Power of 32 Brings Bruce Katz to Pittsburgh

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Contact:

Taylor Praskach

Judith Kelly + Associates

412.281.0995

tmp@judith-kelly.com

Power of 32 Brings Bruce Katz to Pittsburgh

Vice President and Founding Director of the Metropolitan Policy Program at Brookings Set to Speak on March 10th

(PITTSBURGH, PA) March 2, 2011—Bruce Katz believes that a globally competitive economy must leverage the resources of innovation, human capital, infrastructure, and quality places. The Power of 32 region is rich in these assets, and people from around the 32 counties and four states are invited to hear the insights about the future of our region on March 10th from 4:30-6:00pm at Point Park University in Pittsburgh.

Katz is the vice president and founding director of the Metropolitan Policy Program at Brookings, an initiative that has helped cities and suburbs grow in more competitive sustainable and inclusive ways. Katz works to boost productivity, innovation, and growth through a national innovation foundation.

Katz’s connection to Pittsburgh goes back to 2006 when he received the Heinz Award in Public Policy for re-imagining the function and value of cities and metropolitan areas and profoundly influencing their economic vitality, livability, and sustainability.

His areas of expertise include, but not limited to, community reinvestment, demographic trends, economic development, housing, transportation reform, urban and metropolitan policy, urban and regional politics, among others.

“We are so pleased to have Mr. Katz come and share his knowledge of the need for regional collaboration to be competitive. This is an opportunity for the public to have their questions about the economy answered by someone with immense insight on our region,” says Selena Schmidt, executive director of Power of 32.

After graduating from Yale University Law School, Katz began to build his professional career and served as an associate at a Washington, D.C. law firm where he specialized in housing and urban development. Later, he worked as counsel and eventually staff director of the U.S. Senate Subcommittee on Housing and Urban Affairs. Katz also was the chief of staff and senior policy advisor at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).

This special event is free and open to the public. The session is meant to inform and inspire attendants, as well as provide the opportunity to meet with colleagues throughout the region.

Seating is limited, so please RSVP by calling 412.648.9301.
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New Classics presents Hangin' Up My Heart

Media Contacts:


Melissa Hill Grande – 412.561.6000 x203 or mgrande@picttheatre.org

Josh Storey – 412.624.0933 or jstorey@pitt.edu

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

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New Classics presents Hangin’ Up My Heart in March

Michael Schwartz play explores the healing powers of love

Pittsburgh, PA -- March 1, 2011. The New Classics Series returns on Sunday, March 27th at 7:00 p.m. with Michael Schwartz’ play Hangin’ Up My Heart, directed by Michael Fuller and performed in the Henry Heymann Theatre at the Stephen Foster Memorial in Oakland. New Classics is a cooperative program presented by the University of Pittsburgh’s Department of Theatre Arts and Pittsburgh Irish & Classical Theatre. The series is intended to highlight new works and showcase up-and-coming playwrights.

The reading is free and open to the public, and will be followed by a talk-back with the cast and audience. The moderators will be director Michael Fuller and David Peterson, a graduate student in the Ph.D. program of the Department of Theatre Arts.

The reading will showcase the talent of actors from the University of Pittsburgh Department of Theatre Arts, including Kevin Christian, Amanda Leslie, Dylan Meyers, Fred Pelzer, Maria Polombo, and Andrew Sours. PICT alum Ben Blazer, a University of Pittsburgh graduate who holds an MFA in acting from the University of South Carolina, will also be featured.

Hangin' Up My Heart tells two (maybe three) love stories over the course of a rainy Memorial Day weekend at a public swimming pool in a small town in Tennessee. The lifeguards, and a couple of visitors, try to run away, settle down, start over, or just plain get started over plenty of beers and plenty of country music on the town's only radio station. By the end of the weekend, the characters might discover the healing power of love.

Author Michael Schwartz is an instructor, director, performer, playwright and dramaturg in the Philadelphia area. Other plays include Istanbul (Not Constantinople) and Say Hi to Rose Rabbit for Me, as well as a number of one-acts and 10-minute plays. Mike received his Ph.D. from the University of Pittsburgh in Theatre Arts in December 2007. His book, “Broadway and Corporate Capitalism: The Rise of the Professional Managerial Class 1900-1920” was published by Palgrave Macmillan in July 2009, and was nominated for the Bernard Hewitt for Outstanding Research in Theatre History.

