People Archives - Page 2 of 21 - Pittsburgh Quarterly

I was born in a small village in southern Bhutan, the second of nine children — five boys and four girls. Luckily, my siblings and I, and our parents, were able to emigrate to the West in 2009. My father died here in Pittsburgh in 2021, and my mother still lives locally, in Brentwood. But …

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Obituaries Profiles

Judge Jeffrey Manning Broke the Mold

by Mark Schwartz

We lawyers who go to court participate in what amounts to a contact sport, choosing sides in an all-out adversary process. Too bad if the other side loses. Winner takes all. Justice done. Over and out. Judge Jeffrey Manning passed away this month. Back in the mid-1970s only 3 or 4 years out of law …

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Pittsburgh Immigration Profiles

Tuomas Sandholm: AI’s Benefits Far Outweigh its Dangers- Here’s Why

by Tracy Certo

For Tuomas Sandholm, it’s no contest. The co-director of Carnegie Mellon University Artificial Intelligence (CMU AI) firmly believes the benefits of artificial intelligence far outweigh the downsides. “AI can make better decisions than humans, which will make the world a better place,” he says. To better understand his perspective, look at his track record. In …

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Profiles

Remaking Downtown Pittsburgh, Pt. 6

by PQ Staff

Editor’s note: We invited 13 regional leaders to give their thoughts on how to revitalize and reinvigorate Downtown Pittsburgh. Despite numerous emails back and forth with the communications staff of Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey from March 15 to April 20, the Mayor did not offer his thoughts on Downtown Pittsburgh. The responses of 12 other …

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Profiles

Cyril Wecht’s recent death took me back decades to summer of 1978 and Carnegie Mellon University’s tennis courts. Two white guys dressed in tennis whites had finished playing and sat on the grass. In my early twenties and in law school, I was one of them. The other guy, I’ll refer to as “Tom,” was …

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American Spirit

To Keep Your Balance, You Must Keep Moving

by Lori Jakiela

My daughter Phelan was born in 2004. She knows Winona Ryder from the series Stranger Things. She thinks Johnny Depp’s Wino tattoo is because he has a drinking problem; who knows, not judging. Stranger Things is set in the 1980s. The kids in the show ride bikes with banana seats and handlebar tassels, just like …

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Arrivals People

DeForrest, Singer, Diab, van Baarle, Dragga, Hembree, Rosenthal

by PQ Staff

Jasmin DeForrest has been named managing director of The Heinz Endowments’ Creativity Strategic Area. Previously, she was senior director for Arts and Culture at the Detroit-based Gilbert Family Foundation and has more than 20 years of experience in grantmaking, nonprofit leadership, sponsorship management, entrepreneurship and event production. The Detroit native was community sponsorships director for the …

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American Spirit Food & Wine

Quest for Cake

by Louise Gray

A birthday celebration calls for a birthday cake and gifts. As far as I’m concerned, forget about the gifts, but keep the cake. My love affair with birthday cakes began when I was four. Each morning on his way to work, my Uncle Eddie drove his two aunts and my mom to their jobs and …

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Obituaries People

McGinnis, Bucci, LaDuke, Rescher, Simmons, Beck, Posvar, Reichblum, Donley, Rocco, Snyder, Rierson

by PQ Staff

Gerald “Jerry” McGinnis, 89A celebrated biomedical engineer, McGinnis turned a fledgling medical device company founded in his kitchen in 1976 into Respironics, a global empire that was later bought by Royal Phillips for $1.5 billion. He was the inventor of the first mass-produced breathing machine — a device now used worldwide for sleep apnea and …

McGinnis, Bucci, LaDuke, Rescher, Simmons, Beck, Posvar, Reichblum, Donley, Rocco, Snyder, Rierson Read More »

People Profiles

“Go to the People”

by Jeff Sewald

Inspired by childhood memories of accompanying his physician father and nurse mother on medical calls, Dr. Jim Withers began providing medical care to Pittsburgh’s homeless in 1992. Initially dressing as a homeless person and accompanied by a savvy formerly homeless man, “Dr. Jim” started making regular nightly rounds in alleys and under the city’s bridges. …

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People Pittsburgh Immigration Pittsburgh Tomorrow Profiles

What Do I Know? Guillermo Velazquez

by Jeff Sewald

My story begins in Mexico City. I am the youngest of eight children, and my father passed away from liver disease when I was 11. When someone in your life dies while you are still young, you don’t really understand what’s happening. All I knew was that I saw my father working, and then he …

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People

My Oldest Brother

by Douglas Heuck

Just before 6 a.m. on New Year’s Eve, I got in the car to drive down to Cincinnati, my hometown. I’ve done it 100 times at least since I moved to Pittsburgh 39 years ago. And I’ve done it for all manner of occasions. This time, it was to see my oldest brother. His heart …

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Obituaries People

Jim Roddey: 1933-2024 — Pittsburgh’s Man For All Seasons

by Douglas Heuck

Jim Roddey, the first Allegheny County Executive, a man who came to Pittsburgh mid-career and became one of its greatest advocates and leaders, has passed away at the age of 91. The tributes already are coming from every corner of this region. “Pittsburgh didn’t deserve him, but we benefited from his leadership” was one. Another: …

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Profiles

Andy Russell, Businessman and Former Steeler

by Jeff Sewald

I grew up with a father who had come over on the boat from Scotland. We moved around a lot. My parents convinced me that every move presented an opportunity to meet new and different people. By the time I entered college in 1959, my father was running Monsanto in Europe.I got a B.S. in …

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American Spirit

The Oliver Building

by Scott Holleran

As the Henry W. Oliver building was completed in terra cotta and granite in 1910, columnist M.E. Gable described the scene: “As you make the turn dipping into the throbbing heart of Pittsburgh, the upper reaches of the building burst upon your vision in all their beauty of architectural triumph. As you get nearer to it …

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People Profiles

“The Levy”

by Evan Pattak

Maurice (pronounced Morris) Levy was a career-long math teacher in Pittsburgh schools. He was beloved for many reasons, including his sense of humor and his unusual way of addressing students. Rather than using their first names, he called each one “Mr.” or “Miss,” teaching his students lessons about respect they didn’t even know they were …

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Profiles

What Do I Know? Chris DeCardy

by Jeff Sewald

I was born in Urbana, Illinois, and grew up in Champaign, its “sister city,” about three hours south of Chicago. I spent my entire childhood there as the only child of a single mother. My folks were divorced when I was very young and, although my dad was in my life, my primary childhood influence …

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