Jeff Mallory (37) Executive Vice President Saint Vincent College Jeff Mallory stands 7 feet tall. While some may attempt to hide that kind of height with hunched shoulders and hushed tones, Mallory embraces it. He figures if he can be seen, he can be heard. And if he can be heard, he can make a difference. “It’s an easy conversation…
Jessica Ruffin (38) Senior Leader for Equity and Inclusion Allegheny County Department of Human Services When COVID-19 made its way to Western Pennsylvania in the spring, Jessica Ruffin, the senior leader for equity and inclusion at the Allegheny County Department of Human Services, immediately knew there were communities that would not fare well, including the city’s Black, Latinx and LGBTQ…
Jesús Origel (33) Campus Minister University of Pittsburgh Student Athletes Coalition for Christian Outreach Jesús Origel has spent much of his career working with youth as they transition from high school to college — or from the minor leagues to the big leagues. It’s a chaotic time, and many who are in the throes of it report feeling a sense…
José A. Diaz (37) Senior Director Community Outreach and Impact YMCA of Greater Pittsburgh To many Pittsburghers, the YMCA is a gym and a place to swim. But José Diaz, the Y’s senior director of community outreach and impact, says the organization is really whatever the community needs it to be. And in the worst days of the pandemic, what…
Julie Mallis (30) City Director Repair the World Pittsburgh At Carnegie Mellon, Julie Mallis enrolled in the university’s BXA program, which allows students the freedom to fuse multiple majors and fields of inquiry. Mallis’ choice of art and anthropology earned them a lot of questions, namely: “What does art have to do with anthropology?” and “What are you going to…
Katie Le (28) Vice President, Treasury Management Account Manager PNC Financial Services Group Shortly after the end of the Vietnam War, Katie Le’s parents left South Vietnam for the United States, bringing along a set of strong family values and instituting traditional family gatherings — many 30 to 40 people deep — that shaped the way Le views the world….
Kelley Baumgartel (36) Assistant Professor Duquesne University Kelley Baumgartel is an assistant professor at Duquesne University and the founder of and principal investigator at the Human Milk Science Institute and Biobank. She’s also a nurse, which surprises those who still see nurses as mere assistants in the world of medicine. “Nurses are at the table now,” Baumgartel says. “We’re taking…
Kelsie Mozzoni LaBarbera (32) Head of Discovery/Preclinical Management and Research Scientist I Cognition Therapeutics Inc. After watching several family members die of cancer, Kelsie Mozzoni LaBarbera vowed she would dedicate her career to finding a cure. Then she discovered the brain. “I thought the brain was so magnificent,” she says. So today, instead of finding a cure for cancer, she…
Khamil Scantling (32) Founder and CEO Cocoapreneur Pgh LLC Cocoapreneur, Khamil Scantling’s cleverly named Black business consultancy, grew out of ire. “I really was just angry at the state of things,” Scantling says. “There was incident after incident and I think I just noticed people asking, ‘Where are the leaders?’ and ‘Who’s going to help?’ I thought, ‘maybe it’s time…
Laura Poskin (37) Executive Director Age-Friendly Greater Pittsburgh When she was in her 20s, living on her own for the first time in New York City, Laura Poskin spent a lot of time talking on the phone with her grandfather, who spent much of his time sitting in his recliner at his Ebensburg, Pa., home. Poskin thought it was incredibly…
Luz E Blandon (36) Lead Case Manager Holy Family Institute As the lead case manager in the Holy Family Institute’s Journey of Hope program, it’s Luz Blandon’s job to ensure that minors who arrive in the United States from other countries get the support they need to thrive in and connect with their new communities. It’s a mission that Blandon,…
Megan Krider (35) Manager, Affordable Housing & Community Development FHLBank Pittsburgh Megan Krider started her career in child welfare. It may seem a world away from her current role as the manager of affordable housing and community development at FHLBank, but Krider sees one as vital to the other. “Housing is truly foundational and instrumental in so many outcomes,” Krider…
