Ms. Tambour L. Eller was appointed to the Senior Executive Service as the Chief of the Interagency& International Service Division at Headquarters, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) in May 2023. In this role, she provides executive leadership in the development and management of all USACE enterprise strategic relationships and business initiatives in support of non-DoD federal agencies, state/ local/ territorial and tribal governments, foreign governments, private firms, and both national and international non-governmental organizations. She leads an interdisciplinary team to synchronize and integrate all IIS activities across the enterprise to ensure USACE core capabilities in engineering, design, construction, water resources, infrastructure development, real estate, research and development, disaster readiness, and environmental management provide engineering solutions to partners and stakeholders in achieving their mission. Internationally, Ms. Eller supports the formulation of plans and strategies to leverage capabilities to provide contingency planning and capabilities to support the war fighter and for the projection of soft power to build trust, security assistance and cooperation, capacity, and interoperability among US allies and partners, Combatant Commands, and Department of State Country Teams in support of national security and foreign policy objectives. To provide Interagency & Interagency Services, the USACE workforce of approximately 38,000 Civilians and Soldiers is dispersed across the country and in more than 91 foreign countries providing reimbursable engineering expertise
Prior to this detail, Ms. Eller served as the Sacramento District Deputy District Engineer. As the senior ranking civilian official, she led a workforce of 1100 engineers, scientists, and support staff, covering eight western states responsible for military design and construction, civil works, international and interagency support, real estate services to the Army and Air Force, regulatory work, environmental services, and emergency management. As one of the largest Districts, the Sacramento District is responsible for more than 2 million acres of land and 300,000 miles of waterways, with an annual budget of $900 million.
Prior to her time in Sacramento, Ms. Eller previously served in the USACE Headquarters, as the Deputy of the Programs Integration Division in the Civil Works Directorate which is responsible for developing, defending, and executing the Civil Works Program as well as providing management and oversight for the Programs and Project Management Community Practice and the Project Delivery Business Process. Ms. Eller also served in the Strategy and Integration Office leading teams that implement the USACE Campaign Plan, developing strategic plans for major programs, and evaluating proposed actions and policies from the Department of Defense, Department of the Army and Office of Personnel Management.
Ms. Eller’s diverse range of assignments include Project Executive, Mosul Dam, Iraq, Detail as SPD Regional Business Director, Deputy Director for Business Management for the Gulf Region Division in Iraq; Deputy, Engineer Support Office, Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff, Engineer - US Army, Europe & 7th Army; the Balkans Program Manager supporting NATO Peace Keeping missions and various program/project manager assignments for Everglades Restoration.
Ms. Eller was recognized as the USACE Lieutenant General John W. Morris Outstanding Civilian of the Year (2019), USACE Supervisor of the Year (2013), and Jacksonville District Employee of the Year (2005).
Ms. Eller holds a Masters’ degree in Public Administration from University of North Florida and a Bachelor of Science from Southern Illinois University, Carbondale. She is a graduate of Georgetown’s Government Executive Leadership Program and the Federal Executive Institute’s Leadership for a Democratic Society. She is also a Project Management Professional.