Jai Shah Pronouns: he/him/his Jai Shah is from Palo Alto, California studying Statistics and Machine Learning at Carnegie Mellon University. He is very excited to be working as an intern here at Grounded and is really passionate about utilizing and repurposing the land in Pittsburgh and finding ways to make Pittsburgh a better community.Read More
Angela Del Raso Bidwell Extern she/ her/ hers Angela is a Pittsburgh area native. She studied fine art in college and put her creative energy toward a 12-year career in the floral industry which she has recently left to learn about native plants, ecology, sustainable landcare, and the importance of healthy urban forests. She is a soon-to-be graduate of Bidwell Training Center’s Horticulture Technology Program, and is excited to help Grounded Strategies realize its goals of addressing vacant land within the city and…Read More
Maya McCray Pronouns: she/her/hers Maya was born and raised in the Beltzhoover neighborhood of Pittsburgh, PA. After graduating from Pittsburgh Obama Academy, Maya continued her education at Penn State University where she earned her degree in Telecommunications with a minor in Entrepreneurship & Innovation. She has always been passionate about Civil and Environmental Rights and is excited to learn and work with the Grounded Team using historical data, modern technology, and community members to ease and improve the use of vacant land.…Read More
Mischelle McMillan Uptown Ambassador “All our resources that we have available to us, we never took time to find out if we could make something useful. What we have right here, we can turn back into something." About Me. For the past 5 years, I've called Uptown home. I have four children, six grandchildren and one great-grandchild. In the past, I worked as a community organizer, outreach professional and business manager. In my spare time, I enjoy sewing, singing, cooking, hiking and anything in…Read More
Shreya Mathur Pronouns: she/her/hers Having been born and raised in various cities in India, cities and people were something that she was surrounded by. Pursuing Architecture in her undergraduate, she quickly found that she wanted to focus on the Urban Design realm which led her to Pittsburgh to pursue her Masters at Carnegie Mellon University. She found herself interested in the role that people played in the cities and the way people use and live in cities. To further study and understand…Read More
UrbanKind Institute GTECH has partnered with Dr. Jamil Bey of UrbanKind Institute to complete a feasibility and planning study for the potential scaling up of the Emerald Trail Corps of the Mt. Washington CDC on a regional scale, execute an outreach plan to solicit input on the URA's vacant land maintenance program, and on discussions related to diversity and equity. The goal of UrbanKind Institute is to match community need with capacity. We work with community-based organizations to improve their ability to…Read More
Lauren Stauffer Lauren assisted GTECH as a community resident liaison to our programming needs in the Northside for the 2014-2015 cohort of Northisde Ambassadors, including setting up meetings, finding meeting locations, inviting people and keeping them aware of Ambassador activities. She discovered GTECH when she was looking for alternative fuel vehicles for a grant proposal she wrote a few years ago. Lauren is passionate about making and growing things. Having previously worked for a furniture designer in Philadelphia, she helped launch an artist co-op…Read More
Judith Kelly + Associates In the spring of 2015, GTECH engaged Judith Kelly to assist in the messaging for the transfer of the ReEnergize Pgh program to long-time partner Conservation Consultants, Inc. Judith Kelly + Associates is a marketing communications boutique specializing in strategic positioning, message development, and implementation. Judith Kelly + Associates operates on two distinguishing principles: Senior-level thinking and guidance on every client project Dedicated involvement and candid commentary The firm’s principal, Judith Kelly, is a 25-year marketing veteran with experience ranging…Read More
Bonner Consulting In the spring of 2015, GTECH engaged Bonner Consulting to assist in the planning for and addressing the strategic and organizational implications for the transfer of the ReEnergize Pgh program to long-time partner Conservation Consultants, Inc. In 2011, Leslie Bonner left her position as Managing Consultant at nonprofit consulting firm Dewey & Kaye to form Bonner Consulting. Leslie recognizes the value a diverse and interdisciplinary team of consultants with complementary skills could bring to our nonprofit clients. We have amassed…Read More
Pennsylvania Environmental Council GTECH, along with CCI, engaged Lindsay Baxter of PEC to help more fully develop the policy aspects of ReEnergize Pgh in anticipation of transferring program ownership. Work including the hosting of a forum for stakeholder input, evaluation of funding opportunities and exploration of potential policy options at local, state and federal levels. The Pennsylvania Environmental Council (PEC) protects and restores the natural and built environments through innovation, collaboration, education and advocacy. PEC believes in the value of partnerships with the…Read More
Jackson|Clark Partners Jackson/Clark Partners facilitated a full staff and board retreat during GTECH's process of updating the 3-year strategic plan. Jackson/Clark Partners is a Pittsburgh-based company specializing in organizational planning, community development, and civic participation initiatives. Our job is to provide the organization and clarity that allows people to do their best work and connect them to the resources they need to succeed. Our process provides a way to engage and collaborate that’s meaningful, respectful, fun, data-driven and gets results.Read More
HMA Community Strategies HMA Community Strategies team members worked with GTECH to identify goals, desired impacts across programs, and the methods for rolling individual cross-program evaluation components through a collaborative process. This effort built on existing GTECH measurement methodologies as a part of our strategic plan update. HMA Community Strategies (HMACS) was created to provide research and consulting specific to human and social services clients. We understand that most of our clients do not have the staff or time to tackle the complex…Read More