Meet the Candidates for the 2016-2018 Board of Directors
At the Allegheny City Central Association General Membership Meeting on Monday, May 9, 2016, members will vote for eight individuals to fill open positions on the board of directors. Those elected will serve for two years, through May 2018, and join six other board members whose terms expire in 2017. Here is background information for each of the candidates.
Kathy Deis
Kathy has lived in the Mexican War Streets Historic district for over 14 years after building a new home in a restored “shell” on Buena Vista with her husband Dan. Kathy has been active in both the Mexican War Streets Society and ACCA. Until last year, she served as a board member of the MWSS and the Greenspace Coordinator for the gardens at Mechanics Retreat and Drovers, as well as leading efforts with Tree Pittsburgh for replacing trees and helping with the maintenance of Allegheny Commons. She also coordinated activities of many outside organizations, including the University of Pittsburgh, in providing volunteer effort for neighborhood and garden cleanups. Kathy has always maintained an active engagement with Allegheny City Central Association’s initiatives such as the Garden Theater Project, City of Asylum, Allegheny Commons Initiative, and related developments to rebuild and improve the local neighborhoods.
Kathy has been a certified Master Gardener (New Jersey) and has served as a Docent at Phipps Conservatory for the past 12 years. She is an active member of the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute programs at both University of Pittsburgh and Carnegie Mellon University and continues to actively travel the world.
Patrick Dexter
Patrick is running for re-election to the Board of ACCA. He is currently serving as the Secretary of the Board, and represents ACCA at the Northside Leadership Conference meetings and events.
Patrick has lived in the neighborhood for 13 years – first as a renter and now as a homeowner on Alpine. “In that time, I’ve seen incredible growth and change in this neighborhood,” Patrick says. “I hope to serve you all to see further growth in the future.”
Timothy Johnson
Currently, Tim is Executive Director of the Allegheny County Employees’ Retirement System where he administers $800 million in assets and provides retirement benefits to nearly 12,000 employees and their beneficiaries. He sits on the board of the PA Economic Development Finance Authority that does bond financing up to $10 million for qualified manufacturing and nonprofit entities. He served as Administrative Services Director for Allegheny County with responsibility for Computer Services, Property Assessment, Facilities, Elections, Purchasing and Open Records. He managed a $26 million operating budget and 300 person staff.
Until recently, Tim was a Mt. Lebanon Committeeman. For ten years, Tim worked as VP of Community Development Lending for a series of local banks. His earlier career includes assignments with the Urban League of Pittsburgh, (where Tim supervised the finance and development departments), Ketchum Inc. (where Tim managed capital campaigns including the $28 million Alumni Hall at the United States Naval Academy) and ALCOA. Tim graduated Duquesne University with a Bachelor’s Degree in Business and Robert Morris University with a Master’s Degree in Organizational Development.
Tim enjoys spending time with his family, golf, radio and all things vintage. However, much of the past seven years Tim has devoted to serving God in his church where he is a Deacon and chaired a $3 million fund-raising campaign to erect the new Triumph Baptist Church, now at the intersection of Mt. Nebo and Roosevelt in Ohio Twp.
Joe Mansfield
Joe has lived on Monterey Street in the Mexican War Streets since February of 2003. He is married to Tokuko Yoneya who has lived in the neighborhood for 29 years. Joe has an undergraduate degree in Business Administration and received his law degree in 1984. He practiced law for several years and then moved into the private business sector. Joe currently works as a real estate title manager in Washington County. He is active in local politics and serves on the Democratic Committee for Ward 22.
Joe had previously served two terms on the board of the Central Northside Neighborhood Council and the Allegheny City Central Association. During his tenure, he served on the Development and Safety Committees.
“It is my hope,” Joe says, “to serve on the board again to assist in the continued development of the Garden Theater Block and to move the organization forward.”
Craig Reinhard
Craig’s relationship with the Northside began first as a renter, and then as a homeowner after purchasing one of the homes in the Federal Hill development. Craig currently works as both a school counselor in the Fox Chapel Area School District and as a part time realtor. Before beginning his current occupations, he attended the University of Pittsburgh and eventually Duquesne University where he completed a graduate degree in counseling. If you frequent the dog park in Allegheny Commons, you may recognize him as the guy with the little Italian Greyhound named Bonsai.
