Our members are AWESOME!  Member Spotlight is a quarterly blog and member newsletter feature created to make space to learn about each other and the breadth of talent existing in the Greater Boston Area. 

This month's Member Spotlight is Cassandra Tavaras.

Name:  Cassandra Tavaras

Social Media Handle:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/cassandra-tavaras-ma, https://www.instagram.com/cvchica25/

Occupation & Field of Work:  Project Manager at MGH Center for Community Health Improvement, focusing on youth development program evaluation.

How did you get started?  I had always been interested in research and evaluation while in graduate school and held positions as a research assistant prior to becoming a Massachusetts Promise Fellow at CCHI. I was fortunate enough to obtain a position on the evaluation team at CCHI after my year of service and have been doing this work for over five years.

Why do you continue to work in evaluation?  I enjoy the strategy and problem solving that comes with being an evaluator, and evaluation allows me to tap into my curious/analytic side. I also really enjoy having the opportunity to work with different stakeholders and community partners.

What do you like about what you do?  Finding ways to help my colleagues/community partners understand and use the data/results from evaluations. It's always rewarding to be a part of conversations where it is clear that people have learned something new from the data and find ways to take action/make positive changes.

What aspect of your work are you most proud of?  Leading qualitative data collection and analysis for the 2019 Community Health Needs Assessment.  I really love working with qualitative data so having the chance to lead this piece of the work was a great learning opportunity.

Of all your accomplishments outside of work of which are you most proud?  I teach Zumba part-time and I love it! I have had the opportunity to teach at events and have been hired to teach private classes and create choreography for a wedding! It's a lot of fun and something I am very passionate about. I love that I get to share it with so many different people.

What are you currently reading, listening to and/or binge-watching?  "Just As I Am: A Memoir" by Cicely Tyson

Interested in being spotlit? E-mail Dana@backofhtenapkinconsulting.com. We look forward to celebrating your efforts.