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Greater Pittsburgh Arts Council Staff

Mitch Swain CEO		Mitch Swain came to the Greater Pittsburgh Arts Council in 2006 to become the first CEO of the new organization. Previously, he was Director of Shared Services for the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust. His prior work experience includes a stint with the Jazz Arts Group of Columbus, Ohio, where he served as the executive director/general manager of the Columbus Jazz Orchestra. Mitch also worked as general manager of Columbus Pro Percussion played drums professionally for many years in Ohio. Mitch received a BS in organizational communications from Ohio University and was awarded a Jefferson Fellowship from the Jefferson Center for the Arts in Columbus. He also completed a Harvard Business School Executive Education course in performance measurement for effective management of nonprofit organizations. Mitch, his wife Tracey, and their three children, Ellen, Kate and Will, live in Allison Park with Rex, their Golden Retriever. In his free time, Mitch enjoys family activities, playing drums and motorcycles. Some of his volunteer commitments include the board of Citizens for the Arts in Pennsylvania, Advisory board for Future Tenant and the leadership council of his church.
		mswain@pittsburghartscouncil.org	412.391.2060 x225
Susan Blackman Director of Arts Programs		As Director of Arts Programs, Susan Blackman's portfolio includes the Arts Council’s regranting initiatives, pro bono consulting services and an array of technical assistance, training and professional development programs for artists and arts managers. She has worked in the arts for more than 25 years, specializing in grantwriting, development and strategic planning. Her clients have included the Mattress Factory, Chatham Baroque, Dance Alloy and individual artists. She joined the Greater Pittsburgh Arts Council (then ProArts) in 2000. Blackman is board member and immediate past president of Three Rivers Community Foundation. She is an active early music singer, performing with the Bach and Baroque Ensemble and Urban Sky Consort. She received her MBA from the University of Pittsburgh with a focus on non-profit administration, and her BA in Economics from Western Maryland College (now McDaniel College) with concentrations in music, theatre and visual art. She lives in Highland Park with three cats, two dogs, her partner and two to five teenagers, depending on the day.
		sblackman@pittsburghartscouncil.org	412.391.2060 x226
Tiffany Wilhelm Director of Development and Membership		Tiffany Wilhelm joined the Arts Council team in September 2007. Prior to her arrival in Pittsburgh, she was the Executive Director of the Central Wisconsin Children’s Museum in Stevens Point where she loved playing with creative kids. In addition, she taught in the undergraduate Arts Management program at the University of Wisconsin in Stevens Point and served on the board of Arts Wisconsin. She has an MFA in Arts Management from Florida State University. Tiffany lives in Lawrenceville with her life partner Kyle Bostian, a theatre faculty member at Point Park University, and two crazy cats. A dance and theatre performer in her younger days, she is happy to be putting her “manager” side to work helping her passions—arts, culture and creativity—thrive.
		twilhelm@pittsburghartscouncil.org	412.391.2060 x222
Sue Mencher Internal Systems Administrator		Sue Mencher joined the Greater Pittsburgh Arts Council (then ProArts) in 2000. Sue brings to her position a professional and educational background in maintenance of internal network, security, software/hardware, technical budgeting and website. Previously, she worked with Computer Solutions Today creating a database, and she has worked on freelance projects in computer set up, Internet connectivity and software support. At the Arts Council, she administers the network using Windows 2000 small business server and Windows 2003 small business server. Along with her networking, she develops the Arts Council databases and website, and manages the office building, phone systems and human resources. Before coming to the Arts Council, she was employed by McMillen Hairstyling, where she learned skills in management and communication. She plays a little piano, read books and bicycles/hikes. Sue graduated with high honors from Pittsburgh Technical Institute, with an Associate degree in Specialized Technology, Computer System Specialist. There, she was presented with the Richard Caliguiri Renaissance Award. Her certifications include A+ Certified, Certified MS Access programmer, Human Resource and The Law, Dreamweaver and HTML.
		smencher@pittsburghartscouncil.org	412.391.2060 x221
Devon Dupay Manager of Cultural Policy & Research		Devon Dupay joined the Arts Council staff in 2008 as Manager of Cultural Policy and Research. A graduate of CMU’s Master of Arts Management program, she was most recently employed at the Pittsburgh Opera as Opera Center Administrator and Artistic Department Manager and worked as Assistant Director of the Theatre Program at the Center for Research on Learning and Teaching at the University of Michigan. She is active in the community as a member of the Advisory Board for Future Tenant, Steering Committee for Friends of St. Jude. Devon lives in Shadyside with her husband, Brent, who is working on his Ph.D. in Political Science at the University of Pittsburgh. In her free time, she enjoys theater (both as an audience member and as an actor) and spending time with family and friends. She is also a loyal fan of the Golden Girls TV series.
