Leadership Pittsburgh selects 21 nonprofit heads for fellowship

Leadership Pittsburgh, Inc. announced Tuesday the names of 21 participants for the organization’s Lead Now Pittsburgh fellowship program, which will begin in January.

According to a press release from the organization, the 21 participants were selected from nearly 80 nominees recommended by regional leaders. The group will take part in training to teach them leadership skills, collaboration, coaching and new organizational approaches. The program lasts several months and includes multi-day retreats in both Pittsburgh and Oakland, Calif. The latter is the home of the Rockwood Leadership Institute, which partnered with Leadership Pittsburgh for the program.

“By further cultivating high potential nonprofit leaders who represent the diversity of the southwestern Pennsylvania region, Leadership Pittsburgh wants to contribute to the strengthening of this sector during these unprecedented time of change in our region’s recent history,” said Leadership Pittsburgh CEO and President Aradhna Oliphant in a statement. “We are gratified by the extremely positive evaluations of the inaugural offering and learned a lot through the year.”

This group will be the second to pass through the program. The original cohort, consisting of 22 fellows from southwestern Pennsylvania, recently completed their fellowship.

Lead Now Pittsburgh was created after the Heinz Endowments and other local organizations pinpointed nonprofit organization leaders as an essential part of the region’s recent revitalization. Funding for the program was provided by the Heinz Endowments through at $500,000 grant.

The 21 fellows and their affiliated organizations are:

Julius Boatwright, Steel Smiling

Dave Breingan, Lawrenceville United

Carlos Carter, Homeless Children’s Education Fund

Jeffrey Dorsey, Union Project

James Doyle, Higher Achievement Pittsburgh

Tracy Edmunds, Pittsburgh Cultural Trust

Ashley Funk, Mountain Watershed Association

Leonard J. Hammonds II, Hammonds Initiative

Virginia Hill, Pittsburgh Public Schools

Anna Hollis, Amachi Pittsburgh

Darrell Kinsel, BOOM Concepts

Sallyann Kluz, Office of Public Art – Greater Pittsburgh Arts Council

Ryan Lammie, Radiant Hall

Walter Lewis, Homewood Children’s Village

Marimba Milliones, Hill Community Development Corporation

Wasi Mohamed, Islamic Center of Pittsburgh

Monica Ruiz, Casa San Jose

Evaine Sing, Grounded Strategies

Ciora Thomas, SisTers PGH

Joey-Linn Ulrich, Venture Outdoors

Diamonte Walker, Urban Redevelopment Authority

Earlier this fall, Leadership Pittsburgh selected its Leadership Development Initiative class: