Girls Coalition of Southwestern Pennsylvania Conference
for Professionals who Work with Girls

Speaker Bios

Kristin Anderson Moore, Ph.D.

Dr. Moore is a social psychologist who studies trends in child and family well-being, positive development, the determinants and consequences of early sexual activity and parenthood, fatherhood, the effects of family structure and social change on children, and the effects of public policies and poverty on children. Dr. Moore was a founding member of the Task Force on Effective Programs and Research at the National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy, a member of the NICHD Advisory Council, and served as a member of the bipartisan federal Advisory on Welfare Indicators. In 1999, Dr. Moore was awarded the Foundation for Child Development's Centennial Award for her achievements on behalf of children. She also was designated the 2002 Society for Adolescent Medicine Visiting Scholar and received the 2005 American Sociological Association’s Distinguished Contribution Award from the Section on Children and Youth.  Moore was executive director and then president of Child Trends from 1992 through 2006, when she chose to return to full-time research.  Currently, Moore heads the Youth Development research area, where she is working to expand information on programs that work, implementation approaches that are effective, and approaches to evaluation, and to share knowledge with practitioners, funders, journalists, and policy makers.

Heather Arnet

Heather Arnet is Executive Director of the Women and Girls Foundation (WGF) and an Elected School Board Director of the Pittsburgh Public Schools.  The mission of WGF is to achieve equality for women and girls in Southwest Pennsylvania. At WGF, Arnet has spearheaded efforts to increase women’s representation on the public and corporate boards of Pittsburgh and in elected office. Heather and the Foundation recently received National and International media attention for their successful “Girlcott” of Abercrombie & Fitch appearing on NBC’s Today Show, CNN, Fox News, ABC and CBS News as well as National Public Radio, and the BBC. In 2006 Arnet and the Foundation received awards from the National Organization of Women and the International Women’s Funding Network for their triumphant youth-led Girlcott and for their work in energizing a new generation of women leaders.

Arnet has been identified as one of Pittsburgh’s “Top 40 under 40” by Pittsburgh Magazine, as one the “Top Twelve Noteworthy Business Leaders of 2006” by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and received the Diamond Award, for “Outstanding CEO Leadership” by the Pittsburgh Business Times in April 2008.

In addition to her work with the Foundation, Arnet serves as a Board Member of Grantmakers of Western Pennsylvania, and Advisory Board Member of The Forbes Funds. She is an active member of NOW, The Women’s Funding Network and Women in Philanthropy and former Regional Vice President of the Pennsylvania Women’s Campaign Fund.

Arnet has her BA degree from Carnegie Mellon University in Literary and Cultural Studies and Drama. In addition to her activist and philanthropy work, Arnet also writes and directs feminist theatre. Most recently Arnet’s play "Yo’Mama!" (about the challenges and joys of modern motherhood) was awarded a grant from the Pennsylvania Council of the Arts and the Sprout Fund and has been produced in Pittsburgh, Seattle, and Alaska.

Leslie J. Bonci, M.P.H., R.D. LDN, CSSD

Director, Sports Medicine Nutrition
Department of Orthopedic Surgery and the Center for Sports Medicine
University of Pittsburgh Medical Center

Leslie Bonci is a registered dietitian with a master's degree in public health from the University of Pittsburgh where she is now an adjunct assistant professor of nutrition.  She is also a Board certified Specialist in Sports Nutrition. She has expertise in nutrition therapy for weight management, digestive disorders, cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes and eating disorders.

Bonci serves as the sports dietitian for the Pittsburgh Steelers, a position she has held for the past 16 years, the Pittsburgh Penguins, Pittsburgh Pirates, Milwaukee Brewers, The University of Pittsburgh Athletic Department , and the Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre. She also consults to local and national schools and universities, including the University of Texas on topics such as eating disorders and sports nutrition and is a consultant to the NCAA. She is part of the USOC Sports nutrition network. Leslie consults with the WNBA and USA Women’s Rugby and works with 45 high schools in Western Pennsylvania as well as to gymnastics clubs, swimming clubs, and sports camps. Her passion is promoting healthy body image, healthy eating habits and optimizing performance. Leslie is also on the Gatorade Sports Science Institute sports nutrition board.

She is a contributing author to the sports nutrition manual by the American Dietetic Association and has written chapters for other textbooks including DeLee and Drez’s Orthopedic Sports Medicine, ACSM’s Primary Care Sports Medicine, the IOC Basketball Handbook, and Integrated Women’s Health: Holistic Approaches for Comprehensive Care. She co-authored Total Fitness for Women and is the author of the American Dietetic Association Guide to Better Digestion. Leslie was guest editor for Clinics in Sports Medicine:  Sports Nutrition Update, 2007.  She also writes regularly for Training and Conditioning Journal and sits on the editorial board of the Journal for Athletic Training. Leslie served as an author on the 2007 National Athletic Trainer’s Association position paper on Disordered eating in Athletes. She has written a Sports Nutrition manual for coaches available in the spring of 2009.

