UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH OFFICE OF THE CHANCELLOR and INSTITUTE OF POLITICS
welcome you to the
TWENTIETH ANNUAL ELECTED OFFICIALS RETREAT
Challenges to our Communities: Poverty, An Overpopulated Criminal Justice System, and the Heroin/Opioid Epidemic
September 8-9, 2016 Sheraton Hotel Pittsburgh at Station Square
If you have questions about the materials or any aspect of the program, please inquire at the registration desk.
1 Table of Contents About The Institute ...... 3 Elected Officials Retreat Statement of Purpose ...... 4 Director’s Note ...... 5 Program Agenda ...... 7 Speaker Biographies...... 10 Program Criteria and Strategies ...... 29 Institute of Politics Board of Fellows ...... 31 Institute of Politics Policy Committees ...... 33 Poverty: Beyond the Urban Core Subcommittee ...... 45 Criminal Justice Task Force ...... 48 Opioid Epidemic Collaborative ...... 52 Pitt Researchers Taking New Approach on Opioid Epidemic ...... 56 For Further Reading ...... 59 Evaluation Instructions ...... 60
2 About the Institute
A forum for public and private decision makers
The Institute’s goal of consensus building among regional leaders, both elected and nonelected, is fulfilled by its unique ability to gather decision makers a round the table while acting as a neutral catalyst for public policy discourse. The facilitation of dialogue among public officials and other community leaders guides the Institute’s programming and its deliverables.
The Institute stimulates ongoing dialogue and offers issue specific educational programs and services such as seminars, briefings, and publications, which enable decision makers to examine regional economic, social, and political issues within local, state, and national contexts.
Access to expertise and research
The Institute provides regional elected officials and foundation, community, and business leaders with access to the many academic resources of the University of Pittsburgh and other area universities and strives to apply these resources to regional policy outcomes.
Student involvement
The Institute enables University of Pittsburgh students to gain valuable insights into the political process as well as the challenges and rewards of public service. In 2015, the Institute strengthened its student programming with the launch of the Elise Hillman Civic Forum, an initiative designed to help bring young people and the community together to fuel progress in the Pittsburgh region while reflecting the generosity and humanity Elise Hillman di splayed throughout her life.
Vision
The Institute of Politics is recognized as the region’s most effective partner in the development of enlightened public policy that promotes the vitality of Western Pennsylvania to the benefit of individuals, institutions, and businesses.
Mission
The Institute of Politics delivers timely information about the great issues affecting our region to elected officials and community leaders—and the public whom they serve—and provides a neutral forum where that knowledge and associated diverse viewpoints are discussed, digested, enriched, and applied to the goal of promoting an improved quality of life, government efficiency, and economic vitality in Western Pennsylvania.
3 Elected Officials Retreat Statement of Purpose The March 7, 1997 Institute of Politics Board of Fellows meeting produced a request that the University of Pittsburgh host a retreat for public officials from different levels of government in Western Pennsylvania. Its principal purpose is to provide an informal forum for the discussion of strategies to saddr r es egional issues. The meeting also aims to enhance professional relationships among the participants.
4 Director's Note Welcome to the 20thAnnual Elected Officials Retreat! This year’s retreat picks up where last year’s event left off as we dig deeper into three of the largest challenges impacting our region and state. We are pleased that you have chosen to be a part of this critical conversation and look forward to interacting with you over the next two days during thought-provoking presentations and discussions.
Over 25 years ago, the Institute was born out of a request from Southwestern Pennsylvania civic leaders to create an entity that could convene these leaders, hailing from various sectors, toward consensus on significant policy matters impacting the region. With this as the organization’s leading charge, the Institute has developed a reputation as a trusted partner in the development of public policy solutions and has become a leader in the coordination of regional entities engaged in these solutions. The Institute remains as committed to and driven by those same regional leaders as it was 25 years ago and has never been afraid of delving into difficult issues. Staying true to its principles, the work in which the Institute has been engaged over the past year is no exception.
For our 20th retreat, we have selected some of the most daunting and complex topics that the Institute has tackled in its history: suburban poverty, criminal justice reform, and the opioid/ heroin epidemic. These issues not only affect Southwestern Pennsylvania but also drive political discourse across the nation. Over the next two days, you will hear from a variety of our partners who have worked with us on these issues over the past year.
You will be the first audience to receive the release of our Poverty: Beyond the Urban Core policy brief, a publication that has come from the work of a special advisory committee that the Institute formed in the summer of 2015. That advisory committee was fortunate enough to be led by two of our region’s leaders at the state level, Pennsylvania House Majority Leader Dave Reed and Pennsylvania House Democratic Caucus Chairman Dan Frankel. In addition to this work, you will also receive an update on the work of the Criminal Justice Task Force, led by Mark Nordenberg, Chair of the Institute, and Fred Thieman, Henry Buhl Jr. Chair for Civic Leadership at the Buhl Foundation. The task force, convened in fall 2015, has recently completed an in- depth investigation of the county’s criminal justice system, which included research into national best practices and trends in the criminal justice system. You will learn about their 10- month process, their findings and recommendations, and their next steps, which are already in motion.
Lastly, beginning on Thursday evening and continuing into Friday, the Retreat will focus on the heroin/opioid epidemic that has been devastating our region and the nation. Not a day goes by where there is not a tragic news story involving the misuse of opioids and/or heroin. Over the past year, the Institute has worked with others in Southwestern Pennsylvania toward the goal of
5 eliminating opioid overdoses and creating a robust continuum of care for individuals suffering from the disease of substance addiction. Many of these partners, including U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Pennsylvania, David Hickton, and representatives from the University of Pittsburgh, the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Allegheny County Health Department, Allegheny County Department of Human Services, and the single county authorities will be discussing the efforts that they have been taking to combat this epidemic.
Because this particular topic is so personal, Melissa Weiksnar, a writer, teacher, advocate, and author of Heroin’s Puppet: The Rehab Journals of Amelia F.W. Caruso (1989-2009) will address participants on Friday morning to discuss the heartbreaking story of her daughter who engaged in a six-year battle with heroin addiction before finally succumbing to the disease in 2009.
We are sure that there will be difficult and frustrating moments over the next two days as we discuss three very complex topics. But, you will also learn about some creative and innovative work that has been happening in these areas to address these problems. We are grateful that you have agreed to join us in these conversations, because your participation will help to foster even greater collaboration and generate more solutions to tackle these issues. At this retreat, we hope that you will learn and collaborate with other regional leaders and, by doing so, become a part of the solution.
Sincerely,
Terry Miller
6 Program Agenda
Challenges to our Communities: Poverty, An Overpopulated Criminal Justice System, and the Heroin/Opioid Epidemic
Sheraton Pittsburgh Hotel at Station Square
Thursday, September 8, 2016
12:15-1:15 pm General Registration Grand Station I (Ballroom)
1:15-1:25 Welcome and Introduction by Terry Miller, Director, University of Pittsburgh Institute of Politics and Elsie Hillman Civic Forum
1:25-1:40 Presentation of First Coleman Award by Mark Nordenberg, Chancellor Emeritus, Distinguished Service Professor of Law, and Chair, Institute of Politics, University of Pittsburgh
1:40-2:00 Introductions and Retreat Overview by Terry Miller
2:00-2:30 Poverty: Beyond the Urban Core Overview featuring Dan Frankel, Democratic Caucus Chair, Pennsylvania House of Representatives, and Dave Reed, Majority Leader, Pennsylvania House of Representatives and moderated by Mark Nootbaar, Senior News Editor, 90.5 WESA
2:30-3:00 Poverty: Beyond the Urban Core Panel Discussion and Open Discussion moderated by Mark Nootbaar and featuring: • Dan Frankel • Dave Reed • Linda Croushore, Former Director, The Consortium for Public Education • James Huguley, Assistant Professor, University of Pittsburgh School of Social Work • Ellen McLean, CEO, Port Authority of Allegheny County • Paula McWilliams, President and CEO, Heritage Community Initiatives • Larry Swanson, Executive Director, ACTION Housing, Inc.
3:00-3:20 Break
7 3:20-3:35 Criminal Justice Task Force Overview and Speaker Introduction by Fred Thieman, Henry Buhl Jr. Chair for Civic Leadership, The Buhl Foundation
3:35-4:00 Guest Presentation by Nancy La Vigne, Director, Justice Policy Center, Urban Institute
4:00-4:15 Criminal Justice Task Force Wrap-Up and Rollout Plan by Mark Nordenberg
4:15-4:35 Open Discussion moderated by Mark Nordenberg
4:35-4:45 Presentation of Second Coleman Award by Mark Nordenberg
4:45-5:00 University Welcome by Patrick Gallagher, Chancellor, University of Pittsburgh
5:00-5:45 Reception Waterfront Room
5:45-6:30 Dinner
6:30-6:40 Speaker Introductions by Mark Nordenberg Grand Station I
6:40-7:00 Western Pennsylvania’s Response to the Opioid Epidemic: A Marriage between Public Health and Public Safety by David Hickton, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Pennsylvania
7:00-7:20 Examining the Opioid Epidemic from a Public Health Perspective by Donald Burke, Jonas Salk Chair in Global Health and Dean of the Graduate School of Public Health, University of Pittsburgh
7:20-7:45 Open Discussion
7:45-8:00 Closing Remarks by Marc Cherna, Director, Allegheny County Department of Human Services
8 Friday, September 9, 2016
8:00-8:30 am Breakfast Grand Station I (Ballroom)
8:30-8:45 Welcome and Introduction by Terry Miller
8:45-9:15 Life with Death by Melissa M. Weiksnar, writer, teacher, advocate, and author of Heroin’s Puppet: The Rehab Journals of Amelia F. W. Caruso (1989-2009)
9:15-9:45 Open Discussion moderated by Terry Miller
9:45-9:55 Introduction of Secretary Tennis by Mark Nordenberg
9:55-10:10 State Response to the Opioid Epidemic by Gary Tennis, Secretary, Pennsylvania Department of Drug and Alcohol Programs
10:10-10:25 Break
10:25-11:05 Local Response to the Opioid Epidemic moderated by David Hickton and featuring: • Karen Hacker, Director, Allegheny County Health Department • Cheryl Andrews, Director, Washington Drug and Alcohol Commission, Inc. • Latika Davis-Jones, Administrator, Bureau of Drug and Alcohol Services, Allegheny County Department of Human Services • Colleen D. Hughes, Executive Director, Westmoreland Drug and Alcohol Commission, Inc. • Rosa Davis, Executive Director, POWER
11:05-11:25 Open Discussion moderated by David Hickton
11:25-11:50 University of Pittsburgh/UPMC Response to the Opioid Epidemic featuring: • Diane Holder, President and CEO, UPMC Health Plan • Mark Nordenberg • Francis Solano, President, Community Medicine Division and Physician, UPMC 11:50-12:05 pm Open Discussion moderated by Terry Miller
12:05-12:15 Closing Remarks by Mark Nordenberg
12:15-1:00 Lunch
9 Speaker Biographies CHERYL ANDREWS
Cheryl Andrews is Executive Director for the Washington Drug and Alcohol Commission. Ms. Andrews has 15 years of experience working in the drug and alcohol field, specifically with the Single County Authority. During her five year tenure with the Commission, she has worked collaboratively in developing and implementing innovative programs within the criminal justice system; including the correctional facility and the court system, Children and Youth Services, local hospitals, and the faith-based community. Ms. Andrews works closely with the Washington County District Attorney to provide education and distribution of naloxone to first responders and community members. Ms. Andrews serves on U.S. Attorney David Hickton’s working group on drug overdose and addiction and is the co-chair of the prevention and education committee.
