At Neighborhood Allies, we believe that Pittsburgh’s future is built upon strong neighborhoods and the residents who live in them. We are a forward-thinking, solutions-oriented community developer that brings fresh ideas, expertise, and resources to distressed and transitional neighborhoods. We accomplish this by leveraging the assets of community in a way that catalyzes transformative change for people, places, and systems.
At the grassroots level, we are continually building strong ties to community based organizations, CDCs, and non-profit organizations and the residents who are doing great work to rebuild our neighborhoods. We are excited to leverage a vital piece that we believe will contribute to our gaining a more well-rounded understanding of our neighborhoods: the awareness, experiences, and knowledge of our everyday neighborhood leaders. This summer, we began a broad grassroots effort to recruit leadership for our Community Leadership Forum. Later this month, we are formally launching the Community Leadership Forum, an organization of leaders from our six focus communities and the Neighborhood Allies team to meet, exchange, and synthesize new information and make connections to partners, skills, and acumen that help them further efforts on the ground.
We are proud to announce the distinguished leaders who were selected from a long list of nominees and applicants. Those selected have demonstrated from their work and past experiences, a strong commitment to learning from each other and to elevating the role that residents play in their neighborhoods.
Ashley Corts, Co-Founder and Co-CEO of Black Forge, Hilltop Community
Aurelia Carter-Scott, Family Support Specialist, Larimer Community
Autumn Butler, Executive Director of Wilkinsburg Christian Housing, Borough of Wilkinsburg
Bobby Gilbert, Lincoln-Lemington Community Consensus Group, Lincoln-Lemington Community
Deacon Thomas, Lincoln-Lemington Community Consensus Group, Lincoln-Lemington Community
Denise Rudar, Treasurer of Millvale Borough Development Corporation, Millvale
Donna Jackson, Larimer Consensus Group, Larimer Community
Glenn Grayson, Jr., Organizer of One Pittsburgh, Hill District Community
Jmar Bey, President of the South Hilltop Men’s Group and Program Engineer at Pittsburgh Works, Hilltop Community
Jody Guy, Chair of the Wilkinsburg Community Arts and Civic Design Commission, Borough of Wilkinsburg
LaShawna Russ, Beltzhoover Community Coordinator at Pittsburgh Community Reinvestment Group, Hilltop Community
Mallory Womble, Volunteer of the Teen Council Initiative of Millvale Community Library, Millvale Community
Mandy Wolovich, Attorney and Co-founder of Millvale Community Library, Millvale
Michelle King, Educator at the Environmental Charter School, Borough of Wilkinsburg
Paul Abernathy, Executive Director of FOCUS Pittsburgh, Hill District Community
Tia Torres, TeenBloc Organizer at A+ Schools, Hill District Community
Tonisha Blackwell, Founder and CEO of Knotzland, Homewood Community
Wahad Ansari, Founder and CEO of Three Generations Barbershop, Homewood Community
Yahru Hood-Wilkerson, CEO of Homewood Purpose and Loungdromat, Homewood Community