Melanie R. Brown

Melanie R. Brown is the Education Program officer at The Heinz Endowments. Her duties include grant-making activities to improve primary and secondary education in mainstream and choice schools, teacher quality, school leadership and youth engagement in the Pittsburgh region. Melanie also is a member of three internal working groups at the Endowments: Pathways to Educational Excellence, the Evaluation team and the African-American Boys and Men Task Force. Outside of her work at the Endowments, Melanie sits on the steering committees for the Girls Coalition of Southwestern Pennsylvania, the Pittsburgh Public Schools 9th Grade Nation and the Pittsburgh Science and Technology Academy.  She serves as an advisor to the United Way's Motivating Kids to Succeed in School Initiative and was recently appointed to the Pennsylvania State Workforce Investment Board by Governor Ed Rendell. 

Kristen Ace Burns

Kristen is a Program Officer with The Grable Foundation, which is dedicated to improving the lives of children in southwestern Pennsylvania.   Ms. Burns works to identify and support high-performing nonprofits that target the needs of the region’s children and their families.  She leads Grable’s work on early childhood issues including early learning programs, professional development strategies, and support for parents of young children.  In 2008 she was appointed by Governor Rendell to serve on Pennsylvania’s Early Learning Council.

Prior to joining The Grable Foundation, Ms. Burns served as President of REDF (formerly The Roberts Enterprise Development Fund), a San Francisco-based nonprofit that provides financial investments and forms alliances with a portfolio of businesses in order to employ people who would otherwise likely remain in poverty.  Previously, she has also served as an Associate with Mercer Management Consulting in San Francisco and as Program Manager for The Advisory Board Foundation (now CityBridge Foundation) in Washington, D.C.

Ms. Burns holds an A.B. in History with a Certificate in American Studies from Princeton University, and an M.B.A. with a Certificate in Nonprofit Management from the Stanford Graduate School of Business.  She lives in Pittsburgh with her husband and two children.

Judy Greenwald Cohen

Judy Greenwald Cohen is the Executive Director of the Jewish Women’s Foundation of Greater Pittsburgh. The Jewish Women’s Foundation was founded in 2000 to create lasting social change in the lives of women and girls in the Jewish and general communities. As the foundation’s first Executive Director, she facilitated the development and implementation of the JWF’s grantmaking and governance processes and has helped grow the foundation from 32 trustees to its current level of 102. 

Prior to her work at the JWF, Cohen had over twenty years’ experience working in both the for-profit and non-profit sectors including positions at AT&T, ServiceWare, a software company in Pittsburgh, and ElderVision, a company devoted to providing internet access to seniors.

In addition to her work at the Jewish Women’s Foundation, Cohen serves on the board of National Council of Jewish Women, Pittsburgh and is a past president of the section. She also serves as a Commissioner for the National NCJW. She is a Co-Chair of the Girls Coalition of Southwestern Pennsylvania, co-chairs the advisory board of Conductive Education of Pittsburgh, which provides programming for children with motor disabilities, and co-chairs the Special Needs Task Force for the Agency for Jewish Learning. She is a member of the Jewish Residential Services Youth Transition Committee. She previously served on the board of the Center for Creative Play, an inclusive play center for children of all abilities.

Aimee Cox, Ph.D.

Aimee Cox is an assistant professor of African American and African Studies and an urban anthropologist. She received her Ph.D. in Cultural Anthropology from the University of Michigan where she also held a postdoctoral fellowship with the Center for the Education of Women. Professor Cox’s research and teaching interests include urban youth culture; public anthropology; social mobility; non-profit organizations; black girlhood; and performance. Her most recent work explores the strategies young women in low-income urban communities use to become economically and socially mobile.

Professor Cox is a former director of a homeless shelter where she created several innovative youth development programs that provided services to young women throughout Detroit. Through a two-year collaboration with Ewha Women’s University, she introduced these innovative educational models to scholars and social service providers in Seoul, Korea. She is currently completing a book entitled, OutClass: Black Girls and the Politics of Self-Improvement.

Dee Delaney

Dee Delaney assumed her role as the first Executive Director of FISA Foundation in 1996. The mission of the Foundation is to build a culture of respect and improve the quality of life for women, girls, and people with disabilities in southwestern Pennsylvania.  Dee has championed FISA’s vision of a community where these three populations reach their potential, are safe and healthy, and participate fully in community life.

This mission and vision have shaped Dee’s role as a community leader and change agent. She views the Foundation’s grantees as partners and fosters critical connections among people, ideas, and resources. Together with her board and staff, Dee has created a culture of openness and regularly reaches out to creatively solve community problems. In recent years she has worked tirelessly to improve access to healthcare and dental care for people with significant disabilities, to increase the number of people with disabilities on nonprofit boards, to promote websites accessibility, and to raise awareness about disability issues.

Prior to her tenure with FISA, Dee was the Director of Harmarville Rehabilitation Center Foundation. Her responsibilities there included closing the Foundation after Harmarville was sold to HealthSouth in 1996. The proceeds of that sale became the endowment of the FISA Foundation.

