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General Manager, Discovery

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General Manager, Discovery

Basta

Remote New York, New York

Basta is a tech-enabled nonprofit focused on closing the employment gap for first-generation college students. Founded in 2016, the organization has built a national platform that blends AI-powered tools, career preparation, and employer partnerships to help students translate their degrees into meaningful first jobs. With a presence on more than 300 campuses and partnerships with leading employers, Basta is reshaping how talent is identified, developed, and connected to opportunity.

At its core, Basta is addressing a persistent inequity: while first-generation students bring immense value to the workforce, they often lack access to the networks, knowledge, and pathways that lead to strong career outcomes. Through innovative, data-driven solutions, Basta is accelerating career readiness and helping students secure roles at organizations such as Bloomberg, Citi, and Snap Inc. The organization is now positioned for significant growth, with a clear ambition to expand its reach and deepen its impact nationwide.

The Opportunity

The General Manager, Discovery role represents a pivotal leadership opportunity at a moment of scale. Discovery is Basta’s flagship digital platform, designed to expand access to career readiness through a dynamic, data-driven experience that integrates coaching, skill-building, and job attainment. Having already reached more than 60,000 students, Discovery is poised for rapid expansion, with a goal of impacting one million students by 2030.

As the business owner of Discovery, the General Manager will define and drive the strategy, performance, and long-term growth of this core offering. This leader will translate vision into execution, overseeing user engagement, partner success, and operational excellence while continuously refining a product built on experimentation and iteration. Working within a complex B2B2C model, the role requires balancing institutional and enterprise partner needs with delivering a compelling, high-impact student experience.

This is an ideal role for a leader who thrives in ambiguity and is energized by building systems, testing assumptions, and scaling solutions that deliver measurable outcomes. The General Manager will align cross-functional teams across product, data, learning, and growth to ensure Discovery evolves thoughtfully and sustainably. In doing so, this leader will play a defining role in advancing Basta’s mission and shaping how technology can unlock economic mobility for first-generation students.

The salary range for this position is $130,000–$163,000.

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    By admin|2026-03-09T19:44:55-04:00March 9, 2026|Comments Off on General Manager, Discovery

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    Bob Giannino has had a transformative impact at the highest levels of nonprofit leadership by identifying opportunities for impact, making bold plans, and bringing people together to find common cause for the common good. A touchstone of Bob’s leadership is his conviction that the success of an organization lies in its people—a credo he has embodied and realized by building strong, inclusive teams and nurturing ecosystems where both individuals and institutions can thrive.

    At Lindauer, Bob leverages his extensive executive experience to help organizations identify, cultivate, and retain exceptional talent. His thoughtful approach ensures that leaders are positioned to drive sustainable change and long-term impact.

    Expertise

    With more than two decades of experience across diverse sectors, Bob brings a strategic approach to talent development, honed through years in top executive roles and rooted in the understanding that people are the key to organizational success. At Lindauer, Bob draws on his deep knowledge of how strong talent acquisition, culture-building, and mentorship fuel institutional growth. His expertise includes building diverse and inclusive teams, aligning talent strategies with organizational missions, and scaling organizational impact through strategic growth.

    For Bob, executive search is akin to completing a complex puzzle, where the right candidate represents a crucial piece that helps bring the full picture into focus. Bob thrives on the challenge of understanding the unique needs and dynamics of each organization, then strategically matching them with candidates who can seamlessly integrate and make a lasting impact. His ability to focus on both the immediate requirements of a role as well as the critical factors for long-term organizational success sets him apart in the search process.

    Experience

    Before joining Lindauer, Bob served as President & CEO of United Way of Massachusetts Bay, one of Greater Boston’s leading civic institutions, where his strategic leadership helped create greater opportunity, access, and equity across 140 communities in Eastern Massachusetts.

    Prior to United Way, Bob served as the CEO of uAspire, the nation’s leading nonprofit focused on helping young people and families navigate an affordable path to a postsecondary degree. Over 15 years, Bob oversaw the transformation of uAspire from a small, local organization serving 1,000 young people in Boston into a national, award-winning enterprise reaching more than 25 states and 300,000 students each year. In addition to its direct service programming, uAspire’s policy and systems change efforts will lead to dramatically improved financial access to a college degree and economic opportunity for millions of young people.

    From 2015-2020, Bob served as a member of the Management Faculty at the Institute for Nonprofit Practice, a national leader in equipping the nation’s social impact leaders to boldly advance their organizations and missions, creating a more equitable future for all.

    Throughout his career, Bob has been recognized by numerous local and national organizations for his contributions to and leadership within the nonprofit sector. In 2022, Bob was named an LGBTQ Trailblazer by the Boston Business Journal for his longstanding commitments to Greater Boston’s LGBTQIA community and, in 2024, he was honored by Get Konnected! as a DEI Champion and Ally. In addition, Bob was awarded the prestigious Barr Fellowship for his “outstanding contribution to the Boston community and potential to drive positive change for years to come.”

    In 2025, Bob became Chair of the Board of Directors of Idealist.org.

    Education

    Bob holds an AB in Government from Harvard University and an Executive Education Certificate in Strategic Perspectives in Non-Profit Management from Harvard Business School.

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    Taking a comprehensive approach tailored to each client’s unique needs, goals, and aspirations, Paula Fazli is nationally recognized for high-touch service that guides organizations through leadership transitions and positions them for sustainable success.

