About Tammy

About Tammy | Tammy's Mission | Why is the Rachel Ryden Foundation named "Headers for Heaven"?

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Tammy Ryden's 15 year-old daughter, Rachel, was killed in a car crash on February 15, 1999. Rachel was not wearing her seat belt and was totally ejected from the vehicle. She died instantly from a massive skull fracture.

After 21 years of teaching mathematics on the high school and college level, she became the face and voice of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's "Buckle Up in Your Truck" campaign. Tammy worked with the Oklahoma Regional Community Policing Institute on this campaign to convince law enforcement officers throughout the South Central Region to increase enforcement on pickup truck drivers and passengers who do not buckle up. Tammy's tireless effort during this campaign put her in front of thousands of law enforcement officers with her "Write One for Rachel" message. She also presents her "Responsible Driving and Seat Belt Safety" program at schools and speaks to teens about "Rachel's Rule: Buckle Up & Slow Down".

"Seat belts are still the single most effective way to prevent death and injury in motor vehicle crashes. Intensified law enforcement along with public awareness and education has been proven to increase seat belt use throughout the nation," says Tammy.

Tammy was the recipient of the City of Norman Civilian Certificate in 2002, the 2004 Oklahoma Seat Belt Advocate Award and most recently she received the 2005 Citizen Traffic Safety Advocate Award presented by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration at the Lifesavers 2006 conference. She is a resident of Norman, Oklahoma where she resides with her daughter Chelsea, 20 and her son Kalen, 15.

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Tammy's Mission

Tammy's mission is to save lives, prevent injuries, and reduce vehicle-related crashes by bringing awareness to the issues of responsible driving and seat belt safety. Her mission involves sharing Rachel's story with her powerful, multi-media driven presentation for:

• Teens - with her "Buckle Up & Slow Down" message, as she is dedicated to helping teens make life-saving choices
• Law Enforcement - with her "Write One for Rachel" message, as she is dedicated to reminding law enforcement "Why they do what they do"
• Communities - with her "Light A Candle" message, as she is dedicated to raising community awareness so others will pass on the importance of buckling up.

Click here to download a .pdf of Tammy's resume

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Why is The Rachel Ryden Foundation named “Headers for Heaven”?

Rachel loved the game of soccer, both for the joy she felt on the field while playing the game and for the beautiful friendships it brought into her life off the field. She played on a competitive team, Norman’s Fury ’84 Red, for five years. Rachel was known for being able to head the soccer ball quite well on corner kicks because she was tall.

Her soccer teammates began gathering at her home the morning after her death. Tammy and the girls eventually found their way into Rachel’s bedroom as they all piled in her room on her bed and on the floor. Through their tears they began sharing memories of Rachel, both on and off the soccer field. One of the girls made the comment, “I bet she’s already in heaven doing headers!”

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