Tenesha Batiste has been named the associate vice president for Institutional Advancement at Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College. The Institutional Advancement office oversees the MGCCC Foundation and Alumni.
Batiste was previously dean of Business Services at the college’s Jackson County Campus and director of Human Resources at the District Office in Perkinston. Before joining the college’s team, she worked as director of Human Resources for the City of Moss Point and worked in Human Resources at Singing River Health System.
Graduating magna cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English/journalism with a concentration in public relations from historic Tougaloo College, Batiste also holds a Master of Business Administration degree with an emphasis in human resources management from American Intercontinental University. She is currently pursuing a doctorate in human capital development from The University of Southern Mississippi.
She has served on the Board of Directors for the Home of Grace Christian Rehabilitation Facility, Board of Directors for the College and University Professional Association for HR (CUPA-HR) Gulf Coast/Louisiana chapters, and CUPA-HR’s National Learning and Professional Development Committee. She is a member of the Society for Human Resource Management and the local Gulf Coast chapter of Society for Human Resource Management.
A community leader, Batiste is an active member of Theta Zeta Omega Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc., has served as president and vice president, and is former president of the TZO Ivy Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Theta Zeta Omega. Currently, she is the chapter’s membership chairperson. She is a charter member of Mississippi Gulf Coast Connection and serves as program chairperson. She has received several awards in leadership, including the 2011 Lifetime and Cable One Caring Women Award in Leadership and the Ethel Hedgemen Lyle Award for being a young leader and rising star. Recently, she received the Blessed Girls Rock award. She has also received her sorority chapter’s highest award, Woman of the Year. Charter president of the Kiwanis of Moss Point, she is a Rotarian and a former Civil Service commissioner, director of Jackson County Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) for children, and member of Junior Auxiliary of Biloxi/Ocean Springs. She is a graduate of Leadership Jackson County Class of 2010 and Singing River Health System’s Leadership and Management Development Program. She is also a graduate of the Mississippi Community College Leadership Academy.
Batiste, known to many as Danielle, is married to Pastor Tony R. Batiste, and they reside in Moss Point.
