Our signature fundraiser, An Evening of Oakland Storytelling, is one week away!
Meet our featured guests:
HONORARY CHAIR
Deborah Acklin is the president and CEO of WQED Multimedia. She has served in numerous executive roles in public broadcasting, the cable television industry, and commercial broadcasting. Acklin’s work has included producing content for the National Geographic Society and PBS. At National Geographic, Acklin produced more television hours than any other producer in the Society's long history. Her work has been honored with many awards, including an unprecedented three Mid-Atlantic Emmy Awards for Station Excellence.
She is also active in the community on a variety of advisory boards including, The Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust, Carlow University, The Greater Pittsburgh Arts Council, and The University of Pittsburgh Institute of Politics.
EMCEE
Dave Mansueto is a Pittsburgh-based performer, musician, and entrepreneur. He recently appeared in Rules of Seconds for Barebones Productions and Our Lady of Drubbleduffy for Pittsburgh Playwrights Theater Company. He is a podcast pioneer co-founding the publishing platform libsyn and bossjock studio, a recording app for iOS. Most Wednesday nights he can be found hosting Pubquiz at Brillobox.
Featured Storytellers
Kate Maurin is a long-time Oakland resident who moved to the neighborhood with her husband. She currently works for Alcoa as the Director of Global Talent Management.
Maria Simbra is a multi-award-winning medical journalist who reports for KDKA-TV. She earned her M.D. from the University of Pittsburgh and M.A. in journalism and mass communication from Point Park University. She is also a memoir writer, chronicling her careers in neurology and television news, among other unique experiences. She currently resides in the South Hills of Pittsburgh with her husband and daughter.
David Shifren is a Community Resource Officer at the City of Pittsburgh Police's Zone 4 Station, an instructor of film appreciation for the University of Pittsburgh’s Osher Lifelong Learning Institute, a published author of mystery and other novels, and the founder of the Pittsburgh Police Junior Chess Club. David recently received the Mayor's Employee of the Month Award for his work with the Chess Club. As an active member of the Pittsburgh community, he strives to strengthen relationships between officers and residents.
Marcel Walker is a Pittsburgh-based freelance artist specializing in illustration, graphic design, and photography. As a young adult, Walker moved to Oakland with his family and spent some time living on Chesterfield Road. He received his G.E.D at the age of 16 and shortly after attended The Art Institute of Pittsburgh. To this date, Chesterfield Road is the one place that Walker has lived the longest. He continues to live in Pittsburgh publishing comic books, teaching workshops, and working as a photographer.