Director Michael Fuller works as a professional actor, teacher/director, and filmmaker in the Pittsburgh area. Some of his favorite performances include: Happy in Death of a Salesman at Point Park’s Repertory company, and Moss in Glengarry Glen Ross with barebones productions. His PICT credits include Pride and Prejudice and Beautiful Dreamers, and he will return to PICT this summer in Alan Ayckbourn’s House and Garden. Fuller teaches in the theatre departments at Point Park University and Pittsburgh’s CAPA 6-12, where he has directed a number of projects, including: A Midsummer Night’s Dream, You Can’t Take It With You, and most recently, Richard Wilbur’s translation of Moliere’s The Learned Ladies. He particularly enjoys directing original pieces of theatre that he creates with his students at CAPA, combining both live performance and filmed elements.

Persons who are unable to attend the reading in person will be able to view it online via LIPLO™ (Live and in Person, Live and Online), a new internet technology pioneered by PICT Operations Director Stephanie Riso and Alex Geis. Geis of 21 Productions and videographer Randy Griffith of RLG Creations will live-broadcast the readings, and viewers will be able to respond via live chat as they watch the performances on the LIPLO™ website, www.liplo.com.

No reservations are required, and the reading is free of charge. For more information about “New Classics,” contact Melissa Grande at mgrande@picttheatre.org, 412.561.6000 x203, or Josh Storey at jstorey@pitt.edu, 412.624.0933.

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The University of Pittsburgh’s Department of Theatre Arts (founded in 1982) offers the BA, MA, MFA and PhD degrees in Theatre Arts. All faculty members are active in both teaching and artistic / research activities. The department shares a philosophy of theatre education, the chief feature of which is the firm conviction that theory and practice, academic and creative work, and educational and professional theatre must be integrated for a successful program of theatre education. The University of Pittsburgh Repertory Theatre is the department’s flagship theatre company with performance spaces in the landmark Stephen Foster Memorial and the Cathedral of Learning. www.play.pitt.edu.



Pittsburgh Irish and Classical Theatre was founded in 1996 to diversify the region’s theatrical offerings by providing Pittsburgh and Western Pennsylvania audiences with high-quality, text-driven, affordable productions of classical theatre and the works of classical and contemporary Irish playwrights and to significantly improve employment opportunities for local talent in all facets of theatrical presentation and production. PICT is a Small Professional Theatre (SPT) affiliated with Actors’ Equity Association, and a constituent member of Theatre Communications Group (TCG) and the Greater Pittsburgh Arts Council. PICT is the Professional Theatre in Residence at the University of Pittsburgh and PICT productions at the Charity Randall and Henry Heymann Theatres are presented in cooperation with the University of Pittsburgh – Department of Theatre Arts.

Linda Handley Inspires with A Collection of Female Triumphs


    
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE


Linda Handley – Building Bridges for Business – Founder - featured in a book about empowered entrepreneurs.

Inspired Entrepreneurs: A Collection of Female Triumphs in Business and Life. A collection of 22 inspirational stories of women who have life-changing inspirational stories of stepping out of their comfort zones and following their dreams.


About Linda Handley

Entrepreneur Author Business Advisor Real Estate Investor

Linda Handley has made it her mission to help others and improve the lives of those around her, often through creative and unconventional means going beyond volunteering and donating to her favorite charities. After graduating from the University of Pittsburgh, where she received both her BS and a Masters in Health Administration, she began working in informational technology at a leading medical center with likeminded people, while devoting her free time to working with non-profit organizations such as the Boys and Girls Club.

Growing up in Hershey, Pennsylvania as the older of two children, Linda and her family enjoyed a close relationship and she experienced a traditional childhood where she learned strong values and a deep sense of caring for others from her parents. To this day, she sees how these formative years have continued to shape and guide her, both professionally and personally.

Linda happily worked as a healthcare administration professional for years before she began to see a shift in the environment of the company. As the focus become more about the bottom line, she noticed profit-driven attitudes replacing the philanthropic and genuine feel that had previously been the atmosphere. Just as she saw this shift, her father was diagnosed with Stage IV cancer. While traveling home to be with him every other weekend, and still maintaining a full time schedule at work, including a busy travel schedule, Linda experienced a moment of awakening. She realized that her job was no longer fulfilling her emotional and charitable needs and that she needed something else in her life to do so.

In December 2007 after much soul searching and contemplation, she formed Marlin Property Management, a real estate investment company. With a focus on urban restoration, including purchasing homes, renovating and leasing them, Linda and her business partner began their first project, restoring a 100 year old home. After construction and renovations, emails from the happy tenants of Marlin’s first project still provide Linda with happiness.

Throughout the time of forming Marlin and renovating the first home, Linda stayed on at her corporate job. Finally, after being told that her department needed to strip millions from their budget in order to post a profit, she approached her business partner and began to develop a plan to leave her job and focus solely on real estate and other charitable endeavors.

Now a fully self-employed entrepreneur, Linda is focusing her time and her talents on the projects that mean the most to her. The property management company continues to improve urban homes and provide great places for people to live – affordably. In 2009 she published a children’s book written by her father, Squeeky and Louie, a childhood favorite of hers. Proceeds from the book go to the American Cancer Society.

Linda’s moving journey is featured in the book Inspired Entrepreneurs: A Collection of Female Triumphs in Life and Business. Published in May 2010, the book highlights successful female entrepreneurs and their professional as well as personal voyages. Linda’s chapter focuses on how she was able to leverage her professional experience into a career that is aligned with her personal values and what she sees as her life work. From July 1, 2010 to December 31, 2010, proceeds from the book will go to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.

While continuing her real estate investment work, Linda launched Building Bridges for Business. This non-profit Building Bridges for Business brings together our regions wealth of Small Business resources, tools, and organizations. www.buildingbridgesforbusiness.org. Building Bridges partners with many of the organizations in the region. Building Bridges for Business will further advance economic development in Allegheny County.

Linda assumed the role of Executive Director for Women’s Small Business Association, a professional group with over 700+ members in seven counties in Western Pennsylvania in 2009 and 2010. Linda also volunteers with the non-profit organization Medals for Mettle, where marathoner runners award their finisher’s medals to others who have demonstrated similar mettle, or courage. Medals4Mettle celebrates our collective human courage, and our innate desire to reward and support each other as we all face life’s challenges.

Linda was recently nominated for Pittsburgh Woman of the Year – Community Service for her contribution to organizations and non-profits. She lives in Western Pennsylvania where she enjoys empowering and educating fellow entrepreneurs.

About the Book

This book is a collection of stories about regular women. Each of them dared to step out in courage to follow her passion, and ventured to change her world.


Meet The Inspired Entrepreneurs:

Chapter 1: Finding Your Passion while Paying the Bills
Debra Dion Krischke, Wexford, PA

When her business was rocked by 9/11, this serial entrepreneur found a new passion in raising money for women’s initiatives. Her company now raises money for women and girls worldwide.

Chapter 10: Meaningful Doesn’t Have to be Difficult
Beth Caldwell, Pittsburgh, PA

Trying to change the world as a social worker wasn’t working for this ambitious entrepreneur. Beth now works with women from all over the world to inspire them to follow their dreams.

Chapter 18: From Law to Lipstick
Anne Martin, San Francisco, CA

This former JAG Attorney was climbing the corporate ladder but realized that it was against the wrong wall. A demanding career as a corporate attorney kept her away from home for 80 hours a week. She walked away from it all and built a career with Mary Kay Cosmetics where she is a top earner, and keeps her family a priority.

Chapter 21: Born to Run (My Own Business)
Danielle Cuomo, South Side, PA

After graduating with an MBA, Danielle wasn’t able to find a job, so she created her own. She quickly grew her business and is now a leader in her field.



For media interviews, speaking or expertise requests, or to interview "Linda Handley” Linda Handley, 412.337.3430, HandleyL@verizon.net LindaHandleyInc.com




Linda Handley
Access, Information, Partnerships -
http://www.buildingbridgesforbusiness.org/
412.475.9010