Dee’s outside activities include serving on the UPMC Disabilities Resource Center Advisory Council and as vice president of the national board of the Disability Funders Network. She is a member of the advisory committees of Magee-Womens Hospital Center for Women with Disabilities, University of Pittsburgh Rehabilitation Counseling Program, and Achieva Health Policy Forum on Dental Care. Dee is a former board member of Grantmakers of Western Pennsylvania and the Health Policy Institute. She is a graduate of Leadership Pittsburgh XXII and Saint Mary’s College, Notre Dame, Indiana.

Adriana Dobrzycka

Adriana Dobrzycka is a Program Officer at the Women and Girls Foundation (WGF). As a Program Officer, she assists the Foundation with its grantmaking and outreach efforts that aim to increase the rights of women and girls in Southwest Pennsylvania. Adriana graduated from St. Cloud State University, with a B.A. in Anthropology and Political Science, and has most recently completed a joint-degree Master’s program at the University of Pittsburgh, Graduate School of Public Health (GSPH) and the Graduate School of Public and International Affairs (GSPIA). Adriana is from Florence, Italy and she brings to WGF a background of human rights research and advocacy, having collaborated with Cultural Survival, The Advocates for Human Rights and the South Asia Human Rights Documentation Center. Adriana also serves on the Steering Committee of the Girls Coalition of Southwestern PA and in her spare time, she volunteers with agencies such as Operation Safety Net (OSN) and Pitt FORGE.

Gloria Forouzan

Gloria Forouzan specializes in all aspects of project management, including political campaigns, marketing, communications and event planning. Forouzan, an Hispanic American, has Minority/Women Business Enterprise certification from Allegheny County.

In 2004 Gloria founded Run, Baby, Run, a one day workshop designed to teach young people, women and minorities how to run for elected office in western Pennsylvania. In 2006, Gloria led Run Baby Run's outreach and PR initiative to elect women from western Pennsylvania to the State House. The effort included recruiting, training, campaign management and fund raising for eight female candidates.  Three of these women were elected in the November 2006 General Election.

Forouzan's professional work includes serving as Deputy Campaign Manager on City Councilman Bill Peduto's Mayoral campaigns in 2005 and 2006.  She also served as Campaign Manager for Patrick Dowd's 2003 Pittsburgh School Board campaign.  In 2007 Mr. Dowd won election to Pittsburgh City Council.

Gloria has been a Faculty member for the nonpartisan Center For Progressive Leadership since 2005.  She trains and coaches emerging political leaders, from across the state, as part of CPL's nine month Fellowship Program.

Susan Frietsche

Susan Frietsche is a Senior Staff Attorney at the Women’s Law Project, a nonprofit women’s legal advocacy organization with offices in Pittsburgh and Philadelphia. Since joining the Law Project staff in 1992, she has litigated, lobbied, and organized on behalf of low-income women, domestic violence survivors, reproductive health care providers and their patients, teenage women needing confidential abortions, custodial parents owed child support, lesbian and gay parents, incarcerated women, and pregnant women excluded from substance abuse treatment.

In addition to her work at the Women’s Law Project, Ms. Frietsche is an adjunct professor at the University of Pittsburgh School of Law where she teaches a course called “Reproduction, Sexuality and the Law. She also taught a seminar on sex discrimination at the University of Pennsylvania Law School. Ms. Frietsche is the co-author of “Preserving the Core of Roe:  Reflections on Planned Parenthood v. Casey,” published in the Yale Journal of Law & Feminism. She is a graduate of Temple Law School and Bryn Mawr College.

Sara Goodkind, Ph.D.

Sara Goodkind has a PhD in Social Work and Sociology and MSW from the University of Michigan.  She is assistant professor at the University of Pittsburgh School of Social Work, where she teaches courses in social work practice with diverse populations, feminist social work, global perspectives in social work, and qualitative research methods.  Dr. Goodkind’s research focuses on programs for girls in the juvenile justice system and young people aging out of the child welfare system.

Betty J. Hill

Betty is the Executive Director of the Persad Center, Inc. Persad Center is the nation’s second oldest counseling center specializing in services to the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community and services to persons with HIV/AIDS. The agency is a licensed mental health and substance abuse treatment provider.  

Ms. Hill is a Master of Public Management graduate from Carnegie Mellon University, and a Bachelor of Science graduate of Psychology from Indiana University of Pennsylvania. She is a member of the Center for Research on Health and Sexual Orientation and adjunct faculty at the University of Pittsburgh’s Graduate School of Public Health. She has worked in the field of behavioral health services for 29 years.

Lindsay Hyde

Lindsay Hyde founded Strong Women, Strong Girls (SWSG) during her freshman year at Harvard University. The mission of SWSG is to utilize the lessons learned from strong women throughout history to encourage girls and young women to become strong women themselves. Upon her graduation in 2004, Lindsay incorporated SWSG as a not for profit agency and began serving as the Executive Director. Now, SWSG engages over 500 at-risk girls annually in two cities: Boston, MA and Pittsburgh, PA.  Based the program’s success, this Spring, Strong Women, Strong Girls will be launching programming in Miami-Dade County, Florida.

