PHLFs Young and Spirited Staff
PHLF News
May 13, 2010
We are pleased that we are developing a brilliant youthful staff at Landmarks. It is crucial a new generation takes root, and we want you to become acquainted with these excellent forthcoming leaders.
We offer the following profiles:
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Scott Aber was hired January 2010. He works as a Staff Accountant, handling accounts receivable and cash receipts. Scott also assists in processing credit card transactions, the month and yearly adjusting journal entries, and various duties as instructed. Before coming to PHLF, Scott worked for two years as the Office Manager for the Vandergrift Improvement Program, Inc., a PHLF managed Main Street community. He received his Associate in Specialized Business Degree, Accounting Administration in October 2009 from the Bradford School in Pittsburgh, PA. |
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David Farkas joined PHLF in the fall of 2008 as an intern working on a variety of real estate and community revitalization projects. He served as Main Street Manager for the Vandergrift Main Street program, after which he served as Regional Coordinator for the Freeport, Leechburg, Apollo Main Street program. In his current role as Director of Main Street Programs, he oversees the downtown revitalization work that PHLF is involved with in a total of 12 communities in three counties, including the 8 communities that comprise Allegheny County’s downtown revitalization program. Dave has a background in commercial real estate, including property management and development. . Dave earned a B.A. from Kenyon College where he studied American Studies with a focus on African American history. In his free time he enjoys traveling, skiing, and exploring neighborhoods in Pittsburgh and other cities. |
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Sara McGuire, 23, joined PHLF in September 2009 and has been working as the Main Street Manager for the Vandergrift Improvement Program. She graduated with a Bachelor Degree in History from Duquesne University in the spring of 2009. Her study focus was art and architectural history and from the spring semester of 2008 she began interning with Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation. During her internship she worked with the Vandergrift Improvement Program researching the history of the small community that she also calls home. This research culminated in the book Vandergrift Then & Now, published by Arcadia Publishing in May 2009. |
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Anne Nelson, 28, is general counsel for the Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation. Anne officially joined the Landmarks staff after earning her juris doctorate at Duquesne University School of Law, during which time she volunteered and interned at Landmarks. She graduated from Boston College in 2004 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in history. She is a resident of the historic South Side.
In her work at Landmarks, Anne provides legal assistance and counsel on a variety of issues, assists with the preservation easement program, and advocates on behalf of historic preservation at the city, county and national levels among other things. Anne’s previous experience includes interning in the Legal Department of the National Trust for Historic Preservation in Washington, D.C., and interning for the Honorable Judge Mary Jane Bowes of the Pennsylvania Superior Court. Anne is a member of the Allegheny County Bar Association and is admitted to practice before the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania. Anne is also the assistant varsity coach for Central Catholic High School’s rowing team and is a member of the Three Rivers Rowing Association’s Masters Women’s rowing team. |
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Michael Sriprasert, a Washington DC native, who has had a deep interest in real estate and community development since his days at Kenyon College, first came to Pittsburgh in 2002 for the CORO Fellows program, a national post-graduate leadership development program. Michael then received a masters degree in Public Policy and Management from the Heinz College 4at Carnegie Mellon University, where he spent a great deal of time studying the emerging housing market in downtown Pittsburgh. After graduation, Michael consulted for the Federal Home Loan Bank of Pittsburgh and was fortunate enough to be introduced to Arthur Ziegler through Treasurer Eric Dickerson, and Mr. Ziegler offered him a position at PHLF.
Four years later, Michael is the Director of Real Estate Development for the Foundation, and manages a number of real estate development projects including the Crescent project, housing developments, and other revitalization efforts in Wilkinsburg. He also conducts financial and market studies for the organization, as well as develops pro-formas for numerous real estate projects. Michael has also been leading Landmarks Community Capital’s efforts in becoming certificated as a Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI). In his spare time, Michael is seeking his second master’s degree in business from the Tepper School of Business at Carnegie Mellon University. Michael enjoys discovering new restaurants and venues in Pittsburgh, motorcycling around town, and the Pittsburgh salsa scene. |
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Annabelle Javier Wilburn started working at Landmarks part-time in the summer of 2008 as a Research Assistant. Since then, she has become Program Coordinator of the Metropolitan Loan Fund of Pittsburgh, a public/private partnership established by Landmarks for minority businesses in the Pittsburgh region. Mrs. Javier Wilburn also assists with Main Streets programs within Allegheny County and writes grant proposals for Landmarks. Recently, she has focused her efforts on developing a fundraising database and helping Landmarks go through the Community Development Financial Institution certification process. Mrs. Javier Wilburn has always been interested in historic preservation and has undergraduate degrees in Chemical Engineering and Anthropology as well as a Master of Public Health degree in Environmental Health Sciences. She volunteered at Landmarks and then served as a Trustee prior to joining the staff. |
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Greg Yochum, 36, is our Horticulturist. In spite of his young age he has been with us for more than 20 years, joining us as a groundskeeper and parking attendant when we were developing Station Square. He went on to obtain a degree in horticulture from CCAC, and we offer his knowledge and experience under contract services for Landmarks Development Corporation as well as utilizing that knowledge in regard with our landscape and garden preservation programs. He has participated in and spoken at seminars in the U.S. and abroad and is active with the American Chestnut Foundation in trying to reestablish the American Chestnut Tree, which has fallen victim nationwide to a fungal blight. |
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Andrew Macurak. Growing up in a declining steel town led Andrew to pursue a career in community development. Andrew joined PHLF as a full-time intern in May to pursue this goal.
Prior to PHLF, Andrew helped a variety of organizations to increase their impact and improve their financial performance. His experience ranges from helping a tech start-up to grow to scale to helping a community development corporation overhaul its real estate development program. Andrew is pursuing a master’s degree in Public Policy and Management at Carnegie Mellon University’s Heinz College, where he recently received the Lauble Community Fellowship to support his work in economic development. |