DONALD S. BE URK
Dr. Donald S. Burke is Dean of the Graduate School of Public Health and Associate Vice Chancellor for Global Health at the University of Pittsburgh. He is also first occupant of the UPMC-Jonas Salk Chair in Global Health. A native of Cleveland, Ohio, Dr. Burke received his BA f rom Western Reserve University and his MD from Harvard Medical School. He was an intern and resident in medicine at Boston City and Massachusetts General Hospitals and trained as a research fellow in infectious diseases at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center. He has studied prevention and control of infectious diseases of global concern, including HIV/AIDS, influenza, Japanese encephalitis, dengue, and emerging infectious diseases. He lived six years in Thailand, worked extensively in Cameroon, and conducted collaborative vaccine and epidemiology studies in India, China, South Africa, and other countries. He served 23 years as an active duty officer at the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research and 9 years as a professor at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. He joined the University of Pittsburgh in 2006 where as Dean he founded the Pitt Public Health Dynamics Laboratory, an academic team that develops computational models and simulations of epidemics and other dynamic public health problems, and uses these simulations to evaluate prevention and control strategies. Dr. Burke is a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, a Fellow of the Infectious Diseases Society of America, a past-President of the American Society for Tropical Diseases and Hygiene, and a Member of the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies of Science (USA).
MARC CHERNA
Marc Cherna has served as Director of the Allegheny County Department of Human Services (DHS) for 20 years. In that role, he has implemented system-wide changes that have resulted in significant improvement in outcomes for vulnerable children and families. Under Mr. Cherna’s
10 direction, the DHS has received numerous awards and national recognition for their work. He has also received many personal awards including the Casey Family Program’s first Lifetime Achievement in Child Welfare Leadership Award, The American Public Human Services Administration’s Betsey Rosenbaum award for Excellence in Child Welfare Administration and the Coleman award for Excellence in Community Service from the Institute of Politics. He serves on numerous boards and committees, including the University of Pittsburgh’s School of Social Work’s Board of Visitors, the University of Pittsburgh’s Institute of Politics Board of Fellows, the American Public Human Services Administrators Leadership Council, and the Mayor of Philadelphia’s Community Oversight Board.
Marc began his career in human services as a youth worker over 40 years ago. He has extensive experience in the field, including 13 years as an Assistant Director with the New Jersey Department of Human Services.
LINDA CROUSHORE
With support from the Heinz Endowments and the Allegheny Conference on Community Development, Dr. Linda L. Croushore founded The Consortium in 1985 to serve a single school district and has since presided over its growth into an organization serving districts across southwestern Pennsylvania. She began her career in McKeesport Area School District where she served first as a teacher and later as an instructional leader and administrator. She earned her undergraduate degree at Grove City College and a Master’s and Doctorate in Education at the University of Pittsburgh. She sits on numerous committees and boards, including the Advisory Board of Penn State Greater Allegheny, UCEA Center Advisory Board, Nurse Family Partnership Advisory Board, Institute of Politics Education Committee, and the Arts Education Collaborative Advisory Board. She has been honored in many ways for her work, most recently as a finalist in Pittsburgh’s Athena Awards competition, which honors women for providing service to their communities and professional support to other women. Previously, Dr. Croushore was honored as one of Carlow University’s Women of Spirit, one of the Tri-State Area School Study Council’s Distinguished Women in Education and one of the Girl Scouts of Western Pennsylvania’s Women of Distinction. Additionally she received a Stanford Graduate School of Business-Center for Social Innovation Fellowship and was honored by the Women’s Press Club of Pittsburgh.
ROSA DAVIS
Rosa Davis is the Executive Director of POWER – Pennsylvania Organization for Women in Early Recovery. Under her leadership, POWER has grown from a single-program agency founded in 1990 to an organization that today offers a range of comprehensive gender- responsive, trauma-informed addictions treatment and recovery support services to women with substance use disorders and their families. Rosa earned both her Bachelor’s and Master’s
11 degrees in Social Work from the University of Pittsburgh and has more than 30 years of diverse human services experience including working in the juvenile justice, foster care, and public school systems. She is a graduate of Leadership Pittsburgh XVII and is a member of NASW, University of Pittsburgh’s School of Social Work Executive Council, CLEAR Steering Committee, GPNP’s Public Policy Committee, and Allegheny County’s Block Grant Advisory Board. She is the immediate past president of the Pennsylvania Halfway House Association. Rosa is the recipient of several awards and honors including YWCA’s Tribute to Women’s Leadership, Oakland Catholic’s Leading Ladies, Girl Scouts-Trillium Council’s Woman of Distinction, and Message Carriers’ Tree of Life.
LATIKA DAVIS-JONES
Dr. Latika D. Davis-Jones is the Administrator for Allegheny County Department of Human Services (DHS), Office of Behavioral Health (OBH), Bureau of Drug and Alcohol Services. Latika is responsible for administering the planning, organization, coordination and evaluation of drug and alcohol programs in Allegheny County which includes the provision of technical assistance and ensuring that contracted providers are in compliance with federal, state and local drug and alcohol regulations and mandates. Dr. Davis-Jones is an adjunct professor at the University of Pittsburgh-School of Social Work.
Latika’s work experience and education has afforded her the opportunity to develop a variety of skills including but not limited to: program administration/management, program evaluation, and project development. While working toward advanced degrees (MSW, MPH, PhD), she worked in various capacities which have helped to increase her knowledge and skills as it relates to policy, data analysis, research design and implementation, and assessment of research instruments. She has over 20 years’ experience in program administration (with 19 years focused on drug and alcohol treatment, prevention, and intervention services.)
At the University of Pittsburgh, she teaches a required foundation course that focuses on social work practice and issues of diversity, risk, oppression, resilience, and empowerment. It explores these issues within the context of developing students’ knowledge of and skills in using social work problem-solving methods with individuals, families, groups, communities, and organizations. Its purpose is to prepare students to be responsive social workers able to work respectfully and competently with diverse populations. Additionally, Dr. Davis-Jones worked with Drs. Larry Davis and Rafael Engel on their book entitled, “Measuring Race and Ethnicity: Inside and Out.” She was involved in writing the early drafts of book chapters along with becoming essentially the project manager for getting the book completed. The book was published in 2010 by Springer Publications. Additionally, Dr. Davis-Jones worked with the late Bernadette Turner and Dr. John M. Wallace as a co-principal investigator on the Strengthening Pittsburgh’s African American Nonprofits (SPAAN) Project and served as the research manager for the Children Youth and Family Master Plan (CYFMP) for the Homewood Children’s Village.
12 Dr. Davis-Jones currently volunteers her time by promoting health and wellness through an on- line community called Living Healthy and Fit (#LHF). Through this group she encourages men and women to live a healthy and fit lifestyle. The group recognizes that behavior change is a process! The goal of group is to reduce emotional and physical health disparities by promoting positive healthy habits among men and women who actively engage the group.
Past national/community involvement includes: • US Attorney Hickton’s Working Group on Drug Overdose and Addiction (Current) • Prevention Economic Impact Model (Funded by NIDA)—Stakeholder Advisory Committee (2015/2016) • Center for Disease Control (CDC) Special Emphasis Panels (2011-2015) • Point Park University –Doctoral Mentor (2015) • Vice President, GOAL(Global Outreach for Addiction Leadership & Learning) Project (2008- 2010) • Board Member, Three Rivers Workforce Investment Board (2005-2007) • Co-Chair, Urban League Young Professional- Research Committee (2004-2006) • Vice President, Urban League Young Professionals (2003-2004) Dr. Davis-Jones was recently nominated as Message Carriers Tree of Life Awardee and will soon receive the Bernadette Turner Leadership Award for 2016 from the African American Leadership Association (September 23, 2016). Other recognition includes: Allegheny County’s Women’s History (March 2015) and Black History Months (February 2015) Awardee and past recognition from Pittsburgh Courier’s Fab 40 and Pittsburgh Magazine’s 40 under 40 awards. Last but not least, Latika is married to Maurice Jones and they have two lovely children. She is a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated and in her leisure she loves to travel, read, and participate in running events with her family.
DAN B. FRANKEL
During his more than 15 years as a legislator serving Pennsylvania, Rep. Dan Frankel has been an outspoken advocate for civil rights and public health. He's championed legislation to bring equality to Pennsylvania for LGBT residents for more than a decade, opposed efforts to limit women's health-care options and worked to improve our community's overall well-being through legislation supporting strong public health measures, and expanding access to health care and human services.
As Democratic Caucus chair, he is a member of the leadership team that shapes the policy direction of the House Democrats. Before being elected caucus chair, he served as Allegheny County Delegation chair.
An active community leader, Rep. Frankel is dedicated to promoting urban and environmental issues. He's honored to have participated in Pittsburgh's urban renaissance through his past service on the Urban Redevelopment Authority of the City of Pittsburgh and the Pittsburgh Convention and Visitors Bureau. Two of Pittsburgh's largest parks, Frick and Schenley, are located in District 23. Frankel proudly promotes all of Pittsburgh's parks and green spaces through service on the Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy and Western Pennsylvania Conservancy's boards of directors.
13 Frankel was born and raised in Pittsburgh, and returned a few years after finishing college to live and work in his home city. As chairman of the Pennsylvania Jewish Coalition, he initially worked with the Pennsylvania legislature as an advocate for appropriate funding for those non- profits caring for vulnerable residents, and he remains a strong advocate for those community organizations fulfilling one of government's critical roles – caring for citizens in need.
Other board service includes membership on the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh's Board of Trustees and the State Employee Retirement System board. Previously, Rep. Frankel served as a commonwealth trustee for the University of Pittsburgh; past president of the Jewish Family and Children's Services board, where he remains an emeritus member; and on the boards of Magee Women's Research Institute, WQED Multimedia and the Jewish Healthcare Foundation.
Frankel recently received an award as one of 12 male leaders promoting gender equity in Pennsylvania from the Women and Girls Foundation.
Frankel graduated from Pennington School in 1974. He earned his bachelor's degree in political science in 1978 from Kenyon College in Gambier, Ohio. In 2000, he completed a certificate program for senior executives in state and local government at Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government. Formerly an insurance executive, he served as vice president of Hilb, Rogal and Hamilton Co., and as vice president of the Frankel Co., a regional insurance brokerage firm.
Rep. Frankel was first elected to the legislature in 1998. He and his wife Debra have three children.
PATRICK GALLAGHER
Patrick Gallagher has served as the University of Pittsburgh’s 18th chancellor since August 2014. In this position, he works to advance the University’s legacy of academic excellence, collaboration and research innovation.
Prior to his installation at Pitt, Gallagher spent more than two decades in public service. In 2009, President Barack Obama appointed him to direct the National Institute of Standards and Technology. While in this role, Gallagher also acted as deputy secretary of commerce until leaving for Pitt in the summer of 2014.
In addition to performing his duties as chancellor, Gallagher is one of 12 inaugural members appointed by the president to serve on the Commission on Enhancing National Cybersecurity. He also is active on a number of community boards, including the United Way of Southwestern Pennsylvania, Internet2 and the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities.
Gallagher holds a PhD in physics from the University of Pittsburgh and a bachelor’s degree in physics and philosophy from Benedictine College in Kansas. He and his wife, Karen, are the proud parents of three sons.
14 KAREN HACKER
Dr. Karen Hacker has served as Director of the Allegheny County Health Department since her appointment by the Allegheny Board of Health in Fall 2013.
