JaLissa D. Coffee

JaLissa D. Coffee, M.Ed., Director of Operations at the Homewood Children’s Village, has a passion for making sure organizations operate at their highest potential. Throughout her career, she has had the opportunity to engage with organizations seeking to expand their capacity and influence by implementing beneficial and equitable policies and procedures. At The Village, Coffee’s primary responsibilities include serving at the helm of the Collective Impact Council, evaluating the efficiency of business procedures according to organizational objectives, and applying improvements to the organization’s culture, strategy, policies, and procedures through the lens of equity. An educator at heart, JaLissa can typically be found engaging young people and making sure their voices are heard and amplified. Coffee enjoys spending time with her family and close friends, and takes great pride in being an aunt to her 12 nieces and nephews. She lives in Pittsburgh with her partner and their dog, Maya.

Sloane Davidson

Sloane Davidson is the Founder and CEO of Hello Neighbor. Hello Neighbor works to improve the lives of recently resettled refugee and immigrant families though mentorship and community-based educational programming. Sloane received a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from the University of Vermont and a Masters in Public Policy and Management from The University of Pittsburgh's Graduate School of Public and International Affairs. She lives in Highland Park with her husband and two young sons. 

Councilwoman Deb Gross

Councilwoman Deb Gross began her first full four year term as the District 7 representative in January 2016. Her district includes the Strip District, Polish Hill, Lawrenceville, Bloomfield, Friendship, Stanton Heights, Morningside, and her home neighborhood Highland Park – where she lives with her husband Stan Caldwell and two children, Theodora and Stanley. She earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Sociology from the University of Florida and a Master’s Degree in Sociology from Duke University. She is a firm believer in the power and promise of Pittsburgh neighborhoods and has worked as a community organizer, strategic planner, and fundraiser for a variety of organizations including the Lawrenceville Corporation, Women and Girls Foundation of Southwestern Pennsylvania, the Bloomfield-Garfield Corporation, and the Greater Pittsburgh Arts Alliance during her career. Deb’s policy interests and initiatives revolve around improving the quality of life for Pittsburgh families, supporting local and minority owned businesses, creating accessible, resident-friendly infrastructure, and eliminating neighborhood blight while increasing affordable housing options. Her work also focuses on establishing connections and relationships between a diversity of stakeholders to develop cohesive, equitable plans for moving Pittsburgh forward. 

Alison Hall

Alison Hall is the former Executive Director of Pittsburgh Action Against Rape (PAAR) and spent over 16 years working to prevent sexual violence in our community. Commissioner Hall has extensive experience in the political arena as she was a political fundraiser and campaign manager in Pennsylvania for various statewide and local candidates. Her political experience on Presidential, U.S. Senate, Gubernatorial, judicial, and local congressional campaigns gave her the opportunity to travel Pennsylvania, and work with many grassroots groups. She was appointed in 2019 by Governor Tom Wolf to the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency (PCCD) Victim Service Advisory Committee. 

Judy Hale

Commissioner Hale is the Commission appointee representing the Pittsburgh for CEDAW Campaign. For over two decades, she has been working to improve gender equity and promote safety for vulnerable people. Her work focuses on addressing domestic violence and human trafficking, building partnerships and cooperation between government and civil society, and improving professional capacities. Commissioner Hale is currently the Legal Advocacy Manager at the Women’s Center & Shelter of Greater Pittsburgh, where she participates on their Refugee, Immigrant, and Limited English (RIL) team to improve the agency’s capacity to serve all victims. She teaches a Human Trafficking course at Chatham University, and serves on several boards and commissions related to social justice, gender equity, and human rights. Commissioner Hale served as a U.S. Peace Corps Volunteer. She is a licensed attorney and holds a Juris Doctor, a Master of Public Administration, and a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology and Women’s Studies.

Sarah E.W. Hansen

Commissioner Hansen has been a passionate voice for equity in and access to education and the workforce for over 15 years. Much of her work has focused around workforce development, most recently as Senior Director of Operations for Pennsylvania Women Work. Currently, she works as a Senior Research Associate for HPW Associates, a woman-owned business. HPW Associates specializes in applied research, evaluation, and performance measurement across multiple non-profit, government, and private sectors, including behavioral health, recovery support, education, and workforce development. Hansen holds a PhD in Administrative and Policy Studies from the University of Pittsburgh School of Education. She is also a Visiting Scholar with the university’s Gender, Sexuality, and Women’s Studies Department. Hansen also serves as a Board of Directors member and choir member/percussionist of the Renaissance City Choir.

Sharon Higginbothan

Dr. Sharon Higginbothan is the Chief Operating Officer (COO) of Bethlehem Haven, an agency dedicated to working with women experiencing homelessness, health/well-being and health care disparities. Prior to working in the field to end homelessness, Dr. Higginbothan served as the Coordinator for Faith and Health Initiatives &Research at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary, where her work focused on HIV/AIDS, and other health disparities related to African American communities, particularly women. She served at Duquesne University in the Theology Department as a community partner and advisor to ensure that the curriculum was culturally inclusive. At Duquesne, she also worked with Center for Community Engaged Teaching and Research, where she developed Best Practices for Community Engage work and co-taught in the department. Dr. Higginbothan earned her PhD in Health Care Ethics/Bioethics from Duquesne University, her MDiv from Pittsburgh Theological Seminary, and a MLIS from the University of Pittsburgh.

