Tara Moss is the Co-Executive Director of Programs at Purpose. Dignity. Action. (PDA). She shares Executive Directorship with Lisa Daugaard (Co-Executive Director of Policy).
Tara oversees PDA programs that include LEAD and CoLEAD. Previous to her Co-Executive Director role, Tara was the program director of Seattle-King County LEAD for over four years, the nation’s first pre-booking diversion alternative to arrest and prosecution for unlawful conduct related to drugs and poverty.
Tara partnered with business owners, human rights advocates, community leaders, elected officials, case managers, and law enforcement to operationalize LEAD. Under her leadership, LEAD grew from a pilot program to a multi-agency initiative with countywide impact, all while retaining its commitment to principles of harm reduction, trauma-informed care, racial equality, power sharing, and accountable relationships.
While studying for her bachelor’s degree at Smith College, Tara began interning at Street Outreach Services (SOS), providing street-level harm reduction outreach and education. After graduating college Tara worked at SOS full time, building her leadership skills, she advanced to the organization’s executive director in four years. In 2009, she returned to Real Change (where she had volunteered in the past), and was employed at the organization for eight years overseeing the vendor program and later organizational operations.
As a long-term Seattle area resident and advocate for marginalized communities, her approach, grounded in empathy and action, has earned her leadership positions in the nonprofit field throughout her career.