		ddupay@pittsburghartscouncil.org	412.391.2060 x232
Maggie Johnson Manager of Marketing & Ticketing   Maggie Johnson has joined the staff of the Arts Council as Manager of Marketing and Ticketing. Prior to her arrival, she served the marketing department of Pittsburgh Opera as Director of Marketing and Sales. There she received a Pittsburgh ADDY Award from the American Advertising Federation and spearheaded audience development initiatives including the Young Professionals Engagement Committee and a city-wide marketing collaboration with Cricket Wireless. Before landing in Pittsburgh, she worked in jazz programming with the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, followed by positions in the artistic and education departments of Washington National Opera. While completing her Arts Management degree at CMU, she was lead manager on Power Up Pittsburgh: Increasing Marketing Capacity for Small to Medium Arts Organizations, a research project for the Greater Pittsburgh Arts Council (then ProArts). Other Pittsburgh non-profits she has worked with include the Community Technical Assistance Center, MCG Jazz, the August Wilson Center, and Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre. Maggie is also an alumna of Leadership Pittsburgh's LDI XIII Class, and is a classically trained vocalist who sings jazz.   mjohnson@pittsburghartscouncil.org 412.391.2060 x229

David Seals Programs Manager		David Seals joined the staff of the Greater Pittsburgh Arts Council in 2005, and he currently works on a variety of programs that serve individual artists and arts organizations in the region. He oversees the Volunteer Lawyers for the arts program, connecting attorneys with low-income arts clients who need pro bono legal assistance. He assists the Director of Arts Programs with the development and implementation of more than twenty professional development workshops and forums each year, and he supports the administration of three grant programs that award more than $300,000 annually to over 100 grantees. In addition to his duties as Programs Manager, David serves as editor and contributing writer for the monthly Update newsletter and is a writer for EventSource magazine, a quarterly publication of VisitPittsburgh. In May of 2007, he managed the production logistics for the inaugural Work of Art Awards, a ceremony honoring nine awardees that included live dance and musical performances. Most recently, David worked with key emerging leaders in the cultural community to organize a Creative Conversation entitled, Bottoms Up: A Gathering of Emerging Minds, which he hopes to turn into a local network of young arts professionals. David holds a BA in English Literature and Spanish Language from Grove City College. He is married to Angela Seals, Program Manager at the Children's Museum of Pittsburgh. They have a black, boxer-spaniel puppy named Georgia; she is, quite simply, the cutest creature in existence.
		dseals@pittsburghartscouncil.org	412.391.2060 x227
Ryan Freytag Development and Membership Coordinator		Ryan Freytag joined the Arts Council in October of 2006, bringing the passion, creativity, open mind and sense of humor that are key elements of his artistic work with him. In his position as Development and Membership Coordinator Ryan has worked to expand both the number of Arts Council members and the overall participation and involvement of the local cultural community with the Arts Council's efforts on their behalf. After earning his BFA from Carnegie Mellon University, the desire to assist other artists in their creative endeavors lead Ryan to study law at the University of Pittsburgh where he earned his JD. While still in law school, he was able to combine his passion for the arts with a newfound interest in the nonprofit sector through an externship at the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust. This experience lead him to pursue a career in nonprofit membership and development rather than practicing law. As an artist, Ryan is especially concerned with improving the lives of other artists, both locally and nationally. Using both his legal and artistic backgrounds, Ryan hopes to foster a better understanding and further communication between the two very different sectors. In between knee surgeries, Ryan likes to draw, paint and write. Over the last three years, most of Ryan's free time and creative energy has been spent developing a cartoon series with a friend. He lives with his 18 year old cat (Stormy) and has its name tattooed on his leg.
		rfreytag@pittsburghartscouncil.org	412.391.2060 x234
Kathy Mahoney Bookkeeper		Kathy Mahoney started at the Greater Pittsburgh Arts Council (then ProArts) in 2001 and is the part-time bookkeeper. Kathy is a CPA and graduate from The Pennsylvania State University with a degree in accounting. After 2 ½ years as an auditor with Arthur Andersen & Co., Kathy and her husband, Bob, moved to Houston, TX, where they lived for 4 years. After returning to Pennsylvania, Kathy and Bob started a family and home schooled their 3 children through 8th grade. Kathy is self-employed and does bookkeeping/ accounting work with many non-profits in the Pittsburgh area.