“I love living in the Northside and I want nothing more than to see it become one of the premier neighborhoods in Pittsburgh,” says Craig. “I am running for a position on the board because like many of you, I am frustrated by the obstructionism by some in our community and the lack of growth our neighborhood is experiencing compared to other neighborhoods in America’s most livable city. If we continue to allow our neighborhood to be held back by those afraid to see things change for the better, I am worried that we will get left behind in Pittsburgh’s continued renaissance. As a board member I pledge to support developments that will help our neighborhood grow, that helps reverse the negative connotation that the Northside is a dangerous place, and that builds upon the unique characteristics that set us apart from other notable neighborhoods in Pittsburgh.”
Nicholas Ross
Nick and his wife Danielle are happy to celebrate three years on Monterey Street this May, after moving to the Northside from Mt Washington. It was there that Nick began attending MWCDC meetings and grew his love of community-driven development. Once on the Northside, Nick found a niche for his passion of community involvement and professional knowledge of transportation planning and design in the Northside Bike & Pedestrian Committee. A Transportation Engineer with downtown firm HDR by trade, Nick has focused his community volunteering efforts on making streets and trails in all Northside neighborhoods safer, accessible, and more pleasant for all residents. In 2015, Nick was elected Chair of the organization and has been an active participant in several One Northside initiatives through the Buhl Foundation, while also fighting to reduce speeding traffic cutting through our neighborhoods and promote walkable development practices.
Nick is also an active member of the Allegheny Commons Initiative Steering Committee where he’s working to make street crossings along the Promenade safer, rebuild the pedestrian bridge in West Park, and “most of all,” Nick says, “get some darn water in Lake Elizabeth!”
Outside of work and community meetings, Nick and Danielle enjoy experiencing other American cities on the grid and backpacking through wilderness areas off of it.
Patrick Sweeney
A native Northsider, Patrick originally hails from Brighton Heights, where he attended St. Cyril’s. He moved with his family to Indiana, PA when his father began working as a professor at IUP. After high school, he earned his BA in Economics (1992), and his JD (1996) at the University of Pittsburgh.
Patrick joined the Allegheny County Public Defender’s office in 1997, and has been there ever since. His practice is primarily in the adult Trial Division, but his work in the PD’s office has brought him before judges in all Divisions of the Court of Common Pleas. The PD’s office is a unionized workforce (the United Steelworkers), and Patrick has served co-workers as union steward since 2009.
Prior to returning to the Northside, Patrick lived in the South Side for 20 years, and is still a member of Prince of Peace Parish, volunteering with the St. Vincent de Paul Society. He served as the Vice Chair of the Allegheny County Democratic Committee 2013-2014.
Patrick moved into the Central Northside in 2013, and owns his home on Filson Street. He is a member of the Elks (Allegheny Lodge) on Cedar Avenue, and is a regular at the West Park dog park with his adopted Yorkshire terrier-mix Fiona.
Thomas Westfall
Tom has lived in the neighborhood for about six years on Garfield Street with his wife, Karina, and Dolce. They have been active members of ACCA since they moved in. During his ten-years in the neighborhood, Tom has been working on making the upper part of neighborhood safer with the installation of cameras by ACCA, businesses, and residents of the neighborhood. Tom is a member of the ACCA Development Committee, and for the last two years, a member of the ACCA board.
Tom has also developed ties with the Zone 1 Commander, Chief of Police, Daniel Lavelle and Northside Public Safety committee. “For the next two years,” Tom says, “I would like to work on quality of life issues here in the neighborhood.”
Andrew Wickesberg
Andrew Wickesberg has been a resident of the neighborhood for seven years, moving from downtown Pittsburgh with his wife Katie in 2009. He has served on the board of ACCA for five years, including the last two years as president.
When Andrew is not representing the neighborhood, he is a full time member of the Pittsburgh Symphony, performing every weekend at Heinz Hall and touring internationally representing the city of Pittsburgh. In his spare time, Andrew teaches violin and viola lessons at the City Music Center, and conducts the Symphonette youth string orchestra of Three Rivers Young People’s Orchestras.
Matthew Williamson
Matt is a carpenter who has lived in the neighborhood since 2009 and served on the board since 2014. He is running again to help ensure that the outer streets of Allegheny City Central continue to have a voice on the Board of Directors.
