PSVP

Get to know a little more about who we are, where we’re from and why we do what we do!

Our partners have provided us with the answers to the following questions to help us get to know each other (and you get to know us!) even better:
Name:
Area of town where you live:
PSVP Partner since:

1. Why did you join PSVP?

2. What type of profession are you in/what are your professional skills?

3. What has your involvement with PSVP been or what do you want it to be?

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Carrie Barmen
East End/Squirrel Hill
Partner since 2001

1. I joined PSVP because it connected two of my interests: children at risk and the venture capitalist model. I had been looking for a way to use my knowledge and skills from working with children and also learn how non profits operate and how to apply business skills to help build their capacity. I have learned such an enormous amount over the past 6 years by working with the talented people who operate our cities non profits and by my peers at PSVP who have a wealth of experience to share.

2. I am a stay at home mother of 4. I previously worked as a director of a program for children with mental health issues as well as a therapist for children and their families.

3. I have been involved with PSVP in many capacities. I have been on the Education Committee, the Board of Directors, the Grant Review Committee and worked several years on the Site Visit Committee. I have also had the privilege of working with two of our Investees over the years. I have been to one SVPI Conference in Denver where I gave a presentation on our Education Committee. I am now working with the Recruitment Committee and Investment Committee. I hope to continue to help PSVP grow by strengthening its membership and by continuing to be a part of selecting new Investees as well as work with our current ones.

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Terry Beggy
Ross Township/North Hills
Partner from 2000 to 2003, new partner 2007

1. I joined PSVP in its formative stages because it was a really interesting approach to charitable giving. Prior to that, I typically gave my “fair share” to United Way through work, and then gave whenever a friend asked for their favorite charity. The PSVP model enabled me to be proactive and not reactive in my giving. I joined again in December 2007 because the need was there to add more partners.

2. I’ve been the executive director of PSVP since November 2005. Prior to that I was at the Nonprofit Leadership Institute at Duquesne University where I launched a nonprofit board matching program called Boards-by-Design. We connected people (typically under 40 and minorities) who wanted to serve on boards, with nonprofit boards that were looking to diversify their board of directors. Prior to that I spent a lifetime (or at least it seems that way) with Verizon Communications working in areas such as customer service, marketing, and installation & maintenance on both the wholesale and retail
sides of the business.

3. I’ve been a part of the grant review committee and the governance committee in the past. I’ve led most of the poverty simulations in 2006 and 2007. Going forward, I hope to continue to play a role in strengthening the organization and growing it to become one of the most robust affiliates in the Social Venture Partner network and a meaningful player in the Pittsburgh Philanthropic community.

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Bethany Davidson (Partner: Steve Robinson)
Squirrel Hill South
Partner since July 2006

1. I joined PSVP for a myriad of reasons – relatively new to Pittsburgh, I knew that it would be an excellent way to expand my network among community-minded, engaged professionals with their fingers on the pulse of Pittsburgh. I was and am excited about the SVP model and the idea of bringing business-minded practices into the philanthropic community, as well as being able to make an impact on organizations that serve a community I am passionate about – at-risk youth. I had left the field to continue my education after having taught elementary school and having tutored Jr. High and high schools students for three-and-a-half years – PSVP has been a great way to reconnect with that passion.

2. I work at the juncture between community revitalization and the city and state-wide policies that impact the redevelopment of neighborhoods – most pertinent recently is the financial legislation that is in the works surrounding the economic downtown and foreclosure crisis across the nation. My personal interest is socially-minded businesses and effective public-private partnerships – which I work at from a city policy level currently.

3. In my 18 months with PSVP I have been able to be engaged on a number of levels, including the Investment Committee, this past and current years’ Grant Review Committee, and the Site Visit Committee. I have worked with a collaboration of Investees - Bethlehem Haven, YouthWorks, and Urban Youth Action - to implement a pilot program that trains at-risk high schoolers in job readiness from a unique, occupational therapy perspective. We have just begun the second version of the program. I am also currently involved in the Recruitment Team. I hope to continue my work with PSVP to help bring in new partners and expand the impact that PSVP can and does have on at-risk youth in Allegheny County.

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Jeff Fitting
Mt. Lebanon
Joined 2001

1. I joined PSVP in 2001 along with my wife, Andrea. Our good friends, Roni Rosenfeld and Ilana Diamond turned us on to PSVP and we were both intrigued by the possibility of helping area non-profits by doing something other than writing a check and then returning to our lives the next day as if nothing had changed.

2. I am an electrical engineer by training and have done work in factory automation, robotics and railroad traffic control systems in the past. In 2000 I joined Andrea’s branding and advertising agency, Fitting Group, where I currently direct our Internet and tech projects.

3. I have been involved with PSVP on and off over the years. Some years I have more time to devote to site visits or grant reviews and some years I all I do is show up for the partner meetings and happy hour gatherings. This year I am on the recruitment committee and I hope to help more people find out why PSVP might intrigue them too.

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Tessa Nicholson
Point Breeze
Joined in 2006

1. I joined PSVP because I am interested in engaged philanthropy as a way to have a personal impact on the community in which I live.

2. I worked for many years for a non-profit organization called The Community Design Center of Pittsburgh doing program development and fundraising. After leaving the CDCP, I worked briefly for the Heinz Endowments and then for the Tickets for Kids Foundation. I am “retired” for the moment and am staying home while my three children are young.

3. I had the opportunity to participate in the 2007 Site Visit committee and Grant Review Committee. My commitments at this point include the Investment Committee and the newly formed Recruitment Committee. I also hope to work with other PSVP partners to get an SVP-Kids program up and running here in Pittsburgh.