			412.391.2060 x235
Christiane Leach Executive Assistant		Christiane D Leach is a poet, singer, songwriter, visual artist, playwright, cultural advocate…instigator. A recipient of a 2003 PCA Fellowship for music composition, she continues to perform with Soma Mestizo, global dub rebels, who released their latest musical effort, Telomere, in conjunction with the Three Rivers Arts Festival’s "4th River Project." Her lyrical and vocal talents are also featured on albums by 3 Generations Walking and Indigenous Resistance. She is also one of many songwriters for the jazz chanteuse, Phat Man Dee. She has CO-produced various music events, such as "Momentum" with Element Five, two MINIm music festivals and "Listen To This" with Brooke Schooles, which brought in the world renowned performance poet, Ursula Rucker. Her play Saffronia, debuted at the Kelly-Strayhorn Theatre, and she was seen in the Playhouse REP’s Mother Courage. She poetically shared the stage with Sonia Sanchez as part of the "She Said" series and was recently honored, at the New Hazlett Theatre’s gala, “Celebrating Women in the Arts”. Her visual work has been shown at Digging Pitt Gallery, 709 Gallery, SPACE, the August Wilson Center’s gallery 209/9. She has curated several exhibits, such as “From Point A to Point B”, “LOADED”, "Locker: beauty of the male nude," and most recently, "POWER" at Future Tenant. She lives in a baby blue Adam’s Family looking house with her two best friends and fellow performers, Phat Man Dee and Tommy Amoeba. Christiane loves seeing all genres of Art, enjoying the company of friends, red wine, reading Sci-fi novels and hanging out with her Papi-hua hua, Scirocco.
		cleach@pittsburghartscouncil.org	412.391.2060 x228

Tanaz Balaporia Assistant Ticketing Service Manager		Tanaz Balaporia was born and raised in Pittsburgh and fell in love with the theatre when she was in 4th grade. She graduated with a BA in Theatre Arts from the University of Pittsburgh and has been in and worked on over 20 musical and drama productions. She has worked in the management side of theatre in several box offices. During college, Tanaz started off her new career as the Assistant House Manager for the University and then soon started working with the Greater Pittsburgh Arts Council with ProArtsTickets as a ticketing representative. As soon as she graduated she left her family and friends to continue using her Box office skills in Daytona Beach, working with Seaside Music Theatre, the only professional theatre company in the city. As the summer ended, she was offered another position back home to the wonderful Greater Pittsburgh Arts Council working as the Assistant Ticketing Service Manager under Christie Powell. She currently is taking on more responsibilities, meeting more people involved with Arts Management and is very happy to be home working with such a great group of people.
		tbalaporia@pittsburghartscouncil.org	412.391.2060 x223
Office of Public Art Staff
Renee Piechocki Director, Office of Public Art		Renee Piechocki is an artist and public art consultant. She is the director of Pittsburgh's Office of Public Art, a partnership of the Greater Pittsburgh Arts Council and the Department of City Planning which provides technical assistance and educational programs to the public and private sectors in Pittsburgh. She was the Facilitator of Americans for the Arts' Public Art Network (2000-2004), the only national service program for the field of public art; was the studio manager for Vito Acconci and Acconci Studio (1998-2000); and a public art project manager for the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs (1994-1998). Her publications include the Call for Artists Resource Guide published by the Public Art Network, "Beyond the Ribbon Cutting: Education and Programming Strategies for Public Art Projects and Programs" in Public Art By the Book, edited by Barbara Goldstein; and Pittsburgh Art in Public Places: Downtown Walking Tour. She collaborated with artist Tiffany Ludwig as part of Two Girls Working on a national, interview-based public art project "Trappings." Their book, Trappings: Stories of Women, Power and Clothing was published by Rutgers University Press in 2007. Renee Piechocki was born in Queens, New York and grew up in Long Island. She received her BA in Studio Art and Honors Program from Hunter College of the City University of New York. After living in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, where she served as the co-chair of the Chapel Hill Public Arts Commission, she moved to Pittsburgh in 2003. She lives with her husband Rob Owen on Pittsburgh's Northside.
		publicart@pittsburghartscouncil.org	412.391.2060 x233
Lea Donatelli Program Manager, Office of Public Art		Lea Donatelli is the Program Manager of the Office of Public Art, a partnership of the Greater Pittsburgh Arts Council and the City of Pittsburgh which provides technical assistance and educational programs to the public and private sectors in Pittsburgh. In addition to assisting with several lectures and workshops dealing with the field of public art, Lea was involved in the development and currently maintains the Pittsburgh Artist Registry - a free on-line database of visual, literary and multidisciplinary artists living in southwestern PA. She also produces a monthly e-mail listserv, the Artist Opportunities Listserv. The listserv highlights national, regional and local public art, exhibition, and professional development opportunities. Lea was Assistant Director of Artists and Cities, Inc. (2005) a non-profit developer of live/work space for artists in Pittsburgh and Project Manager for Javo Studios (2004-2006) a commercial and fine art photography studio. For six years she has been on the Planning Team for an all night art event, Art All Night, which celebrated its 10th year in 2006. She is a native of Pittsburgh and received her BA is English Literature from Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee. Lea has been known to sing Tom Jones and Carpenters tunes at karaoke bars and lives in Lawrenceville with her dog, Jones.
		opa@pittsburghartscouncil.org	412.391.2060 x233