Marimba Milliones
Marimba is CEO of Milestone New Media Group, Inc., an advertising
and interactive development firm. She is a proud graduate of the Pittsburgh Public Schools and North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University. After returning to Pittsburgh, Marimba
worked as Webmaster and Training Specialist for the City of Pittsburgh where she earned an Employee Excellence Award from the Mayor's Office for the planning and development of the Official
City of Pittsburgh Web Site. During this time, Marimba also earned an MS in Multimedia Technology from Duquesne University.
Marimba was fortunate to learn the importance of affecting political and social change at a young age. She values community and strives to remain active through organizations committed to improving this region. She believes a successful future for Pittsburgh greatly relies on its ability to produce and facilitate true diversity within its social, political, and economic structures, and by providing a quality public education for all students. To this end, Marimba serves on the boards of Onyx Alliance, the Hill Community Development Corporation (Chair), Three Rivers Workforce Investment Board, Family Support Policy Board of Allegheny County and the African American Chamber of Commerce of Western PA.
When time permits, Marimba enjoys music (jazz, neo soul, etc.), playing softball,
traveling, arts and crafts, and cooking. Mantra: "We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit."
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Joi Tindal
Joi Tindal is the President of N-Joi Professional Personnel and Event Planning Services. It is a personnel service that supplies temporary help to the hospitality
industry. Joi is currently completing a degree in Social Work, and plans to go for her MSW at the University of Pittsburgh. Joi is a wife and mother.
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Karris Jackson - Secretary
Karris M. Jackson, M.S.Ed. recently returned to Pittsburgh to accept the position as Executive Director of Urban Youth Action, Incorporated (UYA). Karris who served as UYA's Youth Director
during her senior year in high school is looking forward to continuing the legacy established by the late Mr. Bernard H. Jones, Sr. over 36 years ago.
Born and raised in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Karris was a graduate of Wilkinsburg Senior High School. She received her Bachelor's of Arts in English and Secondary Education from Allegheny College in Meadville, Pennsylvania. She went on to earn a Master's of Science degree in Secondary School Administration from Duquesne University.
As a teacher, Karris earned her experience at Wilkinsburg Jr./Sr. High School and
Manchester Academic Charter School on Pittsburgh's Northside. She later joined the Ronald H. Brown Charter School in Harrisburg, PA as the Chief Administrative Officer
. While employed at Ronald H. Brown Charter School, Karris served on numerous committees such as the Coalition of Charter School's Board of Directors, Disruptive
Youth Policy Committee and Educational Policy Leadership Committee. In addition, Karris continues to be invited to share her knowledge and expertise regarding educational reform in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
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Roderick Craighead, Jr. is currently the Manager of Diversity and Affirmative Action at Highmark. In this position, he is responsible for developing, implementing, monitoring and measuring the internal and external diversity and affirmative action strategies for Highmark's 11,000 employees and subsidiaries.
Prior to assuming his current position, Mr. Craighead previously worked as the Diversity Program Manager for Highmark. Before that, he was a Business Analyst for the University of Pittsburgh's Student Financial Services Budget and Controller's office. While at the University of Pittsburgh, Mr. Craighead served as an instrumental member of the Equipoise Group, an organization charged by the Office of the Provost to give voice to issues which impact the lives of African American students, faculty, staff, and administrators.
Additionally, Mr. Craighead was the Regional Director of Business Operations for the Whitman Education Group in New York City. He was responsible for strategic planning, improving financial capital, organizational effectiveness, and compliance programs.
Presently, Mr. Craighead is a member of the Conference Board's Diversity and Inclusion Council. The mission of the Diversity and Inclusion Council is to provide a peer network of diversity executives for the confidential and candid exchange of information on current issues and trends and provide a national leadership role in the area of work force diversity.
Active in the community, he often speaks on a variety of topics related to workforce diversity and diversity management to local universities, corporations, community organizations, business leaders, and interest groups.
A native of Pittsburgh, PA and a graduate of Westinghouse High School, Mr. Craighead received a B.S. in psychology from Delaware State University. He is currently a graduate student at the H. John Heinz III School of Public Policy and Management at Carnegie Mellon University.
Mr. Craighead is happily married to his best friend, Summarae, and a proud father to his two children, Rashod and Suraya.
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Daniel Lavelle was born and raised in the Hill District neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Early in life he understood that a high level of commitment and service to the community was expected of
him. In his teen years Daniel became active in his church, 100 Black Men, Investing Now, and the Boy Scouts of America, as well as numerous activities associated with his schooling. However, it
was not until his college years that Daniel would emerge as a leader.
In 1995, Daniel left Pittsburgh to attend Kent State University in Kent, Ohio. Here his full potential was realized. During his years at Kent State, Daniel became involved with the campus newspaper, television and radio stations. Daniel also became an activist, President of the Black Student Union, and committed to numerous other organizations affiliated with the University.
During those years, Daniel would continually remain close to and seek guidance from various family members who served as his truest inspiration for success. Through conversations situated around dinner and card tables, Daniel received immeasurable wisdom that would continually guide him along his path.
After graduating from Kent State and working in Akron, Ohio for some time, in
February of 2001 Daniel returned home to Pittsburgh to draw together his experiences and talents to begin servicing his community and city at large to the best
of his ability. He is now the Executive Assistant in charge of Community Affairs to Councilman Sala Udin, District 6, City Council of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
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Brian Lowe
Brian Ellis Lowe is the Regional Account Executive for the Pittsburgh Pirates Baseball Club Marketing & Sales Department. A native of
New Orleans, Louisiana and distinguished graduate of Grambling State University, he earned a Bachelor of Science Degree in Therapeutic Recreation and Leisure Studies (1996) and Masters of
Science Degree in Sport Administration. While pursuing his college education, Brian was a four-year letterman for the Grambling State University Tiger Football Team under legendary Coach Eddie Robinson, Sr. On and
off the field, he served as a leader to the team and was involved in community projects and services. He is a member of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity Inc., and for the
past eight years has served as a mentor to several youth in Louisiana.
Brian, affectionately called "B. Lowe", aspires to become a General Manager of a professional sports team. This goal gets closer everyday, as Brian continues to development and succeed as a sports executive. Brian's professional background in sports is in community relations and development, marketing, sales, and promotions. Some of the professional teams and organizations that he has worked with are the United States Olympic Committee (USOC), Amateur Athletic Union Headquarters (AAU), National Basketball Association (NBA Properties), NFL Super Bowl Host Committee, Game Face Sport Marketing, and Pittsburgh Pirates Baseball Club of Major League Baseball.
Though Brian's tenure in Pittsburgh has been somewhat short, his impact has been
quite tangible. With his energetic and outgoing personality, he has already produced a positive relationship with business and organizational professionals and executives
throughout the city and region. Brian believes networking is key to progressive movement and business development. He redefines the cliché "It's not what you know, but who you know" to "Its not who you know, but who knows you."
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