    Paula’s nuanced understanding of organizational dynamics is grounded in her cross-disciplinary search expertise, which includes human resources, finance, academic affairs, student affairs, public safety, enrollment management, research administration, institutional planning, and equity and belonging. Throughout her respected career in executive search, Paula has partnered with public and private research universities, private liberal arts colleges, arts and culture organizations, and nonprofits to navigate periods of change and bring in leaders who shape generations of nonprofit professionals.

    Expertise

    Known for her strategic insight and deep understanding of organizational dynamics, Paula identifies not only the most qualified candidates but also those whose values, aspirations, and leadership styles align with her clients’ visions. Her expertise lies in her ability to see the potential for unexpected alignments between candidates and organizations.

    Curiosity and a commitment to lifelong learning have kept Paula at the forefront of industry trends. To serve as a trusted advisor during times of transition, Paula continuously expands her knowledge base and adapts her methodologies to meet evolving client needs.

    In her 30 years in executive search, Paula has worked with a wide range of clients, such as: Harvard University, Columbia University, Stanford University, University of Chicago, Northwestern University, UCLA, Florida State University, MIT, Berklee College of Music, Wellesley College, Wheaton College, Beloit College, Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, the New School, Moore College of Art & Design, MassArt, Massachusetts Historical Society, and the POD Network, among many others.

    Experience

    Prior to joining Lindauer, Paula co-founded Sage Search Partners in 1999, where she co-led the firm for over 25 years. Under her guidance, Sage Search conducted searches for leading colleges, education-related nonprofits, and renowned music and art conservatories. Her tenure at Sage Search was marked by her unwavering commitment to client satisfaction and her skill at addressing questions of search strategy, candidate assessment, and inclusive search practices.

    Paula also served as Vice President at Auerbach Associates, where she was responsible for spearheading executive search initiatives within the higher education and nonprofit sectors, and as Assistant to the High School Superintendent and the Founding Director of the National Academy Foundation Programs in the Boston Public Schools.

    Education

    Paula holds a BA from Harvard University and an M.Ed. in Teaching and Curriculum from the Harvard Graduate School of Education.

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    Alexus Forte is a Consultant who brings a unique range of experience to Lindauer. Alexus’s professional experience is centered around customer service and business consulting. Her background in these fields is essential to the search process, using her networking and communications skills to develop rapport with candidates and clients.

    Along with being a business owner and strategist, Alexus has worked in many client-facing roles throughout her career. As a Realtor in New York, Alexus built an extensive portfolio in an extremely competitive market. Her success in real estate is attributed to her creative outreach approach and networking abilities. Alexus has also been a flight attendant since 2016. In the travel industry, she has expanded her knowledge of customer service and hospitality, flying both domestically and internationally.

    Alexus is a graduate of Nova Southeastern University in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, with a degree in business and humanities.

    Brandalyn Patton serves as Senior Search Administrator, acting as the liaison between Lindauer clients, candidates and consultants. She provides high-level strategic coordination and detailed administrative, client service and communications support to facilitate each search, balancing an array of clients and assignments. This role provides an exciting opportunity for Brandalyn to combine her background in fundraising and workforce development.

    Brandalyn began her career in development as a consulting projects manager for Dini Partners, a Houston-based fundraising consulting firm, working exclusively with nonprofit organizations. She has worked for many years in administrative, development, and research positions supporting major gift officers and teams at Rice University, the Bipartisan Policy Center, Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, and The University of Texas at Austin. In these roles, she assisted in coordinating prospect research, prospect management, database management, and donor stewardship.

    She has also served on the staffs of Workforce Investment Boards in Houston, TX, and San Diego, CA, working closely with educational, nonprofit, and government organizations to develop a strong regional workforce.

    Brandalyn holds a Bachelor’s in social work from the University of Texas at Austin and a Master of Public Affairs degree from the LBJ School of Public Affairs.

    Carol Tosh is a seasoned research and data professional who takes a holistic, people-centered approach to executive search. With over 10 years of experience in education and health and human services, she brings a deep understanding of the leadership needs for a wide range of organizations.

    Carol’s passion for relational-driven research has been an integral part of her success. She sees herself as a detective, synthesizing unique combinations of search criteria—skills, backgrounds, and qualities—to uncover exceptional and diverse groups of candidates that meet each client’s goals. With a lifelong commitment to learning and growth, Carol applies a fresh perspective to every search, immersing herself in the details of each new project and equipping herself with an impressive breadth of industry-specific knowledge.

    Expertise

    Carol’s expertise lies at the intersection of data analysis and human-centric methodologies. Her approach to research is both meticulous and conceptual, allowing her to balance highly specific requirements for candidates with the need to align with the larger mission and goals of an organization. Her collaborative and integrated approach plays a critical role in Lindauer’s ability to present the best possible range of candidates to our clients.

    Experience

    Before joining Lindauer, Carol worked as a Speech Language Pathologist with Houston ISD, where she managed a team of 26 SLP professionals, serving thousands of students across nearly 300 campuses.

    Transitioning into the realm of research and data management, Carol has leveraged her ability to solve problems for and across communities with diverse sets of needs and backgrounds to bring an innovative and cooperative approach to the Lindauer research process. Her combination of adaptability and organizational competence drawn from her career in public education administration and service has allowed Carol to excel at bridging the gap between data analysis and human experience.

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    Carol holds an MA in Communication Sciences and Disorders from the University of Houston.

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