Profiles Archives - Pittsburgh Quarterly

Editor’s Note: We asked Pittsburgh leaders to give their prescriptions for Mayor Corey O’Connor on how to build a bright future for Pittsburgh. Their answers follow. Previously in this series: 50 Leaders Give Their Rx for Pittsburgh Mayor Corey O’Connor, Pt. II Wayne Walters, Superintendent, Pittsburgh Public SchoolsAs Mayor O’Connor begins his tenure, Pittsburgh’s path …

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Profiles

50 Leaders Give Their Rx for Pittsburgh Mayor Corey O’Connor, Pt. II

by PQ Staff

Editor’s Note: We asked Pittsburgh leaders to give their prescriptions for Mayor Corey O’Connor on how to build a bright future for Pittsburgh. Their answers follow. Previously in this series: 50 Leaders Give Their Rx for Pittsburgh Mayor Corey O’Connor, Pt. II Jim McQuade, President & CEO, Dollar BankMayor O’Connor has a real opportunity to …

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Profiles

50 Leaders Give Their Rx for Pittsburgh Mayor Corey O’Connor

by PQ Staff

Editor’s Note: We asked Pittsburgh leaders to give their prescriptions for Mayor Corey O’Connor on how to build a bright future for Pittsburgh. Their answers follow. David Holmberg, CEO, Highmark HealthI lived Downtown for many years before the pandemic and saw firsthand the experiences that brought people together. Pittsburgh’s future depends on creating a vibrant, welcoming …

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Profiles

The Art of Determination

by Tara Rieland

Thomas Solich is the owner of Solich Piano & Music, which has stores in Cleveland, Columbus, Detroit, and, as of 2022, Pittsburgh. Blind since birth, he became a champion wrestler, classically trained pianist and successful entrepreneur, becoming one of the largest Yamaha piano dealers in the U.S. Solich lives in Columbus, Ohio with his wife …

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Profiles

20 Years of Interviews, Pt. VII

by PQ Staff

Editor’s note: The Pittsburgh Quarterly team has interviewed many of the most interesting and noteworthy people in our “city-state of Pittsburgh” as my old editor and friend John Craig used to call this area. The number of interviews that have appeared in this magazine reaches well into the hundreds (writer Jeff Sewald alone has interviewed …

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People Profiles

A Hero in Pittsburgh

by Scott Holleran

Assassinations abound. in July 2025, a gunman shot President Donald Trump on fairgrounds near Butler. The nation’s biggest health plan’s CEO was killed in New York City. An arsonist targeted Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro and his family. Islamic terrorists vowed to assassinate America’s top pop star, Taylor Swift, causing her to cancel a concert. And …

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People Profiles

Editor’s note: Since late 2005, we have interviewed many of the most interesting and noteworthy people in our “city-state of Pittsburgh” as my old editor and friend John Craig used to call this area. The number of interviews that have appeared in this magazine reaches well into the hundreds (writer Jeff Sewald alone has interviewed …

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People Profiles

20 Years of Interviews

by PQ Staff

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Profiles

What Do I Know? Dr. Kathy Humphrey

by Jeff Sewald

I was tenth in a family of 12 children. My mother was a secretary and seamstress. My father was a bricklayer who was in the Army and stationed in Shreveport, Louisiana, where he met my mother. This was at the time of “Jim Crow” and, after my father’s discharge from the service, my parents moved …

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Business Profiles

Doing Business with People

by Steve Breuner

It was a couple summers back, when I was sitting down the third base line at PNC park, that my thirst finally won. I had made it through three toasty innings, but now it was time for a frosty draft beer. As I worked my way from the outfield to home plate, I passed four …

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Profiles

Building Basic Science in Pittsburgh

by Douglas Heuck

On the occasion of the retirement of Dr. Arthur Levine from the University of Pittsburgh, we asked him about his career and what he sees ahead for Pitt and UPMC. For the second half of the 31 years he spent at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), he was scientific director of the National Institute of …

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Profiles

What Do I Know? David Holmberg

by Jeff Sewald

I grew up in Columbus, Ohio, where my father did factory work for General Electric and Westinghouse. My mother was a nurse. We never starved, but we didn’t have a lot. We were just a middle-class, fundamentally stable family. And the expectation in our home always was: If you wanted more, you had to do …

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Profiles

What Do I Know? Dr. José-Alain Sahel

by Jeff Sewald

I was born in Tlemcen, Algeria, a small city on the border with Morocco. My family is Jewish, of Spanish ancestry, and had been in Algeria for centuries. Both sides of my family were poor and struggled often just to eat. My grandfather on my father’s side was severely injured during World War II and …

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Books Culture History Profiles

Pittsburgh’s Mal Goode: Television’s First Black Broadcaster

by Richard “Pete” Peterson

On Oct. 28, 1962, the three major television networks interrupted their scheduled programs to broadcast a special report on what would become known as the Cuban Missile Crisis. This was a critical moment not only in American history, but also in the integration of American broadcasting. Just a few months earlier, ABC, at the urging …

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People Profiles

What Do I Know? Stanley Druckenmiller

by Jeff Sewald

I was born in 1953 in Philadelphia and grew up in New Jersey and Virginia. By the eighth grade, I had attended six public schools before being enrolled at a private day school in the ninth grade. My father, who was a chemistry major in college, worked for Dupont and ended up in labor relations. …

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People Profiles

What Do I Know? Rev. Paul Abernathy

by Jeff Sewald

One day, years ago, I asked my congregation in the Hill District where each church member was when 9/11 happened. I remembered where I was, as did most everyone else, and we all shared our recollections. But when the conversation turned to a particular woman, she replied, “I don’t know.” “You don’t know?” I asked. …

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People Profiles

The Art of Compromise

by Douglas Heuck

Q. You’ve been a leader in the Pittsburgh community for decades, serving as president of the Mt. Lebanon School Board, managing partner of Pittsburgh’s oldest and most prestigious law firm — Reed Smith, president of the Allegheny County Bar Association and the Academy of Trial Lawyers, board member of several nonprofits and through your private …

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People Profiles

A Pittsburgher’s Plan to Get America Back on Track

by David McCormick

Editor’s note: Over the past 15 years, when Pittsburghers including Dan Onorato and John Fetterman have run for statewide or national office, Pittsburgh Quarterly has given them the opportunity to share their views. In this issue, U.S. Senate candidate and Pittsburgher David McCormick writes about why he’s running. I’ve always been proud to call Pittsburgh …

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