Tamara Ficarella brings 11 years of dedicated disaster‐recovery experience to her role as Assistant Vice President of Resource Planning & Development at Tidal Basin Group. In this capacity, she leads organizational staff planning and development, overseeing new talent acquisition, career progression, and expansion of services, while ensuring project‐delivery teams are fully supported through the Project Management Office and the Associate Project Manager Development Program.
Tamara began her emergency management career in 2014 after a decade in banking operations and quickly took on roles ranging from Public Assistance Liaison for Superstorm Sandy to Project Specialist responding to Alaska wildfires in 2015. As Deputy Director and Practice Lead (2022–2025), she designed and executed a phased project‐manager development curriculum, supporting contract execution across recovery, debris removal, mitigation, housing, and financial management. She has also served as a Senior Audit Specialist to the New York State Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services (NY DHSES), partnering on executive priorities, FEMA and gubernatorial initiatives, and finance activities for mitigation and Public Assistance programs.
Throughout her tenure, Tamara has guided the financial oversight and closeout of more than 30 disaster declarations, recouping over $12 million in potential disallowances during the Superstorm Sandy Disaster Case Management audit, supporting reimbursement claims exceeding $1 billion, and managing budgets totaling over $2 billion for state management costs. She currently leads a team documenting eligible costs and securing FEMA reimbursement for the DR-4480 COVID-19 pandemic declaration.
Tamara holds an A.A.S. in Accounting from Genesee Community College and has completed the FEMA Professional Development Series along with multiple FEMA Independent Study courses. Her core strengths include, but are not limited to, disaster grant management, training and development, data analysis, critical thinking, and financial budgeting, ensuring that Tidal Basin Group’s clients receive expert guidance and resilient, compliant recovery solutions.
Education
- A.A.S., Accounting, Genesee Community College, Batavia, NY
Disaster Experience
- Hurricane Sandy and severe storms and flooding events in New York
- Wildfires in Alaska
Training
- FEMA Professional Development Series
- FEMA IS Certificates
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