Tamara Kalandiya

Note: Tamara Kalandiya stepped down as MEI's CFO/COO as of February 10, 2023. Christel Bivens (CPA) is serving as Acting CFO until a new Vice President of Finance is selected.

In 2013, Tamara founded the Academy of Georgian Heritage, a non-profit organization bringing together the Georgian diaspora community in the US and helping Georgian youth connect with their heritage.

Prior to joining MEI, Tamara was based in Amman where she served as Regional Finance and Administrative Director for a global emergency response organization. In this role, she was responsible for the management and coordination of the organization’s offices in Jordan, Syria, Israel, Palestine and Iraq. She also led the organization’s emergency response program in Gaza. 

Between 2000 and 2005, Tamara was based in the Russian Federation as Head of Finance for a humanitarian mission in the North Caucasus (Chechnya, Ingushetia, and Ossetia).