About Us

The mission of Pittsburgh Arts & Lectures is to connect celebrated authors with the community, elevate civic discourse, and inspire creativity and a passion for the literary arts. Our commitment to knowledge, learning, integrity, and artistic excellence guides and informs our work. We endeavor to inspire members of diverse communities by providing opportunities to experience authors who speak on issues that reflect our values such as justice, compassion, civic responsibility, acceptance, courage, and equity.

Our Story

Pittsburgh Arts & Lectures was launched with a lecture by Pittsburgh native Annie Dillard on September 16, 1991 at The Fulton (now The Byham) Theater in downtown Pittsburgh.

Over the years we have connected thousands of Pittsburghers with iconic authors including Kurt Vonnegut, George Plimpton, Margaret Atwood, Edward Albee, John Updike, Alice Walker, Tom Wolfe, Jamaica Kincaid, Arthur Miller, Amy Tan, August Wilson, Susan Sontag, Spalding Gray, and E.L. Doctorow, just to name a few! (See the list of previous speakers.)

We now present five signature series and partner with area schools and non-profit organizations to maximize the impact of visiting authors to our region.

Our Board

Our volunteer board members bring diverse skills and backgrounds (and their passion for reading) to the stewardship and oversight of a sustainable Pittsburgh Arts & Lectures.

OFFICERS

President

Kevin Lavelle

President and Chief Investment Officer
The Hillman Company

Vice President

Kornelia Tancheva

Director
University of Pittsburgh Library System

Treasurer

Stephanie Taylor

Director of Audit
Argo AI

Secretary

Robert M. Turner II, MD

Assistant Professor, Department of Urology
University of Pittsburgh Physicians

DIRECTORS

Sharifa Anderson

Senior Vice President and Chief Diversity and
Inclusion Officer
Fannie Mae

Lena G. Andrews

Vice President of Real Estate Development
ACTION-Housing, Inc.

Karina Chavez

Executive Director
Pittsburgh Council on Higher Education

Alicia Barbara Harvey-Smith, Ph.D.

President and CEO
Pittsburgh Technical College

Laura Heberton‐Shlomchik

Producer/Screenwriter

Laura Mullen

VP of Legal and Compliance
Argo AI

Sydney Rochelle Normil, Esq.

Associate (Litigation and Antitrust)
Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney

Pallavi Golla Patil

Founder and CEO
Lark Adventurewear

Gail Pesyna

Retired
Alfred P Sloan Foundation

Balaji Srinivasan

VP, Product and Research & Development
Gimmal

Ron Vassel

Deputy General Counsel
ANSYS, Inc.

Pam Wilkins

Senior Vice President for Legal Affairs
Duquesne University

Our Staff

Our talented staff members apply their passion, expertise, and enthusiasm to achieve the dynamic goals of the organization.

Sony Ton-Aime

Executive Director

Lisa Christopher

Director of Community Engagement

Caitlin Leasure

Development Manager

Devan Murphy

Patron Experience Associate

Kelsey Swintek

Ticketing and Event Production Manager

Our Volunteers

Our dedicated volunteers offer much-needed support at our events, greeting our patrons, providing directional assistance, and working alongside staff at our Box Office.