Left to Right:
Adrienne A. Garber | Volunteer and city champion | 29
"The work I do both professionally and personally may seem unrelated, but all of my efforts serve a central purpose: to better the Pittsburgh community as a vibrant place to live and work and attract and retain Pittsburgh's young professionals to the city," says Adrienne Garber. She's a corporate lawyer with Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney. Her volunteer work includes City Theatre, Mattress Factory, Greater Pittsburgh Art Council's Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts (VLA) program, Pittsburgh Technology Council, PUMP and the Junior League of Pittsburgh.
Carrie Nardini | Co-founder, I Made It! Market | 32
Carrie Nardini makes it possible for Pittsburghers to find handmade wares sold by local-artist vendors. She co-founded I Made It! Market with a friend in May 2007, and will hold 16 markets around the area by the end of 2008. Each market promotes the mission of a different nonprofit. "We created this market... to help artists and other 'makers' establish themselves within the local economy and to create an exciting, energetic and roving marketplace in each of the diverse neighborhoods of the city," she says.
Jennifer Buchanan Rapach | Teacher, political activist and volunteer | 37
"I've tried to make an impact on both the ground level - teaching, mentoring and volunteering - and on a broad level through work in Congressman [Jason Altmire's] office, political activism and nonprofit boards," says Jennifer Buchanan Rapach. She's the grants coordinator at the Altmire office and conducts the pit orchestra for Avonworth High School's musical. And she still finds time to serve on boards for Northland Public Library and Coro Center for Civic Leadership, and to serve as a mentor for a college-age woman through Strong Women/Strong Girls.
Chaz R. Kellem | Networker/promoter | 25
For the Pittsburgh Pirates, Chaz Kellem works with nonprofits and community groups to fundraise through group ticket sales for awareness days at Pirates games. He serves on the boards of United Cerebral Palsy, Consumer Health Coalition and Three Rivers Community Foundation. And using a manual wheelchair since birth, he's prompting people to think differently about disabilities. "I enjoy it," he says of his wheelchair. "I'm proud of it, wouldn't change it for anything. It's provided me with some interesting obstacles as well as unique experiences and adventures."
Chad Stacy | Nonprofit leader | 36
"I work hard for three local nonprofits, Greater Pittsburgh Literacy Council, Kelly-Strayhorn Theater and Steel City Rowing," says Chad Stacy. "Their programs open the door to educational and job opportunities for our region's less fortunate, provide cutting-edge arts programming and open up our rivers to recreational use." Stacy is the director of finance at Greater Pittsburgh Literacy Council, which supports literacy programs for nearly 15,000 students across six states and Washington, D.C. He's on the board of the Kelly-Strayhorn Theater and an active volunteer with Steel City Rowing.
Left to Right:
Annette Romain | Human-service and performing-arts advocate | 36
At the Veterans Leadership Program of Western Pennsylvania, Annette Romain works with veterans to secure housing, employment and other support services. She designed a database to manage economic and environmental indicators for the United Nations, and currently works as a volunteer for performing-arts organizations. "I analyze, educate, mentor, coach and empower," she says. "I am constantly reading and searching for better, more elegant solutions to complicated problems. I garden, bake, wrestle with the dog and play the violin. Think: 'Big canvas with palette of many colors.'"
Nathan Martin | Entreprenuer | 31
Nathan Martin is CEO of deepLocal, a boutique software consultancy that helps companies bring innovation to life. His projects include mobile-phone-based scavenger hunts with the Children's Museum that encourage kids to explore the former Allegheny City (now Pittsburgh's North Side), voice blogging for the Post-Gazette, a social network for moms and mobile marketing for Kennywood. "We invent, design and build," says Martin. "We work like an art studio as well as a research team for hire - working with clients to invent new ideas and then build the technologies to execute them."
Kate Sphar | Nonprofit-management consultant | 36
As director of nonprofit services at Olszak Management Consulting Inc., Kate Sphar provides local nonprofits with essential guidance around business or strategic planning, organizational assessment, financial assistance, market research or information-management platforms. "I've stayed close to many of my past clients, and have seen truly massive, positive changes in the operations and culture of organizations we have helped," she says. "I believe that my job is not just to go in to 'fix' problems, but to provide advice, a critical eye and tools that will help a nonprofit better meet its mission."
Abby Wilson | Co-founder, Great Lakes Urban Exchange (GLUE) | 28
Abby Wilson is the co-founder of GLUE, Great Lakes Urban Exchange (gluespace.org). "The most important thing to me about GLUE is to get young people - post-boomers (those under 40) living in the rust belt - to see the mega region as their region," she says. "So I want people in Pittsburgh to feel connected to people in Buffalo, Cleveland, Detroit, Chicago and so on. We're all at different points in revitalization. How can we move forward, given our shared industrial past? GLUE is one way to get that conversation flowing."