Sabrina Korbel

For the past 15 years, Sabrina worked as the Supervising Attorney of the Women’s Center and Shelter Civil Law Project. In this position, she focuses on providing systems advocacy and free legal representation on behalf of victims of intimate partner violence, in cases involving custody, protection from abuse, support, divorce and other civil legal matters, so that victims can obtain justice, autonomy, safety, and restoration. Attorney Korbel has served as a Council Member in the Allegheny County Bar Association’s Family Law Section and has been a co-chair for the Public Service Committee of the Family Law Section since 2008 through the present. She is a past member of the Allegheny County Bar Association Judiciary Committee and Board of Governors and a current Allegheny County Bar Foundation Fellow. Sabrina is an active member and past president of the local Matrimonial Inns of Court. She presently sits as the Implementation Co-Chair of the Allegheny County Children’s Roundtable Family Violence Committee where she works to improve the court process for victims of violence in a trauma informed manner. She is a member of the Pennsylvania Coalition against Domestic Violence’s statewide Attorney Network and presents trainings and lectures for the justice system on domestic violence and other legal issues, including annual PFA trainings for Neighborhood Legal Services Association to pro bono PFA attorneys. She has been awarded numerous awards for her work, including the 2009 Public Interest Attorney Award, the 2011 Civil Legal Aid Attorney of the Year Award, and the 2017 Women of Achievement Award. Sabrina is a 2002 graduate of the University of Pittsburgh School of Law. She resides in Ross Township with her husband and two daughters.

Janet Manuel

Janet K. Manuel is Director for Human Resources and Civil Service & EEO/Diversity and Inclusion Officer for the City of Pittsburgh. Prior to joining the City of Pittsburgh, Ms. Manuel held the position of Vice President of Human Resources for Vincentian Collaborative Services, a HealthCare and Social Service organization. Ms. Manuel serves on the Executive and General Board for the Pittsburgh Human Resources Association (PHRA) as President-Elect and in 2019 will hold the position of President. In addition, Ms. Manuel is Chairperson for the Community College of Allegheny County Job Placement and Career Advisory Board, representing all four campuses, and serves on the General and Executive Employer Advisory Board for West PAC, a Consortium of 40 plus Colleges and Universities in Western PA. She holds a Master of Science degree in Organizational Studies with a dual concentration in Leadership and Employee Relations from Robert Morris University. Ms. Manuel also holds the Professional in Human Resources (PHR) and SHRM-CP certifications.

Amanda Neatrour

Amanda is currently the Program Manager for the Women’s Leadership and Mentorship Program at Robert Morris University, where she supports and promotes mentorship and leadership programming to advance opportunities for women students. Amanda was previously the Diversity and Inclusion Employment Coordinator for the City of Pittsburgh, and continues that work independently as a diversity trainer and consultant. She served on the Lawrenceville Community Land Trust and Greater Pittsburgh Arts Council Learning and Research committees, and the board of the Young Preservationists Association of Pittsburgh. Amanda is a an alum of the Baltimore School for the Arts, Howard University, and the Accademia Dell’Arte in Arezzo, Italy.

Marcelle Newman

Marcelle Newman is currently serving as the Assistant Director of Pittsburgh's Public Works Department in the Bureau of Administration. She oversees the Department’s personnel, fiscal and procurement transactions, as well as the Forestry, Environmental Services and Warehouse Divisions. Marcelle partners operations with the City’s technology team to improve DPW service deliveries, and provide open and transparent data to the general public. Prior to 2014, Marcelle served a combination of eleven years with Pittsburgh’s Council and the Mayor's Office of Management and Budget researching and recommending best practices in municipal service delivery.

Morgan Overton

Morgan Overton is a proud Pittsburgh native, and is currently the Community Engagement and Policy Associate for the Women's Health Activist Movement Global under the Jewish Healthcare Foundation. She works on initiatives to transform maternal health, racial, and reproductive equity on the community and policy level. She has held numerous positions in public affairs at local, state, and federal levels, most notably as an organizing fellow for Barack Obama's 2012 presidential campaign. Morgan is also a visual artist whose work has exhibited across the United States, and France. From the University of Pittsburgh, Morgan earned a Bachelor's in psychology with a minor in studio arts, as well as a Master's in Social Work with a focus in community organization and social action. In 2019, Morgan received the Iris Marion Young Award for Political Engagement and Social Justice. She was also inducted into the Pittsburgh Business Times; 30 Under 30 Awards.

Sarah Schulz

Dr. Sarah Schulz is an assistant professor in the Department of Psychology at Point Park University, where she also serves as the director of the MA program in Clinical-Community Psychology. She earned her Doctorate in Social Welfare with a specialization in gender and sexuality from the University of California, Berkeley, in 2012. Since joining the Point Park faculty in 2013, her research interests have focused on the health and mental health needs of the LGBT/Q community, as well as the homeless community of Pittsburgh. She was a Principle Investigator on the Point Park University Campus Climate Survey, which aimed to assess students’ experiences, behaviors, and attitudes regarding sexual assault and harassment on urban college campuses. Her research interests are rooted in over 10 years of clinical experience as a Licensed Social Worker (LSW) in a variety of mental health settings.

Diamonte Walker

Diamonte Walker is the Deputy Executive Director of the Urban Redevelopment Authority of the City of Pittsburgh (URA), where she provides strategy, vision, operations management, team development, and leadership. Diamonte joined the agency in 2017, quickly becoming the driving force behind URA’s MWBE strategy. Her commitment to the advancement of equitable development is demonstrated through the administration of the URA’s MWBE Program, compliance monitoring, reporting functions, and other economic inclusion focused initiatives. Diamonte offers a serious look at what can happen when we expand the work of economic development beyond metrics, goals and buzzwords to create impactful experiences that empower people while transforming place. Diamonte holds an MBA and Master of Science in Management and Leadership. She is a Mayoral appointee to Pittsburgh’s Land Bank Board, serves on the Neighborhood Allies and InnovatePgh boards, and currently sits on the Housing Opportunity Fund’s Advisory Board.