People

Tina M. Chirico brings over three decades of experience in the human services field to her role as Nonprofit Senior Managing Consultant in Grassi’s Nonprofit practice. Her extensive experience in financial management and deep understanding of the regulatory landscape position her as a critical asset in guiding nonprofit organizations in the special needs sector through complex financial and operational challenges.

Tina has served as a CFO in the nonprofit industry for over 35 years, most recently at Anderson Center for Autism and Affiliates for 18 years. In those roles, she oversaw all business-related operations and practices. She collaborated closely with officials from the New York Office of People with Developmental Disabilities (OPWDD), New York State Education Department (SED), the Office of Children and Family Services (OCFS) and the Department of Health (DOH).

Tina is an active member of the OPWDD Provider Association Committee and the Rate Reform Subcommittee. For 15 years, she has served as the president of the Financial Managers Association (FMA) and its Corporate/Eastern Division. Additionally, Tina has served as Treasurer on the board of directors for the 853 Coalition of Schools for five years.

Because of her roles as a provider CFO and member of the OPWDD Rate Reform Subcommittee, Tina has become a subject matter expert in completing the Coordinated Assessment System (CAS) from a provider’s perspective. She has worked very closely with OPWDD to understand the challenges and difficulties providers encounter in completing the CAS. She has spoken to members of the FMA and Inter Agency Council (IAC) to help provider agencies prepare for the CAS moving forward.

In her role as the Chairperson of both the annual FMA workshop and Annual Conference Committee, as well as the 853 CFO Committee, she has spearheaded initiatives in rate setting, New York State Consolidated Fiscal Report (CFR) reform and financial changes across multiple associations. Her efforts have included leading partnerships with SED and OPWDD to provide training on cost report completion and analysis for nonprofit fiscal staff, ensuring that organizations have the necessary tools and knowledge to maintain financial compliance and stability.

Tina holds a Master of Business Administration in finance from The Sage Colleges – Sage Graduate School and a bachelor’s degree in accounting from SUNY Utica/Rome.