Anissa Cooke-Batista

With over 20 years of experience, Anissa Cooke-Batista has a well-developed sense of what it takes to achieve organizational goals. She has held Marcom positions of increasing responsibility at leading non-profit, financial services and technology companies. 

Cooke-Batista's global event management expertise spans the full range of corporate event strategy, promotions, and operational execution which includes programs, branding, key messaging, global alignment and financial management. She is recognized for her integrated marketing and communications expertise and has consistently shown an exceptional ability to analyze and solve marketing challenges on both strategic and tactical levels. The international scope of her experience adds yet another strength to her skill set.

Cooke-Batista is currently an adjunct instructor at WVU Reed College of Media teaching event strategy and execution. She previously taught management courses at Berkeley College and marketing courses at Strayer University. She discovered her passion for teaching in 2005 when she taught an undergraduate e-Commerce course at the Metropolitan College of New York to a diverse group of adult undergraduate students.  She enjoys sharing her experiences with students and feels strongly that it keeps her current with advances in the marketing field.

A dedicated advocate for giving back to the community, Cooke-Batista has served on the Board of Directors of the Neighborhood's Resource Center, Clara’s Heart and Alvey's Education Never End Programs, Inc. At a previous employer, she founded and acted as the first chair of the Black Employee Network affinity group operating under the chief diversity officer and the Corporate Responsibility Council. In that capacity, she created numerous diversity & inclusion programs designed to promote equity and harmony in the workplace.

Cooke-Batista graduated Magna Cum Laude with a bachelor’s degree from Howard University in Communications. She is among the first cohort to graduate from the Howard University School of Communications Annenberg Honors Program, where she participated in various enrichment activities and completed a senior thesis.  Cooke-Batista later received an MBA from Temple University with a concentration in marketing.

Cooke-Batista currently lives in Thomaston, Georgia with her son, Elijah, and loveable cat, Buster.