Tara Tuomaala is vice president of programs for the Fred A. and Barbara M. Erb Family Foundation. Tara is responsible for guiding the Foundation’s grantmaking across its focus areas, which currently include Great Lakes water quality and stewardship, environmental health and justice, sustainable business, arts and culture, and Alzheimer’s research. She deeply values the power of partnership and collaboration to amplify the impact of funding efforts. 

Tara joined the Erb Family Foundation in 2021 as program officer overseeing the Foundation’s Anchor Arts and Jazz Education programs. Prior to working for the Foundation, Tara served as director of development for Living Arts. Tara has spent more than 20 years developing an understanding of best practices and strategies with nonprofit organizations in New York and Detroit. 

In 2023, Tara was selected to take part in The Funders Network PLACES Fellowship, a national initiative that enables grantmakers to deepen their personal and professional racial equity and social justice journeys. Through the program, fellows gain a better understanding of how philanthropy can improve its grantmaking practices and strengthen the ways it partners with communities in order to address systemic inequities and achieve impact. 

Tara earned a B.A. in Art History and Philosophy from the University of Michigan and a M.A. in Nonprofit Arts Administration from Columbia University. As an avid sailor and outdoor enthusiast, she has had a lifelong love and appreciation for Michigan’s natural environment and the Great Lakes.