team

Eve Picker’s  is the founder and past president of cityLAB. Her expertise in inner city redevelopment and regeneration has earned her broad recognition both in the Pittsburgh community at large and nationally. She has even been called a local ‘folk hero’. Committed to good design, her work consistently aims to make a positive contribution to the public realm with every project. 

Eve has a background as an architect, city planner, urban designer, real estate developer, economic development strategist, publisher (founding publisher of Pop City), and co-founder of a provocative public forum for urban issues. All of these have provided her with a rich understanding of how cities work, how urban neighborhoods can be revitalized, what policies are needed to do so, and the unique marketing that creates the buzz necessary for regeneration. With cityLAB, her first non-profit venture, Eve is turning her passion for cities to broader, city-wide revitalization issues. Read more about Eve at evepicker.com, or say hello at eve@smallchange.com.

Kim O’Dell is the director of the Heinz Awards program, one of the projects of the Heinz Family Philanthropies. Presented since 1994 to honor the life’s work of the late U.S. Sen. John Heinz, the $250,000 Awards are among the largest individual achievement prizes. They recognize remarkable contributions across a spectrum of activity – from the arts and the environment to technology and public policy. In addition to the Awards, Kim runs several other programs, including the John Heinz Senate Fellowship on issues of the Aging and the Teresa Heinz Environmental Scholarships. Prior to the Awards, Kim worked for Senator Heinz and the Heinz family in Washington, DC. She graduated from Arizona State University with a degree in business.

Sara Radelet, past executive director of the New Hazlett Theater, helped to launch cityLIVE! in 2007.  Sara has since moved on and away to Paris, France, but we wish to recognize her efforts in helping to launch and sustain cityLIVE! in its early years.

Priya Narasimhan is the president and founder of YinzCam Inc., a company focused on mobile live streaming and experiential technologies for live events. She is also an associate professor with the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department, and Director of the CyLab Mobility Research Center, at Carnegie Mellon University. Her honors include an Alfred Sloan Fellowship, the 2009 Carnegie Science Center's Emerging Female Scientist Award, an NSF CAREER Award, the 2001 UCSB Lancaster Outstanding Doctoral Dissertation Award and two IBM Faculty Partnership Awards.

Ryan Hopkins, founder of the Public Square Project.

Seth Gernot is the Bike Tour Coordinator for Venture Outdoors. His main duties find him introducing others to the incredible riding that we have to offer in our region. Having found a mountain biking mecca in Pittsburgh, his love of cycling has found new outlets and led him to the rail trails and roads in the city and beyond. For vacation he likes to ride across Iowa with 15,000 people or pedal around Ohio with a few thousand new friends. Currently working on a bike ride across the state of Pa, he’s looking to bring fun cycling events to Pittsburgh and grow our cycling culture.

Jonathan Greene is an architect and designer who has taken a different philosophical approach to design. Traveling extensively he documents buildings and places, settling for short periods in places that “beg of more attention” where he temporarily puts down roots, and funnels his experience of that place into a dwelling for himself.

Gloria Blint is the president and CEO of Red House Communications, based on Pittsburgh’s South Side. Her early career at regional ad agencies focused on making big brands better, including Welch Foods, Apple Computer, McDonald’s Restaurants and Humana. In 1993, she struck out out on her own and founded Red House Communications. As principal, she oversees branding strategies for clients who have included Cellular One, Steak Escape Restaurants and Panera Bread, as well as not-for-profits such as Pitt School of Law, Carnegie Museum of Art, Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens, Pennsylvania Coalition Against Rape/The Hero Project, and The Andy Warhol Museum. Recently, launched its integrated branding and repositioning effort: Pittsburgh. Imagine What You Can Do Here. Red House ranks among the top 10 advertising agencies in Pittsburgh and has won more than 200 creative awards.

Germaine Williams joined The Pittsburgh Foundation in September 2007 as Program Officer for Arts and Culture. Prior to coming to The Pittsburgh Foundation, Germaine served as Project Director for The Creativity Project at the STUDIO for Creative Inquiry at Carnegie Mellon University. There he worked on the development of programs of support for individual artists. Germaine also worked as the Program Associate for the Rockefeller Foundation's Media Arts Fellowship program in New York City. A native of Chicago, he holds a Bachelor of Arts in History from Morehouse College in Atlanta, Ga.; and Master's degrees in Arts Management and Social and Cultural History from Carnegie Mellon University.

Having completed a doctorate in Policy Analysis and Management, Emilie Cohen approaches problem solving as an interdisciplinary thinker with a firm grounding in the relationship between the arts, business and the environment. Since 1986 she has owned and operated Emilie Cohen Studios, specializing in fine art framing, gold leaf, and conservation services. Innovative designs are created by applying genuine gold leaf on objects hand-carved by the internationally known Wood Carvers Guild in Nepal as well as on one-of-a-kind and hand-crafted objects. In addition to numerous private clients, Emilie Cohen Studios has had the privilege of working for the finest museums and collections in the region and she teaches gilding preservation at the Carnegie Museum of Art. A recent renovation of a living/studio space in the art and design zone of Lawrenceville allowed Emilie Cohen Studios to expand in 2005.

Darla J. Cravotta, a resident of the City of Pittsburgh, has 25 years' experience working in the non-profit and government sectors. Specific interests include project management, project development, organizing and planning. Over the years, Darla's worked on some very cool projects including the recent Green Roof on the County Office Building, the renovation and revitalization of the Carnegie Library system in Pittsburgh, trail development within the City of Pittsburgh (the Eliza Furnace Trail is considered her 2nd child), and trail projects within Allegheny County. Playgrounds, parks, communities and neighborhood development are of keen interest. Darla is a true believer in community engagement and the power of people and public libraries.