, Tamara’s mission has remained focused on ensuring that students are understood as individuals and that families have knowledgeable, strategic, and experienced representation when making decisions that can profoundly shape their child’s education and future.
Through Ballou Education’s Beverly Hills, California, and Scottsdale, Arizona, offices, Tamara provides discreet, highly personalized educational advocacy, consulting, coaching, and expert witness services.