Lindsay's leadership of SWSG has been widely recognized, being featured in Glamour Magazine, Seventeen Magazine, and Harvard Magazine. Lindsay is also the recipient of the Do Something BRICK Award for Social Entrepreneurship and the Upstander Award from Facing History and Ourselves. Most recently, Lindsay received a National Jefferson Award for the Greatest Public Service by an Individual 35 or Younger, joining the ranks of CityYear founer Alan Khazei and Teach for America founder Wendy Kopp.

Leslie M. Kantor

Assistant Professor of Clinical & Population Health of Population and Family Health,  Mailman School of Public Health

Leslie Kantor, MPH, is a nationally recognized leader in the fields of public health, sexuality education and non-profit organizational development. She has extensive experience as a professional educator and trainer as well as expertise in working directly with children, adolescents, young adults and parents. From 2004-2006, Kantor was President of Kantor Consulting, a public health-focused consulting firm involved in improving health in disadvantaged communities, identifying new ways to prevent family homelessness, and engaging teens to become involved in advocacy and public policy. Professor Kantor is responsible for teaching "Management of Healthcare Organizations" and "Program Planning for Sexual & Reproductive Health and other Public Health Programs." She is also a widely sought-after keynote speaker and workshop leader and has appeared frequently in the media on such programs as The Daily Show with John Stewart, The CBS Evening News and the Weekend Today Show.

Lynn M. Knezevich

Lynn M. Knezevich has spent her entire professional career working with at risk children and families in the Pittsburgh area.

A native of Clairton, Pa., Ms. Knezevich graduated from the University of Pittsburgh in 1976 and received her MSW from Pitt in 1979.  She began her career at Holy Family Institute in 1977 where she worked in various capacities in residential treatment.  She also worked at Allegheny East MH/MR where she developed a treatment foster care program for children with emotional difficulties.  Ms. Knezevich then spent 16 years at Auberle, a McKeesport based multi-service agency where she developed residential, foster care, family preservation, education and mental health programs.  She became the Executive Director of Auberle in 1995 until she left early in 2002 to assist Gwen Elliott in establishing Gwen’s Girls, an agency dedicated to empowering girls, ages 8-18 to have productive futures through holistic, gender specific programs and experiences. Ms. Knezevich is the Executive Director of Gwen’s Girls.

Ms. Knezevich is a certified Peer Reviewer and Team Leader for COA (Council on Accreditation), an international body that accredits social service agencies. She is a Board member of the Pennsylvania Council of Services for Children, Youth and Family Services.  Locally, she is a member of the Children’s Cabinet, GPNP Advisory Team, Diakonia Ministries of Homewood –Brushton, and the Steering Committee of the Girls Coalition of Southwestern Pennsylvania.
She is married to Marc Knezevich and is the mother of two daughters.

Ayana A. Ledford

Ayana A. Ledford joined Carnegie Mellon University’s H. John Heinz III College School of Public Policy and Management as the Executive Director of PROGRESS (Program of Research and Outreach on Gender Equity in Society) in January 2006. At Carnegie Mellon University, Ms. Ledford is responsible for executing the mission of PROGRESS which is to undertake and disseminate research on issues related to gender equality and to develop partnerships to provide programs for girls and young women. One way PROGRESS intends to do so is by developing innovating tools to teach girls how to negotiate. In addition to her work with girls, Ms. Ledford led a number of negotiation workshops and presentations at institutions such as PASSHE Women's Consortium at IUP, Harvard University, Slippery Rock University, Coro Center for Civic Leadership, University of Pittsburgh, Carnegie Mellon University, Society of Women Engineers,  and Penn State Greater Allegheny to name a few.

Prior to starting with Carnegie Mellon University, Ms. Ledford worked for the Bloomfield-Garfield Corporation (in partnership with Wireless Neighborhoods) in an effort to expand and coordinate community efforts with the Pittsburgh Public Schools in order to target and remedy the pronounced literacy deficiencies of the city’s African-American and lower income children. Her extensive experience working with nonprofit organizations with varying sizes and clients throughout Southwestern Pennsylvania on areas such as board development, business planning, fund development, and organizational effectiveness was acquired during her professional career as the Research and Program Associate for the Bayer Center for Nonprofit Management at Robert Morris University. 

Her degrees include a BA in Sociology from Dickinson College and a MSW from the University of Pittsburgh with a focus on community organizing and social administration.

Allyson Lowe, Ph.D.

Allyson Lowe is Director of the Pennsylvania Center for Women, Politics, and Public Policy (PCWPPP) and Assistant Professor of Political Science at Chatham University. Previously, she held the Elsie Hillman Chair in Politics at Chatham. As Director of the Pennsylvania Center for Women, Politics, and Public Policy, her work includes campus programming, curriculum development, research coordination, and community outreach and engagement activities that encourage women’s participation in public leadership.

As a member of the political science faculty, she offers courses in comparative politics, women and politics, European integration, and international relations. Her research interests include these same fields along with political institutions, leadership and policy development. She recently received a Fulbright Award for the German Studies Program.

