Our Board
Taline Lorensian
President
Taline has been volunteering with TCC since 2020 and joined the Board in May 2022, managing the organization’s data and informatics. She has her MBA from Boston University and has been working in financial services, specializing in analytics, for over ten years.
Taline has a great passion for the way data and insights can drive solutioning and decision-making. She loves combining her analytical thinking, stakeholder influence, and strategic thinking to drive organizational improvement through consensus-building and collaboration.
Taline grew up in Waltham and lived in Virginia, South Carolina, and Washington before returning to her hometown. In her free time, she enjoys spending time with her family, going to as many Red Sox games as she can, and trying to improve her knitting skills.
Deni Auclair
Treasurer
Deni Auclair began her career in New York City in consumer publishing working with best-selling authors like Linda Ellerbee, Elizabeth Taylor, and Thomas Harris. After earning an MBA in Finance from NYU’s Stern School of Business, she worked for a distressed debt fund, then moved into scholarly publishing, where for 12 years she led M&A activities at Wiley.
In 2010, Deni moved to Dover, MA, becoming CFO at publisher JBJS in Needham, then VP & Lead Analyst at market research firm Outsell, Inc. in 2013. In 2018, she became CFO & Senior Analyst at consulting firm Delta Think. She is now running her own consulting firm, Media Growth Strategies, LLC. Other volunteer activities include 36 years with Olympic governing body USA Boxing. Deni lives in an historic house built by Amelia Peabody in Dover, MA with eight cats, including two adopted from TCC, and two dogs – all beloved rescues.
Karen Evans
Vice President and Director of Development
Karen is a Bostonian born and bred, having lived in Mattapan and Roslindale before going off to earn her BA at UMass – Amherst and her MBA from Northeastern University. Professionally, Karen spent her career in sales and sales management in the medical industry.
Karen has been volunteering in cat rescue and adoption for the past 10 years. She joined The Cat Connection team in 2021, and was elected to the Board in 2022 as a General Director. Karen also serves currently on the Board of Aid for Cancer Research, a Newton-based charity dedicated to cancer research fundraising. Her previous volunteer activities include PTA and Temple Sisterhood presidencies.
Karen has lived in Lexington for the last 35 years with her husband, Howard,
and their beautiful kitties, currently Samson and Delilah. Her spare time is
spent in New York City enjoying her amazing grandchildren, Miles and Summer, and their parents, Karen’s son David and daughter-in-law Elizabeth.
Emily LaRosa
Secretary and Director of Volunteer Relations
Emily is new to the Boston area, having recently moved here from New Jersey. She has her MBA from Villanova University and has been working as a Financial Analyst for the past five years. She joined the TCC Board in October 2023 to assist with managing the organization’s data and informatics.
She is passionate about helping cats in need. While she is new to TCC, she has assisted other cat rescues for several years and is eager to help TCC help the local community find cats their forever homes.
Emily has been surrounded by cats her entire life. Five years ago, she adopted a kitten of her own, named Petunia. Petunia is the light of her life and has further reaffirmed her love of cats, cat shelters, and the people who support them.
Fatoumata Diarra
Director
Fatou was born in Guinea, West Africa and moved to the North Shore of Massachusetts as a young child. She attended the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia before moving back to Boston to start her professional career.
She has her MBA from Boston University and is passionate about innovation and impact in healthcare and energy. Her experience spans strategic commercialization and execution, operations, consulting, and sustainable energy investments. She brings a dynamic and analytical approach to problem-solving, whether advancing medical breakthroughs or supporting energy transition initiatives.
Fatou grew up around farm animals, who she considered her pets. She has lived with cats and currently cat-sits for friends around the country. She is also an avid hiker and podcaster.
Laura Pietrok
Director
Laura was born and raised in Portland, Oregon. She moved to Iowa in 2017, where she earned her PhD in Immunology from the University of Iowa. She continued moving east and settled in Cambridge in the fall of 2022. She currently works as a Senior Scientist for a biotech startup.
Laura started volunteering at The Cat Connection in early 2023, 2 months after moving to Boston. She has gotten involved in numerous aspects of TCC over the years, starting as a cat caretaker and later joining the transport team, medical team, and even fostering several cats. She joined the TCC Board in December 2025.
Laura loves being outdoors exploring the northeast, whether it is skiing in the winter or hiking in the summer and fall. She has a deep love of cats, having grown up with them her whole life and now living with her two sassy angels, Oatmeal and Maya.
Interested in Joining the Board? Click Below to Apply!
The Cat Connection’s Board of Directors is a dynamic, enthusiastic group of talented people who are dedicated to rescuing cats in need. Do you want to be a part of The Cat Connection’s success by joining the Board?