She is an Adjunct Professor in the Departments of Health Policy and Management and Behavioral and Community Health Sciences at the University Of Pittsburgh Graduate School Of Public Health and a Clinical Professor at the University Of Pittsburgh School Of Medicine. Prior to her current position, Dr. Hacker was Executive Director of the Institute for Community Health and the Senior Medical Director for Public and Community Health at the Cambridge Health Alliance with appointments at Harvard Medical School and School of Public Health.
Dr. Hacker received her undergraduate degree from Yale University, her MD from Northwestern University and her MPH from Boston University. She completed her residency in Internal Medicine at Boston City Hospital and her Adolescent Medicine Fellowship at Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles. She has extensive experience working with diverse populations as a public health leader, health care administrator, primary care physician and community based participatory researcher.
Throughout her career, Dr. Hacker has worked with community partners to catalyze change in both practice and research environments. Her research has been responsive to community needs,with interests focused on adolescent risk and resiliency, child mental health, social determinants of immigrant health, and health policy. She has led efforts to incorporate behavioral health screening into pediatric primary care and worked with communities on issues of substance abuse and overdose prevention and youth suicide.
As Director, Dr. Hacker is the highest ranking official in the Health Department and is responsible for overseeing its programs and activities. She also serves as Secretary to the Allegheny County Board of Health.
DAVID HICKTON
David J. Hickton was nominated for United States Attorney for the Western District of Pennsylvania by President Barack Obama on May 20, 2010, and was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on Aug. 5, 2010. He was sworn in as the District's 57th U.S. Attorney on Aug.12, 2010.
Prior to becoming U.S. Attorney, Mr. Hickton engaged in the private practice of law, specifically in the areas of transportation, litigation, commercial and white collar crime. Mr. Hickton began his legal career serving as a Law Clerk for the Honorable United States District Judge Gustave Diamond from 1981 to 1983. For more than a decade, Mr. Hickton was an Adjunct Professor of Law at Duquesne University School of Law where he taught antitrust.
15 Mr. Hickton is a Fellow in the American College of Trial Lawyers, and a Fellow of the Academy of Trial Lawyers of Allegheny County. Mr. Hickton has been admitted before the United States Supreme Court, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, the United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania and several of the U.S. Circuit Courts.
Previously, Mr. Hickton was involved in a wide range of community activities, and has long been an active supporter of and participant in organizations which benefit children and the arts. He is a past Executive Board Member of the Pittsburgh Public Theater, and served as its President. Mr. Hickton also was a longtime member of the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust, a non-profit organization that uses arts and culture to reinvigorate the Downtown.
His nomination as United States Attorney marks Mr. Hickton’s second Presidential appointment. From 1999 to 2001, Mr. Hickton served on the President’s Advisory Committee on the Arts for the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts at the request of then-President Bill Clinton.
Mr. Hickton is a 1978 graduate of the Pennsylvania State University and a 1981 graduate of the University of Pittsburgh School of Law.
DIANE HOLDER
Diane P. Holder is an Executive Vice President of UPMC, President of the UPMC Insurance Services Division, and President & CEO of UPMC Health Plan. During her tenure, the companies of the UPMC Insurance Services Division have been recognized nationally for having the highest quality and outstanding service. As part of an integrated health care delivery system, UPMC Health Plan is owned by UPMC, an integrated global health enterprise and academic medical center that is recognized nationally for its clinical excellence, technology innovation, and clinical care, education, and research. UPMC provides health coverage and benefit management for more than 3.0 million members and is the second largest provider-owned health insurer in the nation.
Ms. Holder has held a number of senior leadership positions in health care, including hospital and insurance CEO roles. She has deep expertise in the strategic and operational requirements of integrated payer-provider systems and has been actively engaged in the national dialogue on this subject.
Recognized for her leadership in business, as well as for her distinguished dedication to the community, she has received numerous honors and awards. These include: the Greater Pittsburgh Chamber of Commerce’s prestigious 2014 Athena Award, the Pittsburgh Business Times Diamond Award that honors Southwestern Pennsylvania’s outstanding business leaders; one of Pennsylvania’s Best 50 Women in Business by the Governor, and as a 2015 Woman Who Makes a Difference Award recipient, from the International Women’s Forum recognizing twelve women from around the globe who have “exhibited exemplary leadership and created trailblazing change."
16 In 2011, she created a partnership between UPMC Health Plan and The Advisory Board Company to form Evolent Health, a now publicly traded, independent health care services company that assists hospital systems nationwide to develop population health programs and build risk and health insurance infrastructure, modeled in large part after UPMC. Ms. Holder was the founding CEO of Community Care Behavioral Health, the largest not-for-profit behavioral health management company in the nation.
Ms. Holder received her undergraduate degree from the University of Michigan and her master’s degree from Columbia University. She serves as a faculty member of the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and adjunct faculty of the Graduate School of Public Health. Ms. Holder serves on a number of local, regional, and national boards, including the Heinz History Center, the Pittsburgh Symphony, Chatham University, the Insurance Federation of Pennsylvania, the Alliance of Community Health Plans, and Evolent Health. She is a frequent speaker on the subject of health care delivery and financing.
COLLEEN D. HUGHES
Ms. Colleen D. Hughes is the Executive Director at Westmoreland Drug and Alcohol Commission, Inc. (WeDAC). She holds a MS degree in Business and Industry Counseling, as well as being a Certified Advanced Alcohol and Drug Counselor. Ms. Hughes’ position involves overseeing the development and implementation of necessary operational activities in regard to the planning, organization direction and administration of the Drug and Alcohol service delivery system. This system includes intervention, prevention, treatment, case management and recovery support services. She also supervises the use of all funds for the administration and provision of services under the authority of the Single County Authority.
She is a member of the PA Association of County Drug and Alcohol Administrators (PACDAA). Ms. Hughes is also on the board of directors and serves as the president for Southwest Behavioral Health Management, Inc. She currently serves as co-chair of the Westmoreland County Drug Overdose Task Force. Her experience includes Deputy Director of WeDAC for three years, Deputy Director and Director of Washington Drug and Alcohol Commission, as well as ten years of experience in substance abuse treatment.
JAMES HUGULEY
Dr. James P. Huguley is an Assistant Professor at the University of Pittsburgh’s Center on Race and Social Problems and School of Social Work. His research focuses on school-based interventions that promote positive academic and mental health outcomes for African American youth. Dr. Huguley’s current projects examine racially equitable approaches to school discipline, best practices in STEM programs for African American adolescents, and relationships between ethnocentric parenting practices and African American youth outcomes. Prior to his academic career, Dr. Huguley served concurrently as a middle school special needs teacher and as the co- director of Breakthrough Providence, an academic program for low-income students of color. Dr. Huguley received his bachelors in English-Secondary Education from Providence College, and both his masters in Risk and Prevention and doctorate in Human Development and
Psychology from Harvard University. 17 NANCY LA VIGNE
Nancy La Vigne is director of the Justice Policy Center at the Urban Institute, where she leads a staff of over 35 researchers and oversees a research portfolio of more than 50 active projectsspanning a wide array of crime, justice, and public safety topics. Before being appointed director, she served for eight years as a senior research associate at Urban, directing projects on prisoner reentry, crime prevention, and the evaluation of criminal justice technologies.
Before joining Urban, La Vigne was the founding director of the Crime Mapping Research Center at the National Institute of Justice—the research, technology, and evaluation arm of the US Department of Justice (DOJ). She later served as special assistant to the assistant attorney general for the Office of Justice Programs within DOJ. She has held positions as research director for the Texas sentencing commission, research fellow at the Police Executive Research Forum, and consultant to the National Council on Crime and Delinquency. Her research interests focus on criminal justice evaluation, prisoner reentry, crime prevention, and the spatial analysis of crime and criminal behavior. She has published widely on these topics, appearing in various scholarly journals and practitioner publications. She testifies frequently before members of Congress on a wide array of criminal justice topics and serves as a media spokesperson.
La Vigne, who is the recipient of numerous awards and honors, received her BA from Smith College, MPA from the University of Texas, and PhD in criminal justice from Rutgers University.
ELLEN MCLEAN
Ellen McLean was named Chief Executive Officer of Port Authority of Allegheny County effective February 1, 2014. Prior to her appointment, she served as interim CEO starting in February 2013.
Ms. McLean joined Port Authority as Chief Financial Officer in October 2010. In that position, she supervised multiple departments, including Financial Planning and Budgets, Grants and Capital Programs, Accounting and Treasury, Information Technology and Purchasing/Materials Management, and served as trustee for the Authority’s three pension plans.
Before joining Port Authority, Ms. McLean was Managing Director of Infrastructure Initiatives at the Urban Land Institute in Washington, DC, where she led a team in research, development and distribution of policies promoting smart infrastructure investment and financing.
Ms. McLean was Chief Financial Officer for the City of Pittsburgh from 1999 to 2005 during the administration of Mayor Tom Murphy. She was responsible for managing the City’s $450 million budget, and served as executive director of the City’s Comprehensive Municipal Pension Trust Fund and treasurer of the Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority. She was a key player in developing and implementing the City’s fiscal strategy, resulting in legislative approval of broader regional taxing power and wide-ranging cost controls through the adoption of a budget plan under State Act 47.
Prior to that, she served as the City’s assistant director for the Office of Management and Budget, and assistant director of the Finance Department.
18 Over the course of her career, she has also served as a consultant in the areas of strategic and financial planning for public entities, nonprofits and foundations, including Pittsburgh Public Schools, the Heinz Endowments and the Three Rivers Arts Festival.
Ms. McLean received a Master of Public Management degree with a focus in Financial Management from the H.J. Heinz School of Public Policy at Carnegie Mellon University, as well as a Bachelor of Arts degree and a Master of Arts degree in English from Duquesne University. She is a resident of Pittsburgh.
PAULA MCWILLIAMS
Paula G. McWilliams is the President and CEO of Heritage Community Initiatives.
For over thirty years, Heritage Community Initiatives has been d edicated to enhancing the lives of economically challenged families dan i ndividuals through pragmatic initiatives largely in the areas of education, transportation and community outreach.
Prior to joining Heritage, Ms. McWilliams was the dPresident an Founder of The McWilliams Group, an international professional services firm dedicated to the business of philanthropy. Founding the organization was a tangible representation of Ms. McWilliams’ longtime desire to dedicate her career to pragmatic philanthropy. The McWilliams Group had the honor of working with corporations and individuals to expand and/or enhance their philanthropic portfolio and specialized in nonprofit re-engineering to maximize operational capabilities, brand awareness and financial development. The McWilliams Group served over twenty organizations, foundations and individuals – designing and implementing initiatives valued at over $32 million and impacting hundreds of thousands of individuals worldwide. McWilliams’ fourteen years at AT&T Wireless (previously M cCaw Cellular Communications) afforded her the opportunity to take on responsibilities ranging from operations, project management and financial governance to marketing, government relations and corporate communications. She led the Company’s International and North American mergers/acquisitions as well as new technology communications strategy during its most aggressive period of geographic expansion and introduction of technological advancements. Due to McWilliams’ operational knowledge and project management ex perience, she was chosen to take on a leadership role in a number of strategic projects including the Company’s joint venture with British Telecom and insuring all compliance requirements of t he Department of J ustice were met in order to complete the merger of McCaw Cellular Communications and AT&T. McWilliams also did an international tour of duty in Asia where she acted as Director of Public Affairs for FarEasTone - a joint venture between AT&T Wireless and the FarEasternGroup, Taiwan, ROC – the tfi trs ri-band wireless system in the world and the first dual-branded service by AT&T outside of the U.S.
