Melanie Harrington
President & CEO
Melanie Harrington serves as the first President and CEO of Vibrant Pittsburgh, a nonprofit economic development organization that was established to build a more diverse and inclusive Pittsburgh region by spearheading initiatives to attract, retain, and elevate a diverse workforce.
From 2001 to 2010 Melanie served as the president of the American Institute for Managing Diversity, Inc. (AIMD), a national nonprofit diversity think tank founded by Dr. R. Roosevelt Thomas, Jr. and based in Atlanta, Georgia. As president, Melanie directed a broad range of initiatives.
From 1995 to 2001 Melanie served as general counsel for D.J. Miller & Associates, Inc. (DJMA), a national management consulting firm that specializes in serving federal, state and local government agencies. Melanie served as a senior associate at the Ewing Group Law Firm specializing in employment litigation from 1992 to 1995.
She currently serves on the Boards of Sustainable Pittsburgh; the Downtown Pittsburgh Partnership; the YMCA of Greater Pittsburgh; and the Diversity Collegium (an international think tank of diversity practitioners). She is an expert panelist for the 2016 Edition of the Global Diversity and Inclusion Benchmarks and a graduate of both Leadership Pittsburgh and Leadership Atlanta. Melanie is an adjunct professor at the University of Pittsburgh’s Graduate School of International and Public Affairs.
Melanie received her Juris Doctorate from Emory University School of Law and her B.A. from the University of Pennsylvania in Psychology.
Patricia Bucek
National Director of Marketing and Talent Attraction
As National Director of Marketing and Talent Attraction, Patricia Bucek is responsible for overseeing the organization’s employer
relationships and managing and coordinating the promotion of the region and market outreach initiatives to diverse
talent both locally and nationally. Ms. Bucek comes to Vibrant Pittsburgh from the Harrisburg
Regional Chamber and Capital Region Economic Development Corporation where
she served as Vice President. She joined
that organization in 2014 and had previously been the Vice President of Chamber
Operations. Prior to joining the
Chamber, she was the Executive Directorof the Kidney Foundation of Central
Pennsylvania, the Director of Business Development for Senior Health Management and a
Program Director for PinnacleHealth System (Harrisburg).
Lora McKnight
Director of Program Operations
Lora McKnight serves as the Director of Program Operations for Vibrant Pittsburgh, responsible for team management and development, program delivery and evalution of program operations for the organization. Hailing from Chicago, Lora has lived in the city for 11 years and now calls Pittsburgh home. Lora received her Master’s in Library and Information Science from the University of Pittsburgh and has a Bachelor of Science in Psychology from Illinois State University.
Rachel Lange
Research & Evaluation Analyst
Rachel Lange is the Research and Evaluation Analyst for Vibrant. Her duties include conducting research and analyzing data supporting the efforts of our Data & Education, Talent Attraction, and Welcome & Retain initiatives. Previously, she supervised a nation-wide exam for the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research in the United Arab Emirates. She holds a Master’s in Linguistics from the University of Pittsburgh.
Samantha Chilton
Administrative Coordinator
Samantha Chilton serves as the Administrative Coordinator for Vibrant Pittsburgh, responsible for the planning and implementation of internal and external meetings and events and for overseeing the day-to-day administration of the Vibrant Pittsburgh office. Samantha has worked in the non-profit arena for 20 years, the past 17 in the Pittsburgh area. She is a native Pittsburgher and a graduate of the University of Pittsburgh, where she received her BA in Communication, with an emphasis in Rhetoric and Media.
Silvia Boselli
Member Services Program Associate
Silvia has lived in Pittsburgh for the past 9 years, but she is originally from Peru. Before coming to Vibrant Pittsburgh she worked as a volunteer at the Hillman Cancer Center as a research assistant for the Biobehavioral program. She went to college while living in the UK and has a Bachelor’s degree in Sociology and Social Policy from the University of Southampton, UK. She speaks Spanish, English and French as she also lived in France for 4 years.
Jaraya Johnson
Connections Accelerator Coordinator
Jaraya Johnson serves as the connection accelerator coordinator for Vibrant Pittsburgh. Jaraya joined Vibrant Pittsburgh in 2016 and finishing her bachelor’s degree in Global communications at Kent State University. Jaraya has worked for different non-profits throughout both Pennsylvania and Ohio for about 6 years, she is currently in pursuit of a Master’s degree in Public and Non-profit management at the University of Pittsburgh.