Melissa J. Stein (38) Financial Advisor Stein Wealth Advisors For decades, financial planning and advising have been a man’s world. In fact, only about 20 percent of all financial advisors are female. It’s ironic, says Melissa Stein, the co-founder of Stein Wealth Advisors, because women make fabulous financial advisors. “It’s really about having a personal relationship with your clients and…
Natalie Bencivenga (36) Journalist, Media Personality and Digital Media Consultant For years, Natalie Bencivenga was known for writing the SEEN column for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, where she not only showcased the city’s galas and glamour but also the good work of those engaged in creating more vibrant communities. Leaving that role in the spring has offered Bencivenga the freedom to…
Robert Tuñón (35) Associate, Architect Rothschild Doyno Collaborative It’s the great irony of good design — communities that most need the service are often unlikely to have the means to attain it. It’s part of what makes architects and architectural firms such valuable team players in communities and what drives Robert Tuñón’s devotion to service. Tuñón is an architect with…
Ronald Coursey Jr. (39) District Athletic Director Woodland Hills School District There are hundreds of minority athletes playing at 5A and 6A schools in Western Pennsylvania, but there are only two African American athletic directors leading the way: Sean Simmons at Pine-Richland and Ron Coursey at Woodland Hills. Coursey says that’s just not enough. “All people of all demographics need…
Sarah Boal (38) Founder SB Global Like many Pittsburghers, Sarah Boal was hit with a COVID-19-related job loss. Over the summer, the Brother’s Brother Foundation, where she worked on disaster response and strategic initiatives, was forced to part with much of its staff. In the wake of that upheaval, Boal launched a consulting business that draws on her years of…
Sharise Nance (39) Licensed Clinical Social Worker, Author and Entrepreneur HandinHand Counseling Services Vitamin C Healing Sharise Nance is a social worker, counselor, author and entrepreneur who focuses her attention on providing care for healthcare professionals, social workers, caregivers and leaders. In other words, Nance helps the helpers. Lately — and particularly during a global pandemic — she’s found that…
Stephanie Chernay (38) Chief Operating Officer, Neighborhood Allies While she was an undergraduate at the University of Pittsburgh earning a degree in urban planning, Stephanie Chernay worked at City Theatre. The job not only inspired a love of the arts, but watching what was once just words on paper come to life on stage also gave her a new way…
Victoria Humphrey (28) MD Candidate Class of 2021 University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine In her not-so-distant Florida pageant days, when Victoria Humphrey reigned as Miss University of Miami and Miss Winter Park, she developed a program to help back her platform. She called it Apples 4 Education. It revolved around visiting K-12 classrooms — many of them in disadvantaged…
Allyce Pinchback-Johnson (33) Founder and CEO Pinchback Consulting LLC Allyce Pinchback-Johnson was born and raised in Pittsburgh and educated in Pittsburgh Public Schools, so she has a lot of love for the city. “But I also know the city doesn’t always love me and people who look like me,” she says. So she set out to be, as she puts…
Abby Fudor (38) Managing Artistic Director Arcade Comedy Theater Before she had her first child in January, Abby Fudor birthed a different kind of baby — Arcade Comedy Theater, the city’s first nonprofit theater dedicated to the art of improv. After seven years in operation, Arcade was supposed to be the kid Fudor didn’t have to worry about. Then the…
PHOTO: NETFLIX Pittsburgh is becoming a familiar place for Denzel Washington and Viola Davis. After filming August Wilson’s “Fences” in Pittsburgh four years ago, Davis was back here in the summer of 2019 to star in another of Wilson’s works, “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom,” which Washington co-produced. Netflix recently released the trailer for “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom,” which begins streaming…
PHOTOS COURTESY 12 PEERS THEATER Video conferencing has become the frequent site for all types of gatherings. Family dinners. Work meetings. Catching up with friends. Semi-fictional summits of spooky-minded characters delving at the truth behind notorious local legends. Admittedly, that last one isn’t quite common. It is, however, the new reality for “Mythburgh,” the site-specific series from 12 Peers Theater….
