Meet Leadership Pittsburgh’s ’emerging leaders’ cohort for 2022-2023

Leadership Pittsburgh has selected 48 “emerging leaders” for its 2022-2023 Leadership Development Initiative cohort.

The professional development nonprofit’s program, now hosting its 30th cohort, offers a crash course in understanding the Pittsburgh region’s businesses and nonprofits with a focus on civic engagement and professional development. It also aims to boost the region’s retention of younger professionals.

Throughout the course of the program, which began at the end of September, participants will meet twice a month for eight months for training and discussion sessions. They will also conduct a “case study” through a project of its choosing with an “emerging” neighborhood, to be chosen by the Allegheny Conference on Community Development. Previously, the organization launched its cohort as a part of a program aimed at helping members gain a better understanding of what issues matter in the Pittsburgh community.

Leadership Pittsburgh also runs the flagship program for “established leaders” — those farther along in their careers — and also announced its latest cohort recently.

As with every year, the organization has identified a variety of pros who are eager to serve the community. This year’s list represents employers from universities to sports teams to corporates.

“The talented participants selected for LDI XXX represent a diverse cross-section of our community who are clearly the high achieving professionals within their organizations,” said Jenn Beer, president and CEO of Leadership Pittsburgh as of June 2022, in a statement. “I cannot wait to work with their energy and ideas that are sure to add value to our community, which in turn helps to build our region’s leadership infrastructure and pipeline.”

Check out the 2021-2022 cohort here, and see the 2022-2022 cohort below:

• Jesse Ainsman, JLL
• Arlee Ando, Peoples Gas
• Emily Baroffio, Allegheny Conference on Community Development
• Emily Bell, University of Pittsburgh
• Wendy Berill, Michael Barker International 
• Victoria Bianco, Aspirant
• Geoff Burke, Koppers Inc. 
• Melody Carter-Frye, Pittsburgh Water and Sewage Authority
• Natalie Chronister, Carnegie Mellon University Software Engineering Institute
• Michael Clark, Oswald Companies
• Madison Connelly, Pittsburgh Pirates
• Emily Coulter, Michael Barker International
• Jackson Elizondo, Confluence Financial Partners
• Dorian Evans, Ivalua
• Alex Fisher, PNC Investments
• Alissa Freese, Veterans Leadership Program 
• Jared Fuhs, PNC Bank, National Association
• Patrick Gannon, University of Pittsburgh
• Shannon Hagy, Veterans Place of Washington Boulevard
• Elizabeth Holmes, Beverly’s Birthdays
• Kenya Johns, City of Beaver Falls 
• Leonardo Johnson, Allegheny County Department of Human Services
• Ali Karsh, Eaton
• Alycia Kerstetter, AHN Wexford Hospital
• Luke Lamb, Highmark Health
• Rob Loveless, BNY Mellon
• Harrison Maddox, Pittsburgh Bureau of Police 
• Joe Mayes, Highmark of Wholecare
• Shannon McCarty, Community Living and Support Services
• Sarah Mertz, FedEx Ground
• Brittney Miller, PPG
• Mitchell Moximchalk, K&L Gates
• James Moyer, Schneider Downs Wealth Management
• Anette Nance, PA House of Representatives-State Representative Martell Covington
• Dan Oberst, Grossman Yanak &Ford
• Diana Ortega Casellas, FedEx Ground
• Stephanie Paluda, Southwestern Energy 
• Amber Pinskey, Grossman Yanak & Ford
• Miles Porter, Youth Enrichment Services Inc. 
• Mendy Rudolph, McKnight Realty Partners 
• Malissa Seman, Highmark Health
• Vincent Sha, Carnegie Mellon University
• Aaron Siegel, Magee-Womens Research Institute
• Andrew Smith, Eaton Corporation
• Amanda Susko, Pittsburgh Penguins
• Ashli White, BNY Mellon
• Nathan Willi, PNC Bank
• Janine Wytovich, Veterans Leadership Program

Atiya Irvin-Mitchell is a 2022-2024 corps member for Report for America, an initiative of The Groundtruth Project that pairs young journalists with local newsrooms. This position is supported by the Heinz Endowments.