Kilolo Luckett

Kilolo Luckett has ten years of experience in the arts, community and economic development fields, working in both non-profit and for-profit sectors. Through her many professional and volunteer efforts, she has sought to invigorate the cultural, economic and social landscapes of Pittsburgh. Currently, Ms. Luckett is the Director of Development at YouthPlaces, a youth-based organization that provides quality afterschool academic enrichment programs, leadership development training, and health and wellness activities to at-risk youth.

Over the past decade, Ms. Luckett has worked extensively in the cultural scene in Pittsburgh. As founder of Making A Scene (MAS) in 2001, Ms. Luckett worked with The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust, The Andy Warhol Museum and Manchester Craftsmen’s Guild to initiate a collaborative project; the result was a 10-day interdisciplinary art event held in downtown Pittsburgh’s Cultural District that promoted local artists and small arts groups. She was selected in 2003 by The Pittsburgh Foundation and The Heinz Endowments to participate as an advisor for The Creativity Project, a research and evaluation assessment of Pittsburgh’s artistic and creative environment of individual artists and small arts organizations.

Through her involvement in real estate and business development, Ms. Luckett has gained significant experience in the economic sector. Ms. Luckett has her real estate license. She worked at Cool Space Locator, a non-profit commercial real estate company that focused on small businesses in Pittsburgh’s walkable neighborhoods. She did marketing and business development at Urban Design Associates, a local architecture firm. In 2005, The Heinz Endowments selected Ms. Luckett to participate on the Pittsburgh/Chattanooga Civic Design Exchange with the task of evaluating best practices in civic design in Chattanooga and to help implement similar projects in Pittsburgh.

Ms. Luckett has been a determined social activist in the Pittsburgh community. Currently, she serves on the program committee for the 2009 Girls Coalition Conference. Ms. Luckett is a volunteer Catapult Coach, a program of the Women and Girls Foundation that develops and fosters women’s negotiating skills. In 2005, she volunteered her services as an advisor to a two-year pilot program that focused on the philanthropy of teenage girls. The program was called Girls As Grantmakers and was a project of the Women and Girls Foundation, FISA Foundation, Eden Hall Foundation and the Jewish Women’s Foundation. She has also participated in FLAME (Female Leadership And Mentoring Endeavor) as a mentor through the YWCA.  She has taught girls basketball at Winchester Thurston and Ellis Schools. She is a past board member, governance committee member and 1st vice-chair of the Community Design Center of Pittsburgh and Pressley Ridge Schools, as well as an advisory council member for the Women and Girls Foundation. In 2003, Ms. Luckett graduated from Leadership Pittsburgh’s Leadership Development Initiative X class.

In 2007, Ms. Luckett was named The Changer by Whirl Magazine as one of Pittsburgh’s Young Guard, a feature that recognized her as a young leader of social and cultural change in the Pittsburgh region. She was the recipient of the Women in the Material World Award in 2006, an honor given by the Women and Girls Foundation for her contributions in economic development. She has been featured locally in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Pittsburgh Business Times, Pittsburgh Quarterly, KDKA- TV and several national media outlets.

Ms. Luckett attended the University of Pittsburgh for History of Art and Architecture. She has traveled to Europe, North Africa, and Mexico, where she spent a summer in Guadalajara teaching English to underserved children and building houses for low-income families. In her spare time, she enjoys supporting independent designers and collecting art.

La'Tasha D. Mayes

La'Tasha D. Mayes is the Founder of and a Community Organizer with New Voices Pittsburgh: Women of Color for Reproductive Justice – the only human rights and social justice activist organization in Pittsburgh for women of color, led by women of color and about women of color. NVP primarily serves women of color 12-35 and provides education about violence in the lives of women of color, environmental justice and civic engagement. During Presidential Election 2008, NVP conducted the Voice Your Vote! Project with the PA Center for Women, Politics and Public Policy to engage, educate and encourage young/women/of color to vote and become civically engaged in the public affairs of the Pittsburgh community earlier in their lives and with greater skill.

La'Tasha also works at the Center for Victims of Violence and Crime (CVVC) as a Trainer / Community Educator counseling young women and young men in Pittsburgh Public High Schools, providing presentations and trainings on CVVC services, sexual assault and elder abuse to the community at-large and co-developing the EVE [Enlightened Voices for the Environment] Project addressing systemic violence at the intersection of the ecological, built and personal environments.

La'Tasha serves on the Management Circle of SisterSong Women of Color Reproductive Health Collective in Atlanta, as President of the Urban League Young Professionals of Greater Pittsburgh and on the Board of Directors of the Urban League of Greater Pittsburgh.

La'Tasha graduated from the University of Pittsburgh with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration and earned a Master of Science in Public Policy and Management in Reproductive Health and Justice Policy at the Heinz School of Carnegie Mellon University. La'Tasha completed the Coro Fellows Program in Public Affairs (FPPA), instructed the Coro Community Problem-Solving (CPS) Fellowship and graduated from the inaugural class of the Center for Progressive Leadership Pennsylvania Political Leaders Fellowship Program.

