Tamara hails from rural Hill City, Minnesota.  With a goal of gaining knowledge and experience, she spent the first 20 years of her career working throughout the US and internationally for ARAMARK. She led hospitality organizations in Alaska, Ohio and California, before hiring on to the ARAMARK International Team providing food services to the 2008 Beijing Olympics, 2010 Asian Games, and 2012 London Olympics.  In her experiences, Tamara has managed thousands of people from all walks of life, and led teams to be successful through great adversity. 

In 2013, Tamara returned to rural Minnesota, with an eye on giving back to her own community.  She graduated from Bemidji State University, receiving a Bachelor of Business Administration with a management emphasis.  In 2015, she started working for APEX and dove into economic development here in northeastern Minnesota, working every day with businesses and communities to connect them to the resource that fits their need.

In 2019, Tamara became the President of Itasca Economic Development Corporation in Grand Rapids, MN.  Since then she has led her team through an extensive series of projects to support her community, including a $1 million emergency loan program, facilitating grant programs for Itasca County businesses in 2020 for more than $2.5 Million, and driving extensive outreach and support for local businesses.  In 2020 EDAM honored Tamara with the Innovation Award, one of their Excellence in Economic Development Awards. 

This year, Tamara and her IEDC team were awarded a Hub Grant from Launch MN.  They are thrilled with the opportunity, and excited to work even more closely with their regional economic development partners to help develop an extensive entrepreneurial ecosystem in the Arrowhead Region.

Tamara resides in Hill City, MN with her husband and daughter.  They love small town life and are very active in their community.