Staff Civil Engineer, EMI South Africa

Professional Training & Experience

• BS Civil Engineering, Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY 2013
• New York City Transit, 2014-2019
• Port Authority of NY & NJ, 2019-2021

Ministry Experience

Tatiana came to Christ at 19 after witnessing the radical change within her sister after she had an encounter with God in Ghana. Tatiana quickly became involved in campus ministry and summer of 2011, through a missions opportunity with her campus church, she spent two months in a mountain village in Peru. This mission trip changed her life forever. As they built relationships with the locals, they were given opportunities to teach English at the schools, lead bible studies, and simply partake in the villager’s way of life. Tatiana loved working with a focus on evangelism and immersing herself in a culture that was not her own. After that summer in Peru, Tatiana was convinced she wanted to do full-time ministry.

Tatiana continued to volunteer on short-term mission trips to Peru, as a Spanish translator, and to Dominican Republic. She volunteered for her first trip with EMI India in 2017 for the design of a new seminary college. She fell in love with the God-centric work atmosphere and approach to all EMI projects. In 2020, after seeing a need for a civil engineer at EMI South Africa, she excitingly joined staff. 

Family

Tatiana comes from a family of "bodegueros" (bodega owners) where she grew up helping her parents in the family business, a grocery store that also serves sit-in, authentic Dominican food. Her parents moved from Dominican Republic to live in Puerto Rico for five years, where Tatiana was born. In 1994 they arrived to New Jersey, USA in search of the "American Dream". Tatiana is the youngest of 3 sisters, and the aunt of 6 nieces and 2 nephews.