Leighann Bacher (30)
Founder, Getting Pittsburgh Vaccinated Facebook Page; Editorial Director, Renegade Marketing

When the COVID-19 vaccines first came out, getting one was not easy. Leighann Bacher was struggling to find appointments for family members when she came across a tip on a friend’s Facebook page about a local pharmacy clinic.

“I kind of just had this little bell go off — maybe I could create a Facebook page and create a community and share where to get vaccines and help people register,” she says.

She hoped the Getting Pittsburgh Vaccinated Facebook Page would help those in her Hampton community; the page eventually grew to more than 40,000 members.

The mother of two juggled her full-time job as editorial director at Renegade Marketing as managing the Facebook page became like another full-time job. The page also began connecting homebound individuals to pharmacies and health care providers that could deliver vaccinations.

“I was seeing all these nurses and doctors on the front lines and I kind of felt helpless, ‘What can little me do?’ And looking back, this was kind of my [way] to contribute,” she says.