La'Tasha is a 2005 recipient of the Pittsburgh Urban Magnet Project (PUMP) and WQED Multimedia 40 Under 40 Award, was published in the 2007 Reproductive Justice edition of off our backs: the feminist newsjournal with her article, "Reproductive Justice: The Ultimate Political Countermove for Black Women" and was featured in and on the back cover of the book, Trappings: Stories of Women, Power and Clothing, published by Rutgers University Press.

Valerie McDonald Roberts

Valerie was first elected in 1989 to the Pittsburgh School Board.  She served for 5 years, including one year as President.  She was elected in 1994 to Pittsburgh City Council.  She was the first African American woman to be elected to this position.  She served as President Pro-Tempore and as Chairperson of the Committee on Finance and Budget, the first woman ever in the history of the City of Pittsburgh to serve as chair of this committee.  In 2001, she was elected to Recorder of Deeds of Allegheny County, and was the first African American in the history of the County to be elected to a County Row Office.  Today she serves as appointed Manager of this expanded office, renamed Department of Real Estate.

In June 2008, she was elected to President of the statewide Pennsylvania Recorders of Deeds Association, a first for an African American.

In November 2005, Valerie McDonald Roberts announced her candidacy to run statewide for Lieutenant Governor in the May 2006 Democratic Primary, another first for an African American woman.  It was her first foray into statewide politics.  With very limited funds, and in a four way race which included the incumbent, Valerie came in second, actively campaigning in 25 counties across the state.

Valerie McDonald Roberts’ education includes a B.S. in Medical Technology and M.S. in Forensic Chemistry, both from the University of Pittsburgh, Summa cum Laude.  She is a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.  She has served on numerous boards and has been honored with a number of awards, including Carlow College Woman of Spirit, and University of Pittsburgh Legacy Laureate 2000.  Politically, Valerie served as a member of the U.S. Presidential Electoral College of 1996 (Clinton) and 2008 (Obama), and as Delegate for the 1996, 2000, 2004, and 2008 Democratic National Conventions.  She was a political coordinator for the 2004 Kerry/Edwards Presidential campaign, 2006 Governor Rendell re-election campaign, 2007 Judge C. Darnell Jones campaign for Pa. Supreme Court, and recently the Obama/Biden Presidential campaign.

Valerie was a children’s Christian educator for 20 years and Girl Scout leader for 8 years, helping to develop 26 girls.  She is married to Theodore Roberts, Jr., has four adult children, a son-in-law and five grandchildren.  Valerie is a regular TV panelist for WQED’s Off-Q program on Friday evenings.

Leanne Meyer

Leanne Meyer is co-founder of Divanation, LLC  an international identity- and narrative-development business consultancy that focuses on women’s leadership. Her calling is to help people make sense of their lives through the reclamation of passion and purpose. Leanne’s journey began in South Africa. As a facilitator, educator, and coach she has built and applied her change-agent skills in South Africa, England, Ireland, and now, America. As such, she is a sought-after speaker for keynote addresses, seminars, conferences, and workshops.

Leanne holds a master’s degree in Industrial Psychology from the University of Johannesburg.

She is based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania with her husband and two sons, a “mad” beagle, Max, and a wheel-spinning hamster, Mr. Whiskers.

Terry Miller

Terry is the Director of the University of Pittsburgh Institute of Politics. In this role, Ms. Miller is responsible for the overall operations of the Institute and the development and implementation of innovative programs designed to provide education and discourse for elected officials, foundation executives and community, civic and business leaders on the critical public policy issues that affect the region. Ms. Miller served the Institute of Politics in various roles for 14 years before assuming her current position. Prior to this, she was co-founder of the Pennsylvania Organization for Women in Early Recovery (POWER) a non-profit organization established in Allegheny County to house women in recovery from addictions prior to their reentry into the larger community and reunification with their families. Ms. Miller earned her Masters of Social Work from the University of Pittsburgh in 1992.

Peggy Orenstein

Peggy Orenstein is the author, most recently, of the New York Times best-selling memoir, Waiting for Daisy: A Tale of Two Continents, Three Religions, Five Infertility Doctors, An Oscar, An Atomic Bomb, A Romantic Night and One Woman's Quest to Become a Mother. Her previous books include Flux: Women on Sex, Work, Kids, Love and Life in a Half-Changed World, and the best-selling SchoolGirls: Young Women, Self-Esteem and the Confidence Gap. A contributing writer for The New York Times Magazine, Peggy has also written for such publications as The Los Angeles Times, USA Today, Vogue, Elle, Discover, More, Mother Jones, Salon, O: The Oprah Magazine, and The New Yorker, and has contributed commentaries to NPR’s All Things Considered. Her articles have been anthologized multiple times, including in The Best American Science Writing. She has been a keynote speaker at numerous colleges and conferences and has been featured on, among other programs, Nightline, Good Morning America, The Today Show, NPR's Fresh Air and Morning Edition and CBC's As It Happens.

