Board Members

Born and raised in Wilkinsburg, Bud is a 1965 graduate of Wilkinsburg High School and chaired the Wilkinsburg Train Station alumni committee. He earned a B.A. in psychology from Ohio University in 1969 and an MBA from the University of Pittsburgh in 1973. He retired in 2010 from PPG Industries after 31 years of service, serving the last 10 as the leader of the global Human Resource function.

Previously, Bud was a faculty member in the Economic and Business Department of Juniata College for seven years. In addition to his work for the WCDC, Bud is an emeritus trustee for Juniata College, an emeritus board member for Deer Valley YMCA Family Camp, and chairs multiple committees at South Avenue United Methodist Church in Wilkinsburg.

Jason renovated the house he has lived in for 20 years as well as several other properties in the general area. As a result, he has developed a basic understanding of and appreciation for the difficulties and value of renovating the building stock in the Borough.

In addition to his renovation and development experience, Jason is a self-employed photographer and videographer.

His commitment to the community includes civic leadership. He is the current president of the Industrial and Commercial Authority and Municipal Authority, the Zoning Hearing Board and President and a 5 co-founders of the Wilkinsburg Sun. He has served two terms on Borough Council: two years as Vice President and two as President. He is also past President of the Hamnett Place Neighborhood Association, past Chair of the Wilkinsburg Planning Commission and a former member of the Landmarks Capital Corporation Board.

Originally from the Twin Cities, Michael moved here in 1992 to work at the Bettis Atomic Power Laboratory to work on the design of the S9G Next Generation Reactor for naval submarine propulsion. For the last 20+ years, he has worked in the computer software industry.

Michael has lived in Wilkinsburg for over 20 years and has renovated several properties in Wilkinsburg including the house he currently lives in.

Michael’s commitment to the community includes member of the Planning Commission for many years. He served 12 years on the Wilkinsburg Council. He was the Financial Committee chairman for many of those years.

Although he believes there has been progress during his tenor on Borough Council, he would like to see further revitalization of the Wilkinsburg business district and a reduction in blight throughout the Borough.

From Ontario, Canada and Harrisonburg, Virginia, Aaron has lived in Wilkinsburg for the last seven years. He found a home in Wilkinsburg as a renter for five years before buying his first house a few blocks over in 2021. Aaron is a community mediator and restorative justice practitioner committed to transforming conflict through mediation, restorative justice dialogue, and trauma resiliency from a racial equity lens. Aaron came to the Pittsburgh area in 2016 to practice restorative justice, first with the Center for Victims’ Victim Offender Dialogue program and then with the Center on Race and Social Problems’ Just Discipline Project at the University of Pittsburgh. In Spring of 2020 Aaron co-founded Just Mediation Pittsburgh, a community mediation organization that prevents evictions by mediating landlord-tenant disputes. Aaron has served as JMP’s Executive Director for three years and has led the organizational effort to preserve housing for over 1300 families in Allegheny County.

Originally from Masury, Ohio, Leslie moved to Pittsburgh in 1978 and began her career with what is now PNC Bank as a teller, eventually serving as branch manager for several branches before retiring from PNC in 2015. Some of the first meetings of the WCDC were held at the bank’s Wilkinsburg branch when she was its manager.

In addition to her professional career, Leslie is a member and past president of the East Liberty and Wilkinsburg Rotary; a board member and past president of the WCDC; a Girl Scout leader; a member of Deliverance Baptist Church; and she has served as the bookkeeper for White Memorial Chapel since 2005.

A resident of Wilkinsburg for 37 years, Leslie is eager to see the community — particularly the business district — grow into a destination for people to visit, shop, and dine.

A native Pittsburgher, Patricia Pugh Mitchell is an avid writer, researcher, and curator of local African American history. She has authored and co-authored several publications documenting the history of African Americans in Pittsburgh and since 2000 has served regularly as study leader for the OSHER Lifelong Learning Institute at Carnegie Mellon University. She also served as a frequent consultant in Pittsburgh’s cultural community.

Patricia resides in Wilkinsburg, and, as a Wilkinsburg CDC board member looks forward to working with fellow colleagues for the good of the community.

A lifelong Wilkinsburg resident, Michael previously served the Wilkinsburg community as an elected council person and now serves as Director of the Wilkinsburg School Board. Michael’s current position as a supervisory supply technician in the Department of Veterans Affairs at VA Hospital Pittsburgh involves supervising a team of supply technicians to provide supplies and materials to the VA Health Care System. He has also previously worked as a freelance writer and reporter for the New Pittsburgh Courier and Talk Magazine, a Human Resources Associate for Purpose of Life, and a contractor for Kelly Services. Michael has a variety of experience in transportation management, logistics, business management, organizational analysis, and leadership.

Passionate about the banking and lending industry, Shawn has over 20 years of consumer and business banking experience. Throughout his career he has managed many banks in the Pittsburgh region. As the Entrepreneur Lending Director for Bridgeway Capital, he directs their small business lending efforts and works with entrepreneurs to deliver funding solutions tailored to their business needs. A strong people-oriented person his strength and passion of working with small businesses and community development is what he brings to the WCDC board.

A long time Wilkinsburg resident, Shawn sits on several nonprofit boards in western Pennsylvania including the Alma Illery Health Center and the Sister Thea bowman Advisory Board. He is a graduate of La Roche College with a BS degree in Business Administration and Business Management.