19 As the Vice President of Corporate Responsibility and Philanthropy, McWilliams was charged with establishing the Company’s civic guidelines and initiatives. The objectives – to define and enhance the organization’s brand and image; increase visibility and positioning nationally and locally and advance public policy objectives while addressing issues uppermost in the minds of customers and employees in a fiscally responsible and measurable manner. The resulting philanthropic/corporate citizenship program was based on strategic partnerships with leading national nonprofit organizations allowing for a more effective and efficient implementation of grassroots programs nationwide.
Whether in operations, product development or public affairs, McWilliams always maintained her involvement in the philanthropic efforts of the organization. She designed and implemented highly successful domestic and international philanthropic programs in the areas of public safety, disaster response and education including two highly visible joint ventures between the American Red Cross and AT&T – Telecommunications Disaster Services (TDS) and Kids’ Call. TDS was the first formal program of its kind to provide wireless technology and volunteers to all Level III and above disasters in North America. She introduced the program to Taiwan as well – the first integrated corporate philanthropy program in the nation. Kids’ Call, a program that reached over a million children nationwide, was designed to teach youngsters in grades K-2 how to recognize a disaster and call 911. The program’s story-based curriculum was written by Dr. Paul A. McWilliams, co-founder of The McWilliams Group.
McWilliams then accepted the role of CEO of one of the largest Chapters of The American Red Cross with the charge to restore its financial strength, brand positioning and reputation. McWilliams and her team were able to achieve the first fiscal year in a decade to end in the black. During her tenure, the Chapter expanded its geographic reach by integrating four additional Chapters as well as growing the Federal and local contracts to manage the eighth largest Foster Grandparents Program in the country, an extensive Retired Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP) and the Washington County Homeless/Housing program.
McWilliams, whose attended Lehigh University and Columbia University, is a frequent national speaker and panelist for foundations, nonprofits and corporations in the areas of marketing, public/private partnerships and the “halo” effect of corporate social responsibility. Her philanthropic efforts have been recognized by organizations including the Congress of the United States, the FBI, the FAA, FEMA, the Department of Homeland Security, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the Paralyzed Veterans of America and the Red Cross of Taiwan.
MARK NOOTBAAR
Mark Nootbaar is a native of Illinois but moved to Pittsburgh more than 16 years ago to become the Assistant News Director at National Public Radio Charter Member Station WDUQ. As assistant News Director, Mark served as WDUQ’s lead reporter and morning assignment editor.
20 After WDUQ was sold in 2011, Mark moved with the frequency to the new station to become the Senior News Editor. In 2016 he returned to his reporting roots as Special Reporter and in that context oversees such reporting projects as 90.5 WESA Celebrates, Tech Reports, and more.
Mark has also worked in Illinois and Texas. He lives in the North Hills with his lovely wife and daughter.
MARK NORDENBERG
Mark Nordenberg joined the faculty of Pitt’s School of Law in 1977. Earlier in his career, he served as Dean of the School of Law and as Interim Provost of the University. In 1995, he was elected Interim Chancellor by the University’s Board of Trustees, and the next year, following a national search, he was elected Chancellor. Nordenberg served in that office for nineteen years and led Pitt through one of the most impressive periods of progress in its 229-year history.
Throughout his career, Nordenberg has been very active in civic affairs and has received many important forms of recognition. Among them, he has been named Pittsburgh’s Person of the Year by Pittsburgh Magazine and a History Maker by the Senator John Heinz History Center. Reflecting his role as a regional leader in higher education, he has been awarded honorary degrees by Carnegie Mellon University, the Community College of Allegheny County, Duquesne University, LaRoche College and Thiel College.
In 2014, Nordenberg and Jared Cohon, President Emeritus of Carnegie Mellon, received the Elsie Hilliard Hillman Lifetime Achievement Award for Excellence in Public Service from the Institute of Politics. After stepping down as Chancellor, he joined the Institute as its Chair and has been particularly involved in its incarceration and opioid initiatives. He serves on the boards of Bank of New York Mellon, BNY Mellon’s Southwestern Pennsylvania Foundation, Manchester Bidwell and UPMC.
DAVE REED
Serving his seventh term in the Pennsylvania General Assembly, Dave Reed represents the 62nd Legislative District. In November 2014, Reed was elected by his colleagues to be the Majority Leader of the 199th legislative session of the General Assembly, a position he assumed on December 1, 2014.
Dave Reed’s emergence as one of Pennsylvania’s key leaders mirrors his approach to life: Preparation and perseverance are the keys to making a difference. He learned the value of hard work from his parents.
During his tenure in the House of Representatives, Dave has remained focused on what he views
21 as his two main responsibilities: pushing for good policies in Harrisburg while providing quality, reliable constituent services to residents in the district.
In November 2010, Dave’s hard work on legislative issues first culminated with his selection by members of the House Republican Caucus to serve as the chairman of the House Majority Policy Committee. As Majority Policy Committee chairman, he conducted hearings about important issues, working with stakeholders and his colleagues to address major issues facing the Commonwealth.
As Policy Chair, he focused on improving quality of life for all Pennsylvanians and improving the climate for job creation. Dave created and led to passage a competitive business tax package designed to stimulate economic growth and private sector job creation. In addition, as a strong believer in the need to balance our economic necessities with our environmental responsibilities, Dave supported commonsense policies which helped grow the Marcellus Shale gas industry while protecting the Commonwealth’s natural heritage for future generations.
Alongside partners from the nonprofit sector, faith based organizations and community groups, Rep. Reed also led the Empowering Opportunities: Gateways Out of Poverty policy initiative, designed to study the barriers facing low-income residents as they work to become self- sufficient.
In November 2014, as chairman of the House Republican Campaign Committee (HRCC), House Republicans increased their majority to 119 members. Reed chaired HRCC three consecutive cycles, growing the majority each election. This latest election resulted in the largest majority Republicans have held in the state House since the 1957-1958 legislative session.
During the leadership elections for the 2015-16 Session, the 119 members of the House Republican Caucus elected Reed Majority Leader. In this role, he remains committed to passing responsible, on-time budgets, while focusing on policies to help grow in-state jobs and spur additional job creation.
Dave remains committed to the core principles of limited government, fiscal responsibility and accountability. His goal is to improve the Commonwealth for current residents and future generations.
In 2016, Dave was among 24 of the country’s rising political stars selected for the Aspen Institute’s Rodel Fellowships in Public Leadership program. The program is designed to bring together elected officials under age 50 who have demonstrated an outstanding ability to work responsibly across partisan divisions and bring greater civility to public discourse. The 24-month
22 program is a three-part series, where fellows meet periodically throughout the country to discuss effective leadership, bipartisan efforts and statewide policy implementation.
Dave represents the sixth generation of his family to reside in Indiana County. While growing up in Homer City, Dave was raised to believe that, with enough hard work, anything is possible.
Dave graduated from Homer-Center High School, where he was on the baseball and football teams. He went on to earn a bachelor’s degree in mathematics and economics from the Robert E. Cook Honors College at Indiana University of Pennsylvania (IUP). He served as an intern for Gov. Tom Ridge’s Policy Office for Community and Economic Development, where he continued to demonstrate his strong work ethic.
Dave’s graduate studies at the University of Pennsylvania, where he received a Master of Governmental Administration Degree, focused on effective and efficient government.
Dave, his wife, Heather, their son, Joshua, and their two daughters, Gracie and Ellie, live in White Township. The Reeds are members of Grace United Methodist Church and participate in numerous civic and community organizations.
FRANCIS SOLANO
Dr. Solano currently serves as President of the Community Medicine Division and Vice President of the Physician Services Division at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, which employs over 3,500 physicians. He is the lead physician in the area of quality, responsible for the development of clinical guidelines for preventive care and chronic disease management. The Community Medicine Division is recognized for its quality projects in the areas of colorectal cancer screening, smoking cessation and atrial fibrillation. Dr. Solano also serves as Medical Director of The Wolf Center at UPMC.
Dr. Solano is a Clinical Professor of Medicine at the University of Pittsburgh and a practicing internist who continues to be involved in clinical research and participates in clinical trials and funded research with his academic colleagues.
LARRY SWANSON
Larry Swanson has been executive director of ACTION-Housing since 2005. Prior to that he had been deputy executive director and was responsible for real estate development and oversight of property and asset management of more than 1,500 units with a combine value of $147 million. He was also in charge of property improvement, housing counseling, energy conservation, and special-needs housing initiatives. In addition to being ACTION-Housing’s chief executive
23 officer, he oversees three subsidiaries that implement construction, asset management, and tax credit efforts. He joined ACTION-Housing in 1979 and, together with the previous executive director, built a comprehensive regional affordable housing organization.
Mr. Swanson was a founding member of the Housing Alliance of Pennsylvania (formerly the Pennsylvania Low Income Housing Coalition) and served as its board president from 1985 until 1999. He remains on the board and it president of the Alliance’s fundraising affiliate. He served on the State advisory committee that developed the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit program for Pennsylvania. Mr. Swanson also helped develop a mortgage assistance program that at first operated locally and now operates statewide and is the largest publicly funded program of its type in the country. He worked with Housing Partnership Network staff to develop a national mutual insurance initiative that now provided coverage for 65,000 rental homes across the country, and he served as board chair for Housing Partnership Insurance, Inc. for 10 years.
In 2010 Mr. Swanson was elected Chair of the Board of Directors of the Housing Partnership Network a national organization for joint business ventures of some 100 major nonprofit housing development organizations. Prior to joining ACTION-Housing, Mr. Swanson worked with the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs in program and policy development and taught at the undergraduate level at the Pennsylvania State University. He has worked as a land use planning consultant and on job development programs in Ohio. He holds a BA in political science and a master’s degree in regional planning, both from the Pennsylvania State University.
GARY TENNIS
Gary Tennis was appointed Pennsylvania’s first Secretary of the new Department of Drug and Alcohol Programs in 2012 and re-appointed by Governor Tom Wolf in 2015.
Tennis worked in the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office from 1980 until 2006. As the Chief of the Legislation Unit from 1986-2006, he served as the legislative liaison for the Pennsylvania District Attorney’s Association, working primarily with the Pennsylvania General Assembly. In his position, Tennis emphasized the importance of legislation that strengthened access to and resources for drug and alcohol addiction treatment within and outside of the criminal justice system.
As Chairman of the District Attorney’s Hiring Committee from 1986 to 1993, Tennis founded the Minority Hiring Committee, that worked successfully to recruit African-American, Latino- American, and Asian-Pacific American law students and lawyers to become prosecutors.
In 1992-3, Tennis served under Presidents George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton as Executive Director of the President’s Commission on Model State Drug Laws, a bipartisan group of state Attorneys General, District Attorneys, Judges, Mayors, Police Chiefs, treatment and prevention
24 experts, and legislators. After five public hearings across the nation addressing the issues of Economic Remedies, Community Mobilization, Treatment, Drug Free Families, Schools & Workplace, and Crimes Code, the Commission published a five-volume report with 44 model laws in those areas, enhanced by policy statements and section-by-section commentary for each law.
After completion of the work of the President’s Commission, the group formed the National Alliance on Model State Drug Laws (NAMSDL), a congressionally-mandated and funded nonprofit organization. NAMSDL supports states in the adoption of the Model Laws and other effective, cost-beneficial, proven legislation and policies to reduce drug and alcohol abuse. Secretary Tennis served as NAMSDL’s Chairman from 2010 until 2015, and remains on the Board.
Tennis currently serves as Treasurer on the Board of the National Association of State Alcohol and Drug Authority Directors, and on the Board of the National Association of Drug Court Professionals.