Peggy was recognized for her “Outstanding Coverage of Family Diversity,” by the Council on Contemporary Families and received a “Books for a Better Life Award” for Waiting for Daisy. Her work has also been honored by the Commonwealth Club of California, the National Women's Political Caucus of California, and Planned Parenthood Federation of America. Additionally, she has been awarded fellowships from the United States-Japan Foundation and the Asian Cultural Council.

Born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Peggy is a graduate of Oberlin College and lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with her husband, filmmaker Steven Okazaki, and their daughter, Daisy Tomoko.

Dori Ortman

Dori Ortman is the Supervisor and Program Coordinator for UCP Kids (Unique Community Programs for Kids), a division of UCP of Pittsburgh, a non-profit agency whose primary goal is “creating a community where each belongs.” UCP Kids offers a variety of programs aimed at helping children with disabilities to have full participation in recreational, educational, and social opportunities in their communities:

• UCP Kids’ Family Partnership program assists children with disabilities in becoming involved in inclusive community recreation opportunities.

• Through interactive, customized trainings, UCP Kids’ F.U.N. for Everyone program helps community organizations Fully Understand the Needs for Everyone and welcome children of all abilities in a variety of settings.

• UCP Kids presents the UCP Cares educational workshop series featuring local and national experts providing strategies on fostering connections for children with disabilities within the community.

• Through Training, Empowerment, Access to information, Consultation, Help, Experience and Resources, UCP Kids TEACHER program provides school districts with the support they need to fully include children with disabilities in school-based activities. 

Dori’s career in program management began nearly 15 years ago. When her daughter was born with Down syndrome, she focused on working and training specifically in the field of disability.  She regularly conducts parent workshops and networking events and often serves as a consultant to school districts and families. Her journey has taken her to a multitude of conferences, and she has been a featured speaker at many of them. She provides both a professional and parental perspective on disability.

Dori resides in Hampton Township with her husband and two children. She is the co-author of “Together is Better,” a guide to fostering community inclusion for individuals with disabilities, and “Opening the Doors to Community: The Keys to Success,” an educational series for community organizations on welcoming individuals of all abilities. She is also the author of several articles on topics related to inclusion, including her recent contribution to “Social Capital: A View from the Field,” a special edition of the Journal for Vocational Rehabilitation.  Her passion is working with children with diverse abilities and their families to encourage them to strive for success in all areas of life.  Dori can be reached at:

Dori Ortman
UCP Kids
4638 Centre Avenue
Pittsburgh, PA  15213
412-697-7434 ext. 112
dortman@ucppittsburgh.org

Martha Riecks

Director of Alumnae Relations, Girl Scouts Western Pennsylvania

While serving as the Director of Program Services in 2006 for Girl Scouts – Trillium Council, Martha Riecks became involved with a project to develop a negotiation program for Girl Scouts.  Martha worked with Dr. Linda Babcock and Ayana Ledford of PROGRESS to create the program for Girl Scouts. The result of this multi-year collaborative partnership is the Win-Win: How to Get What You Want patch program. The program has become a model for introducing pre-teens to the concept of negotiation, in a fun and yet meaningful way, and has been recognized by Girl Scouts of the USA as a program that can be utilized by Girl Scout troops across the United States.

In April 2008, Girl Scouts – Trillium Council joined with four other regional Girl Scout organizations to create Girl Scouts Western Pennsylvania, a uniquely positioned resource that supports and cultivates Girl Scouting in 27 counties across western Pennsylvania.  Following the GSUSA business model for council realignment, Martha served in an active role on the Program Council Realignment Committee.  This committee researched the many challenges to serving 40,000 girls in western Pennsylvania.

And, with the creation of the new council, Girl Scouts Western Pennsylvania, Martha became Director of Alumnae Relations for the council, a new position created to enable the organization to connect with and support the over 50 million Girl Scout alumnae found around the world.

Martha holds a master’s degree in non-profit management, as well as a bachelor’s degree, from the University of Pittsburgh. She is a member of the Board of Directors for the Nine Mile Run Watershed Association, and serves on the steering and event committees for the Girls Coalition of Southwestern Pennsylvania. Prior to becoming a professional Girl Scout, she worked in a variety of positions in fund development and marketing for the National Aviary in Pittsburgh, the Toledo Botanical Garden and other environmentally-focused non-profit organizations. Martha lives in the Highland Park neighborhood of Pittsburgh, with her husband and dog, and enjoys traveling, biking and hiking.

Melissa Sickmund, Ph.D.

