Dear BDSRA Community,

It is my pleasure to announce that Tauna Batiste will be joining our BDSRA team as Executive Director on May 20, 2019.

Tauna is a skilled nonprofit professional who has been committed to community service from an early age. She joins the BDSRA with over 20 years of professional experience in nonprofit operations. Beginning her lifelong career as a youth volunteer, Tauna has held roles in fundraising consulting, project management, program design and management, and executive leadership. Her personal philosophy of working to assist others in reaching their greatest potential and living their best possible life is the driving force of her work ethic and approach.

Tauna received her Master’s degree in Nonprofit Management from Eastern University in St. Davids, Pennsylvania; and undergraduate degree from Taylor University Fort Wayne. She hails most recently from the National Hemophilia Foundation, Central Ohio Chapter, where she served as Executive Director overseeing and providing services to the bleeding disorders community in a 28 county territory. Prior to joining NHF she served at United Way of Central Ohio where she managed the E3 program and acted as the Interim Director of Champion of Children. In her roles she oversaw and produced the annual Champion of Children Report, hosted the first statewide education summit around African American males, and worked to bolster the E3 programs efforts to assist women in achieving financial stability through completion of post-secondary education. She also has worked as a consultant to nonprofits in the region, to assist them in developing systems, human resource policies, fundraising plans, and future planning.

Tauna brings her passion for strategic planning, dedication to relationship building, and focus on business optimization to the BDSRA. Her life was touched by Batten disease through the son of her longtime mentor. The opportunity to serve others like Jonathan Smiles is a great honor. The proud wife to Tremayne; when she is not working she spends her days chasing their sons, volunteering, trying new recipes, spending time with family and friends, and traveling for leisure.

We are very excited to have Tauna join our team and looking forward to the future accomplishments she will bring.

Thank you,

Rob Geer and the BDSRA Board