In 2015, Tennis received the Ramstad-Kennedy Award, as well as the Pennsylvania Rural Health Leader of the Year. In 2014, he was honored to receive the NASADAD Award for Exceptional Leadership and Support of Substance Abuse Prevention and Treatment. That year, he also received the Rehabilitation & Community Providers Association Administrative Leadership Award, the first ever government official to receive the award from that group.
Tennis graduated from University of Pennsylvania Law School in 1980. Prior to that, he taught Junior High School in Pittsburgh, PA from 1975 to 1977. He was a Rhodes Scholar Nominee for the University of Tulsa, where he graduated in 1975.
FREDERICK W. THIEMAN
Frederick W. Thieman was named President of the Buhl Foundation, Pittsburgh’s oldest multi- purpose foundation, in June of 2007. A former United States Attorney for the Western District of Pennsylvania, Mr. Thieman arrived at Buhl with an impressive civic and professional background. Appointed by President Clinton, Mr. Thieman served as the United States Attorney from 1993 to 1997, where he headed an office of 42 attorneys who both prosecuted criminal violations throughout Western Pennsylvania and handled voluminous civil litigation ranging from health care issues and tort liability to employment rights and environmental impact. While serving as the U. S. Attorney, Mr. Thieman was instrumental in establishing a youth crime prevention effort in Allegheny County that garnered national attention. Over the course of his 30 year legal career, Mr. Thieman practiced as a trial attorney with a specialty in complex business related litigation. He began his career in 1977 as a law clerk to Pennsylvania Supreme Court Justice Thomas W. Pomeroy, Jr. While practicing law, Mr. Thieman was recognized in
25 professional journals as one of the leading attorneys in Pennsylvania. Mr. Thieman was admitted to practice in 1977 after graduating magna cum laude from the University of Pittsburgh School of Law where he was a member of the Order of the Coif and served as Assistant Editor of the Law Review. A 1973 honors graduate of the Pennsylvania State University, Mr. Thieman is a member of the American College of Trial Lawyers, Academy of Trial Lawyers, the Pennsylvania Bar, the United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania, the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, and the U.S. Supreme Court. Mr. Thieman has served on numerous non-profit boards and foundation boards, including the Heinz Endowments and the Buhl Foundation, and is the recipient of numerous civic leadership awards from organizations such as the University of Pittsburgh, the Urban League and the Mentoring Partnership of Southwestern Pennsylvania. Mr. Thieman is a lifelong resident of the Pittsburgh area where he resides with his wife Christine.
MELISSA WEIKSNAR
Melissa Weiksnar, has been a writer, speaker, and advocate since 2010, using her daughter Amy's story to educate about how addiction can impact any family. She published "Heroin's Puppet -Amy (and her disease)" (2012) and "It's Not Gunna Be an Addiction: the Adolescent Journals of Amelia F.W. Caruso" (2014).
She has formally shared with over 17,000 listeners in schools, community, healthcare, and religious settings. She participated in the 2015 filming of the Jim Wahlberg film "If Only" and has spoken on panels after showings of the movie. She also testified in Massachusetts for the Good Samaritan legislation which paved the way for widespread deployment of Narcan; Amy overdosed in a treatment facility that did not carry Narcan.
Ms. Weiksnar attended Wellesley College and is a graduate of MIT, the University of Houston, and Harvard Business School. She spent the first part of her career in high tech, including co- founding Synernetics Inc. In 2002 she switched to high school teaching, and most recently worked at the Center for Adolescent Substance Abuse Research at Boston Children's Hospital. Ms. Weiksnar is married and has two older children.
26 Program Criteria and Strategies The Institute of Politics committees and staff use the following criteria to develop publications and forums relating to key regional policy issues.
The Criteria
• The two primary criteria for Institute programs are that they are planned, developed, and implemented with the involvement of elected officials and that there are policy outcomes. • A unique role of the Institute of Politics is to serve as a neutral catalyst to bring together elected officials from different levels of government, community and civic leaders, foundation, business and labor executives, and other stakeholders to freely discuss the critical policy issues facing our region. Thus, the Institute will conduct its business in a politically neutral environment where open, inclusive, candid, civil discourse is both promoted and valued. • The signature programming strategy of the Institute will continue to be to serve as a catalyst for regional policy making. Unless otherwise determined by its governing structure, Institute sessions will be regional, intergovernmental, interdisciplinary, non- partisan, and off the record. • Effective policy discussions and desirable outcomes are dependent on an informed exchange of ideas rooted in up-to-date information that measures the region’s performance against best practices. To that end, policy committees will utilize available sources of regional data to inform their deliberations. • To ensure that Institute programs and publications meet the approval of its governing structure—Board of Fellows, Executive Committee, and Policy Committees—Institute strategies will be generated and fulfilled through this internal governing structure and the Institute staff. • The Institute hopes to achieve policy outcomes in the forms of public policy education, public discussion and dialogue, dissemination of publications, and dissemination of regional information to inform state and national policy development. All programs will be individually evaluated; an overall evaluation will be conducted periodically.
The Strategies
• Educational Forums: In the form of seminars, conferences, retreats, and programs on substantive regional issues for elected officials and civic, community, and business leaders. • Federal, State, and Local Government Policy Sessions: Small-scale data-driven forums on policy issues facing the region.
27 • Development of Policy Guidance Documents: A committee may determine that it makes sense to research, produce and disseminate a policy guidance paper to inform the development of an education forum, a policy session, or pending legislation. • Task Forces and Subcommittees: Policy committees may determine that it is appropriate to meet on an ongoing basis to develop and refine particular policy issues relative to their committee prior to pursuing other Institute strategies. • Continuing Briefing Sessions: These may be held in the case of a need to resolve specific issues arising from the Institute’s seminars. They may include committee members and other key stakeholders. • Programs for the General Public • Student Programming: To stimulate student interest and knowledge about elected officials and the region’s issues. • Publications: o ISSUE BRIEF – Provides in-depth analysis of a specific critical policy issues affecting the region. o REPORT – Semiannual publication that summarizes the recent activities of the Institute. o STATUS REPORT – Provides a “snapshot” analysis of the current status of a public policy issue. o FORUM – Provides an overview of all major viewpoints in a particular regional public-policy debate through the transcription of a roundtable discussion with major policy makers and stakeholders. o CASE STUDY – Through access to world-class academic resources, including archival collections and utilization of editorial boards, provides cutting-edge, research-based analyses of regional public-policy issues through the use of specific state and regional cases. o NEWS BRIEFS – A bi-weekly electronic publication that provides links to news articles that may be of interest to policymakers and other constituents. o CASE IN POINT – A shorter snapshot publication that features pivotal policy issues and events. o POLICY BRIEF – The Institute’s newest form of publication, the policy brief takes an in-depth look at a particular issue and offers policy options for consideration.
28 University of Pittsburgh Institute of Politics Board of Fellows
Federal Elected The Honorable Mike Doyle Member, U.S. House of Representatives The Honorable Timothy F. Murphy Member, U.S. House of Representatives
Federal Administration Colonel John Lloyd Commander, Pittsburgh District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
State Administration The Honorable Erin Molchany Director, Governor's SWPA Office
State Elected The Honorable Jake Corman Majority Leader, PA Senate The Honorable Jay Costa, Jr. Democratic Leader, PA Senate The Honorable Paul Costa Member, PA House of Representatives The Honorable Frank Dermody Democratic Leader, PA House of Representatives The Honorable Hal English Member, PA House of Representatives The Honorable Eli Evankovich Member, PA House of Representatives The Honorable Dan B. Frankel Democratic Caucus Chair, PA House of Representatives The Honorable Dave Reed Majority Leader, PA House of Representatives The Honorable Rick Saccone, Ph.D. Member, PA House of Representatives The Honorable Joseph B. Scarnati III President Pro Tempore, PA Senate The Honorable Pam Snyder Member, PA House of Representatives The Honorable Michael Turzai Speaker, PA House of Representatives The Honorable Randy Vulakovich Member, PA Senate
Local Elected The Honorable Steve Craig Commissioner, Lawrence County The Honorable Rich Fitzgerald The Chief Executive, Allegheny County Honorable Dan Gilman Member, Pittsburgh City Council The Honorable Diana Irey Vaughan Commissioner, Washington County The Honorable Michael E. Lamb Controller, City of Pittsburgh The Honorable Dominic Pileggi Judge, Delaware County Court of Common Pleas The Honorable Rodney D. Ruddock Commissioner, Indiana County
Academia Dr. Patricia Beeson Provost & Senior Vice Chancellor, University of Pittsburgh Mr. G. Reynolds Clark Former Vice Chancellor & Special Assistant to the Chancellor, University of Pittsburgh
29 Dr. Morton Coleman Emeritus Director, Institute of Politics & Professor, School of Social Work, University of Pittsburgh Dr. Jackie Dunbar-Jacob Dean & Distinguished Service Professor, School of Nursing, University of Pittsburgh Dr. Kevin P. Kearns Professor, Graduate School of Public & International Affairs, University of Pittsburgh Dr. Beaufort B. Longest, Jr. M. Allen Pond Professor of Health Policy & Management, Graduate School of Public Health, University of Pittsburgh
Foundation Dr. James V. Denova Vice President, Claude Worthington Benedum Foundation Ms. Kate R. Dewey President, The Forbes Funds Ms. Sylvia V. Fields Executive Director, Eden Hall Foundation Ms. Sheila Fine Chair & Officer, LEAD Pittsburgh & Fine Foundation President, Mr. William P. Getty Claude Worthington Benedum Foundation Mr. Maxwell King President & CEO, The Pittsburgh Foundation Mr. Grant Oliphant President, The Heinz Endowments Mr. Frederick W. Thieman Henry Buhl Jr. Chair for Civic Leadership, The Buhl Foundation Dr. Stanley W. Thompson Program Director, The Heinz Endowments
Community/Civic Mr. Marc Cherna Director, Department of Human Services, Allegheny County Rabbi James A. Gibson Senior Rabbi, Temple Sinai Mr. Courtland P. Gould Executive Director, Sustainable Pittsburgh Dr. Karen Hacker Director, Allegheny County Health Department Mr. Kevin L. Jenkins Executive Vice President and COO, Manchester Bidwell Corporation Dr. Linda Lane Former Superintendent of Schools, Pittsburgh Public Schools Ms. Ellen McLean CEO, Port Authority of Allegheny County Mr. Robert Nelkin President & CPO, United Way of Allegheny County Ms. Stefani Pashman CEO, Three Rivers Workforce Investment Board Ms. Lisa Scales President and CEO, Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank Dr. Edith L. Shapira Chair, Board of Directors, The Pittsburgh Foundation
Business/Labor Ms. Kenya T. Boswell President, BNY Mellon Foundation of SW Pennsylvania Ms. Candi Castleberry-Singleton Founder & Chair, Dignity & Respect Campaign Mr. David J. Malone President & CEO, Gateway Financial Services Mr. Jack Shea President, Allegheny County Labor Council The Honorable Matthew Smith President, Greater Pittsburgh Chamber of Commerce Mr. Richard W. Taylor Chief Executive Officer, Imbue Technology Solutions, Inc. (“ImbuTec”) Mrs. Doris Carson Williams President & CEO, African American Chamber of Commerce of Western PA
30 University of Pittsburgh Institute of Politics Economic Development Policy Committee
The Honorable Brian Beader Mr. Scott D. Izzo Former Commissioner Director Mercer County Richard King Mellon Foundation
Mr. Henry S. Beukema Mr. John Paul Jones Executive Director Principal McCune Foundation J2 Development Group
Dr. Andrew R. Blair Mr. Richard Lunak Faculty Emeritus President & CEO University of Pittsburgh Innovation Works
The Honorable Jim Christiana The Honorable Timothy F. Murphy Member Member PA House of Representatives U.S. House of Representatives
* The Honorable Steve Craig * Mr. Richard W. Taylor Commissioner Chief Executive Officer Lawrence County Imbue Technology Solutions, Inc. (“ImbuTec”) The Honorable Michael J. Finnerty Member, District 4 Mr. Eric M. White Allegheny County Council Business Development Executive Urban Redevelopment Authority of Pittsburgh Ms. Mariann Geyer Vice President, External Affairs Point Park University Mrs. Doris Carson Williams President and CEO African American Chamber of Commerce The Honorable Ted Harhai of Western PA Member PA House of Representatives
* Co-Chair
31 Mr. Dennis Yablonsky Chief Executive Officer Allegheny Conference on Community Development
* Co-Chair
32 University of Pittsburgh Institute of Politics Education Policy Committee
The Honorable Tom Baker Dr. Linda B. Hippert Member Executive Director Allegheny County Council Allegheny Intermediate Unit
Mr. Gregg S. Behr Mr. William H. Isler Executive Director CEO The Grable Foundation The Fred Rogers Company
Ms. Karina Chavez The Honorable Michael E. Lamb Executive Director Controller Pittsbugh Council on Higher Education City of Pittsburgh
Mr. Ron Cowell Dr. Alan M. Lesgold President Renee and Richard Goldman Dean, School The Education Policy & Leadership Center of Education University of Pittsburgh Mr. Mike Crossey Retired President Ms. Amiena Mahsoob Pennsylvania State Education Association Director of Education World Affairs Council of Pittsburgh Dr. Linda L. Croushore Former Executive Director The Honorable Erin Molchany The Consortium for Public Education Director Governor's SWPA Office Ms. Susan S. Everingham Director, Pittsburgh Office The Honorable Jeffrey P. Pyle RAND Corporation Member PA House of Representatives Ms. Carey Harris Former Executive Director The Honorable Mike Reese A+ Schools Member PA House of Representatives
* Co-Chair
33 Ms. Jennifer L. Ross Educational Specialist PVAAS Statewide Core Team
* The Honorable Rodney D. Ruddock Commissioner and Chairman Indiana County
The Honorable Natalia Rudiak Member Pittsburgh City Council
Ms. D'Ann Swanson Senior Program Officer The Grable Foundation
* Dr. Stanley W. Thompson Program Director The Heinz Endowments
Mr. James W. Turner Director of Professional Development OnHand Schools, Inc.
