BOARD CHAIR

President & CEO, Equity Impact Center

Leigh Solomon Pugliano is an entrepreneur, educator, musician, and experienced strategist whose expertise has supported and advanced entrepreneurs, creatives, small businesses, and nonprofit organizations. Leigh has supported organizational and leadership development through consulting, strategic planning, coaching, and facilitation. For over a decade, Leigh served as Principal Consultant at Straightforward Consulting, centering equity and justice-based principles in strategies designed to achieve operational efficiency and effectiveness. She is dedicated to creating collective learning and collaboration spaces– emphasizing transformative leadership, research, data-driven solutions, and community engagement.

VICE-CHAIR

Executive Director at Birmingham Foundation

Michelle Figlar is the Executive Director of the Birmingham Foundation, serving south Pittsburgh neighbors with a focus on children aged pre-natal to eight years old and their families.

Currently, Michelle is pursuing an Ed.D. from Vanderbilt University. Michelle’s greatest joy is her family, who reside in Pittsburgh with her husband, Greg Quinlan. She is the proud parent of Allderdice students Grady and Tilly Quinlan.

SECRETARY

Operations Director, Center for Shared Prosperity

Marlene Williams is a native of Pittsburgh and graduated from Westinghouse High School. She earned her bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education from Carlow University and an MBA from the University of Phoenix.

At the Center for Shared Prosperity, Marlene is the new Operations Director. CSP was made possible by a $30 million grant (over six years) from the Heinz Endowments. It is a new initiative to address long-standing barriers to equity and foster economic empowerment in the greater Pittsburgh region.

ADVISOR

President, Demeatria Boccella Productions/Founder Fashion Africana

Demeatria Boccella is a producer and curator of style, culture, and design.

Through her production company, DEMEATRIA BOCCELLA PRODUCTIONS, LLC, she and her team of experts curate global multi–media productions and programs—and provide high-end creative services across multiple sectors.

ADVISOR

President & CEO, Consultant, Executive Coach

Lisa J. Perry is a collaborative leader with 30 years of experience in executive management and education administration. She is a servant leader who brings passion and compassion to her work. Ms. Perry is a lifelong learner, strategic thinker, and a community collaborator.

Lisa is a community connector and successfully works to leverage relationships with local and regional stakeholders, the foundation community, and multiple partner agencies.

In recent years, Ms. Perry launched Take Flight Productions, an executive and nonprofit consulting firm serving individual leaders and organizations looking to build capacity.

MEMBER

Workforce Development, Career Programs and Training, UPMC

Mallory is passionate about Workforce Development with experience in business, community outreach, and social services - along with a dual Bachelor's degree in Business Management and Psychology from Penn State University. She has skills in program coordination, training, coaching, and mentoring. She currently helps run the Pathways to Work program at UPMC, sitting within the HR/recruitment teams.

MEMBER

Founder, VisionByJG.com
Music Art Equality

J.G. is a musician, artist, and entrepreneur who has been losing his sight for years due to a rare condition called retinitis pigmentosa.

A friend once said to him: “Hey, J.G., you may be going blind, but you have great vision.”

J.G. took that to heart and founded VisionByJG.com to share his vision and help others do the same.

J.G. has over 20 years of experience at the nexus of arts, education, and advocacy.

MEMBER

Vice Chancellor of Engagement and Community Affairs, University of Pittsburgh

Lina Dostilio sets and advances the University of Pittsburgh’s community engagement agenda and catalyzes community-facing efforts across the University, including place-based engagement efforts, engaged scholarship, strategic partnership development, and community affairs. She implemented the Community Engagement Centers (CEC) initiative, which includes the Homewood, Hill District, and Hazelwood neighborhoods of Pittsburgh.

Dostilio is an associate professor of practice within the Department of Educational Foundations, Organizations, and Policy. Her research explores community engagement professionals in higher education and hyperlocal, place-based engagement.

MEMBER

Managing Director, Pittsburgh Public Theater

Shaunda McDill is honored to co-lead Pittsburgh Public Theater. Shaunda has nearly two decades of arts management and nonprofit leadership experience. She previously worked with The Heinz Endowments as a program officer for arts and culture, where she worked to promote the strength and vitality of a suite of Pittsburgh-based artists and arts. She also co-managed the Advancing Black Arts in Pittsburgh initiative, which received a $2 million dollar grant from novelist and philanthropist MacKenzie Scott in 2021. Additionally, Shaunda contributed to and helped found Just Arts, the foundation’s first cross-programmatic social justice initiative, and the Arts|Equity|Reimagined fund, aimed at providing an informed, equitable, and actionable response to the needs of the local arts community during and beyond the coronavirus pandemic.

MEMBER

Research Manager, Duquesne University Center for Integrative Health (DUCIH)

Lisa Ripper is the Research Manager at Duquesne University Center for Integrative Health (DUCIH), where she uses her skills in community-engaged research and evaluation to support DUCIH in addressing rural and urban health care disparities and improving health equity in the Pittsburgh region and beyond.

Lisa received her Bachelor of Science in Sport and Exercise Science from Gannon University in Erie, PA, and her Master’s in Public Health in Behavioral and Community Health Sciences from the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health.

MEMBER

Teacher, DePaul School for Hearing and Speech
Building Manager, Spartan Center

MEMBER

Program Director, UPMC Health Plan Neighborhood Center

Thomas is a native of Pittsburgh, PA, and very compassionate and eager to help the youth and communities. Thomas is an astounding professional with over 11 years of experience in managing, educating, and empowering others in the social services sector.