Melissa Sickmund has been with the National Center for Juvenile Justice since 1986. She holds a Ph.D. in Social Psychology from the University of Maryland. Dr. Sickmund directs the National Juvenile Court Data Archive and the National Juvenile Justice Data Analysis Project. She is also the principle investigator of Census of Juveniles in Residential Placement and Juvenile Residential Facility Census data collections sponsored by the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. Dr. Sickmund is best known for the Juvenile Offenders and Victims publication series, co-authored with Dr. Howard Snyder. Her other research has included a multi-jurisdiction study on the transfer of juveniles to criminal court, analyses of juvenile court case processing, notably the handling of drug and alcohol cases by juvenile courts, and profiling females involved with the juvenile justice system. Dr. Sickmund’s work at NCJJ has had the goal of improving juvenile justice statistical information and facilitating the use of data to support decision-making at the national and local levels. In addition, she has served on the Pennsylvania Female Services Subcommittee since its inception in 2000. Before joining the National Center for Juvenile Justice, she was a Survey Statistician in the Corrections Unit of the Bureau of Justice Statistics. Her work there included the Children in Custody Census, the Annual Jail Survey, and the Prison Inmate Survey. Prior to that she was a Research Analyst with the Research Office of the Federal Bureau of Prisons where she was involved in research on prison industries and inmates’ post-release employment, population projections of inmates sentenced under the federal Youth Corrections Act, and prison management. Throughout her career, Dr. Sickmund has provided information to the justice community — turning complex statistical and research data into information that the busy justice professional can put to immediate use.

Jennifer Stancil

Who is Jennifer Stancil?  As Executive Director of the Girls, Math & Science Partnership, a program of Carnegie Science Center, Jen’s job is serious fun.  Her career started in Alabama and then North Carolina, working to engineer the programming for two new museums – McWane Science Center and Marbles Children’s Museum (previously Exploris).  Her start-up savvy helped build and solidify the reputation of those institutions and their educational program excellence in those communities.  Jen’s consulting work has taken her across the country to speak, train, and motivate those in the museum, educational, and corporate worlds as well as help design and build the capacity of non-profits. As the primary steward of the GMSP brand and the relationships that ultimately make it successful, Jen spends as much keeping pace with todays tween and teen girls as she does in foundation board rooms.

In January 2006, Jen moved to Pittsburgh to take the helm of the Girls, Math & Science Partnership, mobilizing her training as a biologist and her passion for and experience working with teen girls.  She was named an Emerging Leader in Pittsburgh in 2007 by the Junior League for building better communities for women and girls.  She in the 2008 class of Pittsburgh Magazine’s Top 40 under 40. This year, she’s an invited speaker and reviewer of GAPP, a comprehensive gender-equity study in STEM careers throughout the European Union. Her husband, John, works part time as well as cares for their one-year old daughter, Avery Grace.

Jordana Stephens

Jordana Stephens is the Program Officer for Eden Hall Foundation, responsible for following up with organizations which have received grants and reviewing new grant requests.

Previously, she was the Director of Education for Junior Achievement of Southwest Pennsylvania. Her varied background includes corporate, non-profit and education experiences.These include working for the Office of Public Affairs within the Pittsburgh Public Schools, where she was responsible for Parent School Community Councils and a member of the New American Schools leadership team. She has also worked for Partnerships in Education and INROADS Pittsburgh.  Currently, she serves on the Board of Grantmakers of Western Pennsylvania and is a member of the Girls Coalition of Southwestern Pennsylvania Steering Committee.

Melissa Swauger, Ph.D

Dr. Swauger is a graduate of South Allegheny School District. In 1997, she received a BA in Sociology from Indiana University of PA and in 1999, earned an MA in Social and Public Policy from Duquesne University. Melissa then worked as a workforce development professional in state and county governments for several years before returning to school to pursue a PhD in Sociology. In 2004, she earned an MA in Sociology from the University of Pittsburgh and recently earned her PhD in Sociology at Pitt.  Her research interests include gender, race, and social class inequalities in education and work and her dissertation examined how poor and working class girls perceive and plan for their future careers. Melissa is currently a faculty member in the Department of Sociology at Carlow University and teaches undergraduate courses including Introduction to Sociology, Women and Work, Women in Culture and Society, and Social Theory. Melissa has also worked as a consultant for local youth-serving organizations including The Consortium for Public Education and Gwen’s Girls.

Kristy Trautmann

Kristy joined FISA Foundation as Program Officer in 2004. Her work focuses primarily on grantmaking benefiting women and girls. She holds a master’s degree in nonprofit management from Robert Morris University and completed her undergraduate work at Antioch College and the University of Pittsburgh. Prior to FISA, Kristy worked at the YWCA of Greater Pittsburgh developing financial empowerment programs for women. She also coordinated education and training services at Pittsburgh Action Against Rape for 13 years, where she co-authored an internationally distributed workbook, Understanding Self Injury, and several published training manuals. Her research article, Learning Strategies as Predictors of Transformational Leadership:  The Case of Nonprofit Managers, was published in the Leadership and Organization Development Journal, 28(3) 2007.  In addition to co-chairing the Girls Coalition of Southwestern Pennsylvania, Kristy serves on the board of Grantmakers of Western Pennsylvania (GWP), is co-chair of the Women’s Funders Roundtable at GWP and a member of the Research and Best Practices committee for the Pennsylvania Coalition Against Rape.

 

 

Girls Coalition of Southwestern Pennsylvania | PO Box 1806, Pittsburgh, PA 15230-1806 | (412) 253-3263 | info@girlscoalitionswpa.org