Mr. James Wagner Executive Director ARIN Intermediate Unit 28
The Honorable Jake Wheatley, Jr. Member PA House of Representatives
* Co-Chair
34 University of Pittsburgh Institute of Politics Environment Policy Committee
Mr. Andrew Butcher The Honorable John R. Pippy CEO and Founding Principal CEO GTECH Strategies Pennsylvania Coal Alliance
* The Honorable Frank Dermody Mr. Andrew Place Democratic Leader Vice Chairman PA House of Representatives Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission
The Honorable Mike Doyle Dr. Edith L. Shapira Member Chair, Board of Directors U.S. House of Representatives The Pittsburgh Foundation
Mr. Grant Ervin The Honorable Pam Snyder Sustainability Manager Member Office of Mayor William Peduto PA House of Representatives
Ms. Caren E. Glotfelty Dr. Joel A. Tarr Executive Director Professor Allegheny County Parks Foundation Carnegie Mellon University
* Mr. Courtland P. Gould Mr. Davitt Woodwell Executive Director President and CEO Sustainable Pittsburgh Pennsylvania Environmental Council
The Honorable Scott E. Hutchinson Mr. Robert Zulick Member Senior Sales Executive PA Senate Herbert, Rowland & Grubic, Inc.
Dr. Edward K. Muller Professor, History Department University of Pittsburgh
* Co-Chair
35 University of Pittsburgh Institute of Politics Fiscal Policy and Governance Committee
Ms. Heather Arnet Mr. William P. Getty Chief Strategy Officer President The Women and Girls Foundation of SWPA Claude Worthington Benedum Foundation
Dr. Morton Coleman Mr. Richard Hadley Emeritus Director, Institute of Politics & Member Professor, School of Social Work Cranberry Township Board of Supervisors University of Pittsburgh Ms. Susan G. Hockenberry The Honorable Jay Costa, Jr. Executive Director Democratic Leader Local Government Academy PA Senate Dr. Brian K. Jensen Dr. George W. Dougherty, Jr. Senior Vice President Assistant Professor, Graduate School of Allegheny Conference on Community Public & International Affairs Development University of Pittsburgh Ms. An Lewis Mr. Richard Dunlap Executive Director Member Steel Rivers Council of Governments Hampton Township Council Dr. David Y. Miller * The Honorable Rich Fitzgerald Professor, Graduate School of Public & Chief Executive International Affairs Allegheny County University of Pittsburgh
The Honorable Vince Gastgeb Ms. Aradhna Oliphant Vice President of Government and President & CEO Community Affairs Leadership Pittsburgh, Inc. Allegheny County Airport Authority Mr. Dan Onorato Executive Vice President, Public Policy Highmark, Inc.
* Co-Chair
36 Mr. James Roddey Firm Director Baker Tilly, LLP
The Honorable Matthew Smith President Greater Pittsburgh Chamber of Commerce
* Mr. Frederick W. Thieman Henry Buhl Jr. Chair for Civic Leadership The Buhl Foundation
Mr. Sala Udin Chairman Hill District Education Council
The Honorable Chelsa Wagner Controller Allegheny County
* Co-Chair
37 University of Pittsburgh Institute of Politics Health and Human Services Policy Committee
Ms. Carmen Anderson Ms. Kate R. Dewey Child, Youth & Families Senior Program President Officer The Forbes Funds The Heinz Endowments Dr. Jackie Dunbar-Jacob Mr. Nicholas J. Beldecos Dean & Distinguished Service Professor, Executive Director School of Nursing DSF Charitable Foundation University of Pittsburgh
Ms. Susan H. Brownlee Dr. Karen Wolk Feinstein Executive Director President & CEO The Fine Foundation Jewish Healthcare Foundation
* Ms. Candi Castleberry-Singleton * The Honorable Dan B. Frankel Founder & Chair Democratic Caucus Chair Dignity & Respect Campaign PA House of Representatives
Dr. Morton Coleman Dr. Bernard D. Goldstein Emeritus Director, Institute of Politics & Professor Emeritus, Graduate School of Professor, School of Social Work Public Health University of Pittsburgh University of Pittsburgh
Ms. Mary A. Crossley Mr. Seth T. Hufford Professor, School of Law Partner University of Pittsburgh The People Group, LLC
The Honorable Anthony M. DeLuca Mr. Kevin L. Jenkins Member Executive Vice President and COO PA House of Representatives Manchester Bidwell Corporation
Mr. John Denny Principal Denny Civic Solutions
* Co-Chair
38 Dr. Kevin P. Kearns Ms. Margaret M. Petruska Professor, Graduate School of Public & Former Program Director International Affairs The Heinz Endowments University of Pittsburgh Ms. Sandra L. Phillips Dr. James M. Kelly Executive Director Professor & Director of Field Education, Peoples Oakland Department of Social Work Carlow University Dr. Loren H. Roth Associate Senior Vice Chancellor for Dr. Judith R. Lave Clinical Policy and Planning Professor of Health Economics University of Pittsburgh University of Pittsburgh Ms. Kristy Trautmann Ms. B.J. Leber Executive Director President and CEO FISA Foundation Adagio Health
Dr. Beaufort B. Longest, Jr. M. Allen Pond Professor of Health Policy & Management, Graduate School of Public Health University of Pittsburgh
Ms. Kathleen McKenzie Vice President, Community & Civic Affairs Allegheny Health Network
The Honorable Brandon Neuman Member PA House of Representatives
Ms. Mary Anne Papale Director, Community Affairs SW Region Highmark, Inc.
* Co-Chair
39 University of Pittsburgh Institute of Politics Infrastructure Policy Committee
Mr. Stan Caldwell The Honorable Patricia L. Kirkpatrick Executive Director, Traffic21 and TSET Community Relations Coordinator UTC, and University Director, State Don't Stop Dreamin' (and Former Relations Commissioner, Armstrong County) Carnegie Mellon University * Colonel John Lloyd Mr. H. Daniel Cessna Commander, Pittsburgh District District Executive, District 11 U.S. Army Corps of Engineers PA Department of Transportation The Honorable Robert J. Macey Member * The Honorable Paul Costa Allegheny County Council Member PA House of Representatives Mr. Paul Messineo Business Development Manager Mr. Michael P. Crall Allen & Shariff Engineering Vice President HDR Engineering, Inc. The Honorable Tedd Nesbit Member Mr. Shaun Fenlon PA House of Representatives Vice President, Conservation Programs Western Pennsylvania Conservancy The Honorable William Peduto Mayor Dr. James R. Hassinger City of Pittsburgh President and CEO Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission Mr. John Schombert Executive Director Mr. Brian J. Hill 3 Rivers Wet Weather, Inc. Senior Program Officer Richard King Mellon Foundation Mr. Gregory Scott Senior Staff Engineer Buchart Horn, Inc.
* Co-Chair
40 The Honorable William Shuster Member U.S. House of Representatives
Mr. Richard A. Stafford Distinguished Service Professor of Public Policy Carnegie Mellon University
Mr. Ron Steffey Executive Director Allegheny Valley Land Trust
The Honorable Donald C. White Member PA Senate
Mr. Ken Zapinski Senior Vice President, Energy & Infrastructure Allegheny Conference on Community Development
* Co-Chair
41 University of Pittsburgh Institute of Politics Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Policy Committee
Mr. Matthew Brown Lieutenant Colonel Charles Perrott Chief of Emergency Services and Fire Support Group Commander Marshal 171st Air Refueling Wing Allegheny County The Honorable Rick Saccone, Ph.D. Mr. Nicholas Buls Member Individual Assistance/VOAD Liaison Officer PA House of Representatives Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency, Bureau of Recovery and Mitigation Mr. Salvatore M. Sirabella Manager * Mr. G. Reynolds Clark Collier Township Former Vice Chancellor and Special Assistant to the Chancellor University of Pittsburgh Mr. Phil Smith Special Agent & Weapons of Mass The Honorable Dominic J. Costa Destruction Coordinator/Hazmat Team Member Leader PA House of Representatives FBI Pittsburgh Field Office
Mr. Robert Full The Honorable Timothy J. Solobay Former Chief Deputy Director Commissioner PEMA PA Office of the State Fire Commissioner
Mr. Richard B. Lohr Ms. Pamela A.Tokar-Ickes Executive Director Director Somerset County Community Foundation for the Alleghenies
Mr. Thomas A. Michlovic * The Honorable Randy Vulakovich Adjunct Professor, Graduate School of Member Public and International Affairs, Univeristy PA Senate of Pittsburgh Former Member, PA House of Representatives The Honorable Kim L. Ward Member PA Senate
* Co-Chair
42 University of Pittsburgh Institute of Politics Workforce Development Policy Committee
Ms. Kenya T. Boswell The Honorable Wayne D. Fontana President Member BNY Mellon Foundation of SW Pennsylvania Senate Pennsylvania Ms. Brenda Frazier Ms. Theresa Bryant Former Member & Civic Leader Vice President for Workforce Development Allegheny County Council Community College of Allegheny County Ms. Ami Gatts Ms. Esther L. Bush President President and CEO Washington Greene County Job Training Urban League of Greater Pittsburgh Agency, Inc.
