When Tamara Washington left the Army after 10 years as a logistics officer, she brought with her a skill set that most restoration contractors spend years trying to develop: the ability to manage complex, time-sensitive projects with multiple moving parts under pressure.
She put that training to work in 2019 when she founded Gulf Coast Mold Solutions in Biloxi, Mississippi, a certified mold remediation company that now employs 18 people and generated $2.1 million in revenue in 2024.
"The Army taught me how to manage a supply chain in a combat zone," Washington said. "Running a restoration job site is complicated, but it's not that complicated."
Washington holds IICRC AMRT and CMR credentials and has built her business almost entirely on referrals from real estate agents, home inspectors, and insurance adjusters. She attributes her success in part to her willingness to provide detailed written reports — a habit she developed writing after-action reports in the military.
"Insurance adjusters love working with me because I document everything," she said. "Every moisture reading, every photo, every decision. That's just how the Army trained me to operate."
Washington is now a mentor in the RIA's Women in Restoration Network and speaks at NAWIC chapter events about veteran-to-restoration career transitions.
