2026 40 Under 40 Honoree: Patrick Joyal (35)
“Personally, success means the people I love can count on me — and that I still find the world interesting and unfinished.”
PHOTO BY LAURA PETRILLA
Patrick Joyal
Director of External Affairs for the Pittsburgh Pirates
Patrick Joyal’s career is rooted in one major belief: that people should not have to guess whether major institutions care about them.
As the first-ever director of external affairs for the Pittsburgh Pirates, Joyal aims to help the team engage with the public in a way that lets fans feel its presence and impact.
Under his guidance, the Pirates have expanded work to address food insecurity in communities located around PNC Park on the North Shore, invested in youth ballfields through Fields for Kids, helped to revitalize Downtown by uplifting local small businesses and worked to build relationships with community, nonprofit and neighborhood leaders.
Having come from the Governor’s Office as a regional director, Joyal saw firsthand the ways in which Pennsylvania communities, especially rural ones, interact with Harrisburg.
Following the 2023 derailment of the Norfolk Southern train at the Pennsylvania-Ohio border, Joyal remained accessible to affected community leaders, listened directly to residents and helped to ensure rural concerns reached the administration.