Dr. Darby L. Copeland Dr. Patrick E. Gerity Executive Director Vice President, Continuing Education Parkway West Career & Technology Center Westmoreland County Community College
Dr. James V. Denova Dr. Gabriella Gonzalez Vice President Senior Social Scientist Claude Worthington Benedum Foundation RAND
Ms. Jane Downing Dr. Joe Iannetti Senior Program Officer Retired The Pittsburgh Foundation
Mr. Jeff Kelly * The Honorable Eli Evankovich CEO Member Hamill Manufacturing Company PA House of Representatives
Ms. Lisa Kuzma Ms. Laura S. Fisher Senior Program Officer Senior Vice President Richard King Mellon Foundation Allegheny Conference on Community Development
* Co-Chair
43 Mr. David J. Malone Mr. William J. Thompson President & CEO Executive Director Gateway Financial Services Westmoreland-Fayette Workforce Investment Board Ms. Bridget McCourt Corporate Communications Manager The Honorable Angela Zimmerlink Matthews International Commissioner Fayette County Ms. Valerie A. McDonald Roberts Chief Urban Affairs Officer Office of Pittsburgh Mayor William Peduto
Ms. Angela Mike Director, Career and Technical Education Pittsburgh Public Schools
Mr. David Mosey Executive Director Smart Futures
* Ms. Stefani Pashman CEO Three Rivers Workforce Investment Board
Mr. Jack Shea President Allegheny County Labor Council
Mr. Thomas L. Stevenson Attorney Thomas L. Stevenson & Associates
Ms. Lynnette Taylor-Criego Owner LTC Consulting
* Co-Chair
44 Subcommittee on Poverty: Beyond the Urban Core As a part of the Institute of Politics listening tour, the topic of poverty was identified as a critical social, economic, and political issue in the greater Pittsburgh region, as well as nationally. Since 2000, the poverty rate in the Metro Pittsburgh area has risen from 10.6 percent to 12.3 percent in 2012. This has had a disproportionately negative effect on those most in need: children, the elderly, the disabled and veterans, and single heads of households. Allegheny County is experiencing many of the same poverty trends as other metropolitan areas across the United States, including a growth in suburban poverty. Throughout the country, 55 percent of poverty is occurring within suburbs outside of cities. In the Pittsburgh region, suburban poverty is even more pronounced, with 61 percent of Allegheny County’s poverty occurring outside of the City of Pittsburgh.
In the summer of 2015, the Institute assembled a special advisory committee led by Rep. Dan Frankel and Rep. Dave Reed to examine the issue of suburban poverty. During a series of meetings, the committee members paid particular attention to the impacts of education, affordable housing, economic inequality, and transportation on people living in or near poverty. To inform the deliberations of the committee, the Institute identified and invited regional subject matter experts to present and participate in these meetings.
The committee’s work is captured within a policy brief entitled Poverty: Beyond the Urban Core. The goal of the policy brief is twofold: 1) To increase awareness and to educate regional leaders on the changing demographics and landscape of poverty, especially in regards to the increase of individuals and families living in poverty within the suburbs and the unique obstacles that municipalities, human service providers, and nonprofits have in addressing poverty related issues outside the urban core, and 2) Provide legislative and regulatory recommendations to address the challenges within Allegheny County and surrounding regions so that low income residents are able to be more upwardly mobile and self-sustainable. Recommendations put forth will include regulatory changes at the state level, legislative policy options, and administrative and policy recommendations for nonprofit and community organizations at the local level. The administrative and policy options for community partners may guide organizations to more effectively and efficiently develop and implement short- and long-term strategies to address barriers within their specific areas of focus. The report will also briefly examine the City of Pittsburgh and outlying rural areas to provide a more comprehensive understanding of poverty in the region as a whole.
45 University of Pittsburgh Institute of Politics Subcommittee on Poverty: Beyond the Urban Core
Mr. Henry S. Beukema Ms. Susan G. Hockenberry Executive Director Executive Director McCune Foundation Local Government Academy
Mr. Marc Cherna Mr. Kevin L. Jenkins Director, Department of Human Services Executive Vice President and COO Allegheny County Manchester Bidwell Corporation
Ms. Erin Dalton Ms. An Lewis Deputy Director, Office of Data Analysis, Executive Director Research, and Evaluation Steel Rivers Council of Governments Allegheny County Department of Human Services Dr. Edward L. McCord Director of Programming, Honors College Dr. Patrick Dowd University of Pittsburgh Executive Director Allies for Children Dr. Jeanne Pearlman Senior Vice President for Program and * The Honorable Dan B. Frankel Policy Democratic Caucus Chair The Pittsburgh Foundation PA House of Representatives Ms. Mary Ellen Ramage Mr. Evan S. Frazier Manager Senior Vice President of Community Affairs Borough of Etna Highmark Health * The Honorable Dave Reed Dr. Karen Hacker Majority Leader Director PA House of Representatives Allegheny County Health Department Mr. Richard A. Stafford Mr. Philip B. Hallen Distinguished Service Professor of Public President Emeritus Policy Falk Foundation Carnegie Mellon University
* Co-Chair
46 Mrs. Sharon Wolf Executive Director North Hills Community Outreach
* Co-Chair
47 Criminal Justice Task Force Although the c riminal justice system is well recognized as necessary for preserving public safety, a growing debate is occurring over whether in an effort to promote public safety, the United States has c reated a system whose economic costs and societal harms outweigh its ability to reduce crime. American incarceration has exponentially grown since the 1980s, and now the United States incarcerates the highest number of people in the world. In 1970, state and federal prisons and local jails housed 328,000 inmates; today the United States houses 2.22 million inmates. The United States has the second highest number of prisoners per capita of any country in the world, second only to Seychelles, a small archipelago located off the coast of East Africa, and accounts for 25 percent of the world’s prison population. This has come at a great economic and societal cost to the United States. In 2010, the United States spent more than $80 billion on corrections at the federal, state, and local levels. These expenditures have meant that the United States has more than quadrupled its corrections spending between 1980 and 2010.
In light of this issue, Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald asked the Institute of Politics to assemble a group of leaders from government, criminology, and local civic institutions to examine what could be done to “make our current system [of criminal justice] fairer and less costly, without compromising public safety.” In response to the County Executive’s request, the Institute convened the Criminal Justice Task Force, a group of 41 regional leaders who were recruited to serve because of the unique perspectives and contributions each could bring to the effort. The task force is co-chaired by Mark Nordenberg, Chancellor Emeritus of the University of Pittsburgh and Chair of the Institute of Politics, and Fred Thieman, the Henry Buhl Jr. Chair for Civic Leadership of The Buhl Foundation.
To inform these discussions the Institute, in partnership with the Allegheny County Department of Human Services Office of Data Analysis, Research, and Evaluation, developed a series of background briefs on local and national trends of jails, pretrial services, law enforcement, prosecution and defense, and courts and probation. Additionally, the Institute identified and invited national experts to present and inform the task force’s deliberations.
Currently, the Institute is developing a final report that captures the process of the task force, its deliberations, and its recommendations to effectively and safely manage the criminal justice system. Additionally, the five briefs examining sectors of the Allegheny County criminal justice system will be assembled into a case study that examines the entire Allegheny County criminal justice system from arrest to probation. The final report of the Criminal Justice Task Force will be released November 16, 2016 at the National League of Cities Summit in Pittsburgh.
48 University of Pittsburgh Institute of Politics Criminal Justice Task Force
Mr. Malik G. Bankston The Honorable Jay Costa, Jr. Executive Director Democratic Leader The Kingsley Association PA Senate
Dr. Alfred Blumstein Dr. William H. Curtis J. Erik Jonsson University Professor of Senior Pastor Urban Systems and Operations Research Mt. Ararat Baptist Church Carnegie Mellon University Dr. Larry E. Davis Ms. Kenya T. Boswell Dean and Donald M. Henderson Professor President School of Social Work BNY Mellon Foundation of SW University of Pittsburgh Pennsylvania The Honorable Frank Dermody Dr. Quintin Bullock Democratic Leader President PA House of Representatives Community College of Allegheny County The Honorable Hal English Ms. Esther L. Bush Member President and CEO PA House of Representatives Urban League of Greater Pittsburgh Ms. Susan S. Everingham Dean William M. Carter, Jr. Director, Pittsburgh Office Dean and Professor, School of Law RAND Corporation University of Pittsburgh Mr. Jeffrey H. Finkelstein Mr. Marc Cherna President and CEO Director, Department of Human Services Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh Allegheny County The Honorable Dan B. Frankel Ms. Tamara Collier Democratic Caucus Chair Executive Assistant PA House of Representatives Office of U.S. Attorney David Hickton
* Co-Chair
49 Mr. Presley Gillespie Dr. Linda Lane President Superintendent of Schools Neighborhood Allies Pittsburgh Public Schools
Mr. Kenneth Gormley The Honorable Jeffrey A. Manning President Elect and Dean, School of Law President Judge Duquesne University Court of Common Pleas of Allegheny County Reverend Glenn Grayson Pastor Mr. Thomas McCaffrey Wesley Center AME Zion Church Administrator, Criminal Division Fifth Judicial District of PA Mr. Orlando Harper Warden Mr. William McKain Allegheny County Jail County Manager Allegheny County Ms. Melanie Harrington President and CEO Mr. Cameron McLay Vibrant Pittsburgh Chief City of Pittsburgh Bureau of Police Mr. David Harris Distinguished Faculty Scholar and The Honorable Erin Molchany Professor, School of Law Director University of Pittsburgh Governor's SWPA Office
Ms. Anna E. Hollis Dr. Edward P. Mulvey Executive Director Professor of Psychiatry, School of Medicine Amachi Pittsburgh University of Pittsburgh
Mr. Elliot Howsie Dr. Daniel Nagin Chief Public Defender Teresa and H. John Heinz III University Allegheny County Professor of Public Policy and Statistics Carnegie Mellon University Sister Candace Introcaso President La Roche College
* Co-Chair
50 * Mr. Mark A. Nordenberg Chancellor Emeritus & Chair, Institute of Politics University of Pittsburgh
Ms. LaTrenda Leonard-Sherrill Deputy Chief of Operations and Administration Office of Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto
Ms. Soo Song First Assistant U.S. Attorney Office of U.S. Attorney Dave Hickton
* Mr. Frederick W. Thieman Henry Buhl Jr. Chair for Civic Leadership The Buhl Foundation
Mr. William Thompkins Executive Director The Pittsburgh Project
The Honorable Randy Vulakovich Member PA Senate
The Honorable Jake Wheatley, Jr. Member PA House of Representatives
Mr. Stephen Zappala District Attorney Allegheny County
* Co-Chair
51 Opioid Epidemic Collaborative Following the selection of Pittsburgh as a pilot site for the DEA 360 initiative in the fall of 2015, Dave Hickton, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Pennsylvania, reached out to Chancellor Emeritus Nordenberg for assistance in addressing the opioid/heroin overdose epidemic in Western Pennsylvania. Around the same time, Deans Kroboth and Burke from the School of Pharmacy and the Graduate School of iPubl c Health, respectively, also reached out to the Institute regarding the interdisciplinary work on the heroin opioid epidemic in which they were already engaged.
In response, the Institute of Politics convened a small group of University of Pittsburgh researchers as well as the directors of the Allegheny County Health Department and Department of Human Services for a meeting with Attorney Hickton and DEA Special Agent in Charge Gary Tuggle. In this early meeting, Hickton and Tuggle discussed their public safety efforts to address the crisis, and the Pitt researchers did the same on the public health side. It was determined that the researchers were doing great work, but that all parties would benefit from greater coordination and more strategic alignment between “public health and public safety efforts.” The Institute was asked to serve as a convener for the group of r esearchers and others who would work together to develop and implement a comprehensive education and intervention strategy in the coming year.
