Bridging Communities. Growing Shaler.

Meet Chris

Getting to Know Chris

Roots

Like many of you, I’m a native of Shaler Township, and chose to raise my kids here. That’s me on the bike at my family’s first home on Pin Oak Drive. I’m always working to make things safer, more efficient, more equitable for everyone, and that work is best done through collaboration.

And, I’ve also spent the past decade observing, connecting, and working across our neighboring communities. By working with entities like Bike Pittsburgh and organizations like the Southwest Pennsylvania Commission studied and done the work to be an effective representative, planner, and regional leader in Shaler.

Education

My Master’s from the University of Pittsburgh is in Education, and my Ph.D. work has concentrated on policy analysis, strategic planning, and municipal governance. I’m ready to help plan what’s next for Shaler

Policy is incredibly important because it is created by us to address certain situations at a given time. In that way, policies are reflections and/or snapshots of particular needs at particular times. However, because our culture changes over time, it’s vital that we revisit and examine our policies and procedures from time to time to:

  • Verify polices are working as intended
  • Ensure policies are equitable, as defined by our current understanding of equity
  • Identify if new policies are needed, and
  • Note which policies should be removed or altered

I also consider polices by “cost” and/or “efficiency”, but also assess the value of policy impact and equity across all measures including income, gender, race, age, physical ability, and others.

Advocacy

Through my work with Walk Bike Shaler, I’ve committed myself to improving mobility and safety in our community, especially for our kids and folks with limited mobility.

What seemed like a bit of advocacy in Shaler to improve walkability and safety turned into an interest in regional planning. I learned from some of the best tutors as I connected to entities like the Etna Community Organization and Sharpsburg Neighborhood Organization (SNO). Brittany Reno, SNO’s founder, modeled service to every community member and “got things done” despite regional political divisions.

Turns out, it’s not who you know as much as it is what you’re willing to learn from them.

Commitment to Equity

My commitment to equity is rooted in my understanding of community needs and challenges. And, it’s different from the idea of “equal”.

If equality is giving everyone a pair of shoes, equity is making sure those shoes actually fit. It’s about understanding and addressing every person’s needs. Just as a one-size-fits-all approach doesn’t work for shoes, it doesn’t work for our community either.

Every policy decision must be made with a sensitivity to that policy’s impact and ensure that it is equitable across:

  • race
  • socioeconomic-staus
  • age
  • physical and cognitive ability
  • nationality
  • religion
  • gender expression and identity
  • sexual orientation

… and the many other metrics that we could list. True equity involves listening to and amplifying the voices of those often left out of the conversation. This informs all of my work, from policy development to community engagement.