Tamika Lyles is an Air Force veteran, educator, and advocate whose life has been defined by service to people navigating broken systems.

 

Raised in Tennessee by a single mother working two jobs, Tamika learned early that stability is earned and dignity must be defended. She became the youngest certified nursing assistant in her state’s history, working in public hospitals while completing high school early. After earning her bachelor’s degree, she enlisted in the United States Air Force, serving seven years as a medical technician caring for service members and their families.

 

Following her honorable discharge, Tamika pursued law with a focus on civil rights, mediation, and homelessness prevention. When her father’s illness brought her to Florida, she put down roots and continued her service as a public-school history teacher, where she saw firsthand how rising costs, underfunded schools, and policy failures impact families and children every day. 

 

She later founded Standing Heroes for Average Workers, a nonprofit connecting lawmakers to working families facing housing insecurity, healthcare barriers, and veterans’ access issues. Today, Tamika teaches civic engagement at Lynn University, serves in Democratic leadership at the county and state level, and remains deeply embedded in community advocacy across Central and South Florida.

 

She is also a mother and grandmother. Florida is her home. Her family, her work, and her future are here.

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Tamika Lyles is running for the United States Senate because Florida families deserve better. They deserve leaders who understand their daily reality, who can diagnose the crisis honestly, and who have the competence to deliver solutions.

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She's running to restore a simple promise: If you work for this country, it should work for you.