May 30, 2023 – Baby TALK in Decatur has announced a new Executive Director will take the helm after the retirement of it’s long-time Executive Director, Cindy Bardeleben, on June 30th. Bardeleben will retire after 31 years.
Bardeleben has been involved in almost every aspect of Baby TALK since 1992. She began at Baby TALK coming alongside pregnant mothers at local prenatal clinics and conducting newborn encounters on obstetric units at local hospitals. Over the years she has also led family literacy and home visiting programs. She has presented at various state and national conferences and has been a key contributor to various Baby TALK research studies. Cindy has represented Baby TALK in multiple statewide stakeholder groups including the Illinois Early Learning Council. She served as Baby TALK’s Director of Local Programming for many years and for the last five years served as Baby TALK’s Executive Director.
Baby TALK’s board of directors has selected and welcomed Tamara Doyle as the new Executive Director. Tamara will begin July 1st in this new role.
Tamara has worked in the nonprofit arena since 1997. Most recently, she was the Executive Director of Family House in Peoria. She believes building strong healthy bonds between the parent and child in the formative years is essential.
Tamara holds her masters in forensic psychology from Walden University. Tamara served ten years with Prevent Child Abuse Illinois. She was responsible for building Child Abuse Prevention (CAP) Coalitions, conducting community and statewide presentations on a variety of topics, such as “Happiest Baby on the Block” and “Stewards of Children: Darkness to Light”, and collaborating with an array of community partners to address child abuse issues throughout the Central Region.
