Tracy Fricano Chalmers, MS, (she/her/hers) is the Director of Public Health Planning and Emergency Preparedness and the Public Information Officer for the Niagara County Department of Health. Ms. Chalmers began her career in public health emergency preparedness in 2001 with the inception of the program in Erie County and has been with the Niagara County Department of Health in her current role since 2021. Ms. Chalmers’ day-to-day responsibilities include all-hazards planning and response for all public health emergency functions in Niagara County, department-wide strategic planning, quality assurance and quality improvement, and communications. Tracy chairs the Niagara County Core Advisory Group (for Disabilities and Access and Functional Needs), the Niagara County Emergency Support Function 6 (Mass Care) and 8 (Public Health/Medical) Committee, and is a member of many other local, state, and national workgroups and committees. Ms. Chalmers has assumed a lead role in the response to COVID-19 and several other public health emergencies in Western New York and works collaboratively with partners in Emergency Services to respond to natural disasters and large-scale planned events. Ms. Chalmers has a bachelor’s degree in Biology from Ithaca College and a master's degree in Epidemiology from the State University of New York at Buffalo.