Susan Tachau, Co-Founder and CEO of PATF, to Transition to a New Role in September 2022
Message from Pennsylvania Assistive Technology Foundation (PATF)
In September of this year, Susan Tachau will be stepping down as CEO of PATF. In her new role as PATF’s Innovation Officer, Susan will work on special projects and advocacy activities.
To help with this transition, PATF is developing a new Strategic Plan and a comprehensive, state-of-the-art brand book — both of which will help guide the organization into the future.
PATF is now accepting applications for their next CEO. Read the job description and share with your networks.
Interested applicants should send a cover letter/letter of interest, resume, and salary requirements via email by May 15, 2022.
“Susan has been a force in the disability community for some time, and it is her passion to expand access to assistive technology and create a more equitable world that has been the foundation for PATF’s programs. Now, as our organization approaches its 25th year in 2023, we are grateful that Susan will stay on as our Innovation Officer, to help with the transition as we enter this new chapter,” shares Nancy Murray, PATF Board President.
Under Susan’s leadership, PATF has established itself as the top Alternative Financing Program (AFP) in the country, continually providing more loans and extending more capital each year for the purchase of assistive technology than any other AFP, and providing information and assistance to thousands more Pennsylvanians, helping them access alternative funding resources they didn’t know existed.
With Susan’s advocacy, PATF has also had significant impact among Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs), helping to secure more federal funding for CDFIs to serve the disability community and educating CDFIs on best practices. In 2021, Opportunity Finance Network recognized Susan’s CDFI work with the Ned Gramlich Lifetime Achievement Award for Responsible Finance.
In addition, in the last year, Susan founded Appalachian Assistive Technology Loan Fund, a subsidiary to PATF, so that people with disabilities in nearby states will have access to affordable financing for assistive technology.
Driven by Susan’s passion, PATF has developed an incredible suite of informational and educational tools related to topics of assistive technology funding and financial education.
“Throughout my career, I have been fortunate to work in a field that I love. Ever since my first child was diagnosed with a disability, I have known that disability empowerment would be the focus of my efforts. During my time at PATF, our programs have grown tremendously in size, diversity, and influence. I have benefitted from the support of talented and dedicated co-workers and volunteers who have made PATF the leader in its field.
“The future for the organization is bright — we are financially secure, we have flourishing programs, we have excellent staff, we have a strong board, and we have just finished developing a strategic planning framework. I look forward to my new role as PATF’s Innovation Officer, and to ensuring a smooth transition for our new CEO,” says Susan.
Please join PATF in congratulating Susan on a lifetime’s worth of impactful advocacy for people with disabilities and thanking her for her decades of dedicated service to this organization and to the Pennsylvania disability community.