The group, titled the Opioid Epidemic Collaborative, met frequently throughout the first part of 2016. Their activities and discussions served as the starting point for the Institute’s forthcoming report, A Continuum of Care Approach: Western Pennsylvania’s Response to the Opioid Epidemic, scheduled to be released October 3, 2016.
52 University of Pittsburgh Institute of Politics Opioid Epidemic Collaborative
Ms. Cheryl Andrews Dr. Julie Donohue Executive Director Associate Professor, Health Policy and Washington Drug and Alcohol Management Commission, Inc. University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health Dr. Barbara E. Barnes Associate Dean, Continuing Medical Dr. Antoine B. Douaihy Education; VP of Sponsored Programs, Professor of Psychiatry and Medicine Research Support, and CME University of Pittsburgh University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine; UPMC Dr. Walid Gellad Assistant Professor, Health Policy and Dr. Donald S. Burke Management Dean, Graduate School of Public Health University of Pittsburgh Graduate School University of Pittsburgh of Public Health
Mr. Marc Cherna Dr. Adam Gordon Director, Department of Human Services Professor Allegheny County University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine
Dr. Gerald Cochran Dr. Karen Hacker Assistant Professor, School of Social Work Director and Department of Pharmacy Allegheny County Health Department University of Pittsburgh Mr. David Hickton Dr. Dennis C. Daley U.S. Attorney Professor of Psychiatry & Social Work United States Department of Justice University of Pittsburgh Ms. Colleen D. Hughes Dr. Latika Davis-Jones Executive Director Administrator, Bureau of Drug and Alcohol Westmoreland Drug & Alcohol Services Commission, Inc. Allegheny County Department of Human Services
53 Mr. Everette James Dr. Margaret Rosenzweig Associate Vice Chancellor of Health Policy Professor of Acute and Tertiary Care & Planning University of Pittsburgh School of Nursing University of Pittsburgh Dr. James Schuster Dr. Chronis Manolis Chief Medical Officer, Community Care & Vice President, Pharmacy Adjunct Associate Professor UPMC Health Plan, Inc. University of Pittsburgh
Dr. Susan Meyer Dr. Randy Smith Co-Director, Pitt Center for Senior Associate Dean and Professor Interprofessional Practice and Education University of Pittsburgh School of University of Pittsburgh School of Pharmacy Pharmacy Dr. Francis X. Solano Dr. Paul Moore President, CMI, and Professor Physician, UPMC University of Pittsburgh School of Dental Medicine Mr. William E. Strickland President/CEO Mr. Mark A. Nordenberg Manchester Bidwell Corporation Chancellor Emeritus & Chair, Institute of Politics Mr. Eugene A. Vittone University of Pittsburgh District Attorney Washington County Dr. Brian Primack Professor of Medicine, Pediatrics, and Clinical & Translational Science Dr. Ajay D. Wasan University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine Vice Chair Pittsburgh Center for Pain Research & Professor of Anesthesiology UPMC Dr. Janice Pringle Associate Professor, Pharmacy and Therapeutics Dr. Karl Williams University of Pittsburgh School of Chief Medical Examiner Pharmacy Allegheny County
54 Dr. Michael Zemaitis Professor, Pharmaceutical Sciences University of Pittsburgh School of Pharmacy
55 Pitt Researchers Taking New Approach on Opioid Epidemic By Maia R. Silber / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Christina Mair has a question: What causes addiction?
Studying alcohol and marijuana use in California, Ms. Mair focused on the social determinants that might lead to dependency.
While genetics play a role, she learned, it’s often environmental factors that lead a user to take his first hit (or sip). Everything from a community’s demographics to the presence of liquor stores on its streets can impact levels of addiction.
When Ms. Mair moved to Pittsburgh in the midst of an epidemic three years ago, she wondered whether opioid dependency worked the same way.
Meanwhile, Donald S. Burke, dean of the University of Pittsburgh’s Graduate School of Public Health, had been working with his colleagues to collect data on mortality rates in Pennsylvania. When he found that overdose had become the leading cause of death for middle-aged residents of the state, he felt he had to act.
“We decided to get serious as a school about helping out,” Dr. Burke said.
That meant funding a group of researchers whose range of specialties — from injury epidemiology to health geography — matched the breadth of the epidemic itself. Academics who don’t already specialize in the field they want to study, though, can have a hard time winning research grants, especially with federal budgets declining.
So Dr. Burke decided to launch a pilot program — distributing $140,000 over six different projects — to fund researchers asking new questions and answering them with creative, and cost- effective, means.
Ms. Mair, now an assistant professor at the Graduate School of Public Health, will compile discharge data from local hospitals to identify ZIP codes with high rates of overdose. Once she identifies those ZIP codes, she’ll zoom in on one and interview its stakeholders — users, treatment providers, law enforcement officers — to figure out what factors correlate with addiction.
Like several of the other researchers engaged in the project, she’ll combine public data with on- the-ground research to get an in-depth, if geographically limited, look at the epidemic.
“When it comes to opioids, there’s so much we’re just getting a handle on,” Ms. Mair said.
56 Call to action
As an undergraduate at Penn State University during the height of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the 1980s, Mary Hawk joined a campus group that advocated for sexual health education.
As she tried to spread awareness about a disease killing millions, she became frustrated by the lack of national attention focused on prevention.
“We could be helping people, but we weren’t, because of stigma,” Ms. Hawk recalled.
That problem continued to haunt the researcher when she moved to Pittsburgh to get her master’s in social work. Through her continued advocacy for HIV/AIDS awareness, she also became involved with Prevention Point Pittsburgh, a needle-exchange program. She found that drug users — like HIV patients — often don’t receive the help they need because of the stigma associated with their disease. When Ms. Hawk, now an assistant professor at Pitt’s Graduate School of Public Health, found out about the dean’s project, her choice was a no-brainer.
“[Dr. Burke] said, ‘We’re in a crisis right now, and as a school of public health, it’s our responsibility to address this,” she said.
Ms. Hawk worked with Prevention Point Pittsburgh and other local substance use treatment providers to identify factors that prohibit or improve access to the anti-overdose drug naloxone.
“Our plan is to talk to people who are figuring out what’s happening on the ground,” Ms. Hawk said. “We’re looking to consumers as the experts.”
While Ms. Hawk came to study addiction through her work in HIV prevention, Jeanine Buchanich encountered it directly. Growing up in West Deer, she knew people who had died from an overdose, and the opioid epidemic has long been a research interest of hers.
Ms. Buchanich, a research assistant professor of bio-statistics at Pitt’s Graduate School of Public Health, also has led an initiative to create a public repository of mortality records. While compiling these records, she realized that more specific data could help law enforcement and treatment providers target individuals likely to overdose. With county-level data, she was able to locate high-trafficking areas; with individual-level data, she could identify users’ neighborhoods, careers and education levels. It was information that might suggest risk factors or help distinguish prescription opioid users from heroin users.
Julie Donohue, another pilot program researcher, hopes to develop thresholds to identify over- use of prescription opioids.
To combat the epidemic, Ms. Buchanich says, researchers must “understand the progression [of addiction] from first hospitalization to death.”
57 Crossing disciplines
Postdoctoral associate Zan Dodson studies health geography — land and landforms, that’s his game. So when he heard about the opioid epidemic, his question was: Where is the opioid epidemic? Pittsburgh sits at or near the crossroads of a few major interstates, and that facilitates the distribution of opioids. The problem, Mr. Dodson realized, is essentially a spatial one. Mr. Dodson wanted to locate the problem within Pittsburgh, so he turned to a data source that’s not often used by either geographers or scientists.
By compiling public user profiles stripped of their identifying information on social media sites, Mr. Dodson and his team will track drug-related conversations in real time. Unlike census data, for instance, which only becomes available every 10 years, social media data is right at Mr. Dodson’s fingertips. Immediacy means a lot when studying a disease advancing as rapidly as opioid addiction. “I was looking outside of the box, and that would allow us to catch back up to this epidemic.”
Thomas Songer, who studies diabetes and injury epidemiology — how and why injuries occur — faces the same problem. Because opioid poisoning is often classified as an injury, Mr. Songer started hearing about the epidemic at the conferences he attended to discuss motor vehicle accidents. He got interested in the topic, and when he heard about the dean’s project, he jumped at the chance.
Mr. Songer’s project links hospital discharge data to mortality data in order to test whether patients hospitalized once for a drug-related event are hospitalized again, or if they later die from overdose. The research, Mr. Songer hopes, can offer health care providers “flags” alerting them to intervene.
Once the researchers have gathered their data, Dr. Burke, who works with the Public Health Dynamics Laboratory, plans to compile the findings from each of their projects to create a digital model of the epidemic.
The model also will enable him to consider various policy options to address the epidemic.
Then, Dr. Burke said, “you keep refining, testing, and improving.”
Maia Silber: [email protected] Copyright ©, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 2016, all rights reserved. Reprinted with permission.
58 For Further Reading
Poverty • "Poverty: Beyond the Urban Core,” Institute of Politics, September 2016 • “20 Years Since Welfare’s Overhaul, Results are Mixed,” NPR, August 22, 2016 • “Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf Calls for Statewide Increase to Minimum Wage,” Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, March 11, 2016 • “Suburbs and the New American Poverty,” The Atlantic, January 7, 2015 • “Beyond Poverty,” PA House Majority Policy Committee, 2014 • “Majority of Pittsburgh’s Poor Are in Suburbs,” Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, January 8, 2014
Criminal Justice • “The Hidden Costs of Pretrial Detention,” Arnold Foundation, November 2013 • “Pretrial Risk Assessment: Science Provides Guidance on Assessing Defendants,” Pretrial Justice Institute Issue Brief, May 2015 • “The Price of Jails: Measuring the Taxpayer Cost of Local Incarceration,” Vera Institute of Justice, May 2015 • “A Framework for Evidence-Based Decision Making in Local Criminal Justice Systems,” National Institute of Corrections, April 16, 2010
Heroin/Opioid Epidemic • “In Southwestern Pennsylvania, Joint Approach to Opioid Epidemic Emerging,” Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, August 30, 2016 • Opiate-Related Overdose Deaths in Allegheny County: Risks and Opportunities for Intervention, Allegheny County Department of Human Services and the Allegheny County Health Department, July 2016 • National Heroin Task Force Final Report and Recommendations, December 31, 2015 • U.S. Attorney’s Working Group on Drug Overdose and Addiction: Prevention, Intervention, Treatment and Recovery, Final Report and Recommendations, September 29, 2014 • Overdose Free PA – overdosefreepa.org • Pittsburgh Post-Gazette series “Overdosed” – www.post-gazette.com/overdosed
59 Evaluation Instructions
Please tell us about your experience!
On Monday, September 12, you will receive an email from the Institute of Politics with a link to the online evaluation form for this year’s Retreat. If you would like to complete the evaluation prior to Monday, the link is www.iop.pitt.edu/EOR2016 .
We do pay attention to these evaluation results in crafting next year’s Retreat. Thank you in advance for your feedback!
60 Alumni Hall, Seventh Floor 4227 Fifth Avenue Pittsburgh, PA 15260 iop.pitt.edu
Institute of Politics DIRECTOR Terry Miller
CHAIR Mark Nordenberg
DEPUTY DIRECTOR, FINANCE Megan Soltesz
SENIOR POLICY STRATEGIST Briana Mihok
POLICY STRATEGIST Kim Bellora Maltempo
POLICY ANALYST Aaron Lauer
EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT Tracy Papillion
DIRECTOR EMERITUS Moe Coleman