< Previous30 • Allegheny West Magazine • February/March 2021 Pittsburgh Technical College has experienced significant change over the past few years, and the recently hired president and CEO of the college is excited to be leading during this period of transformation. Alicia Harvey-Smith, Ph.D. became the fourth president of PTC in July of 2019. She brings with her nearly 30 years of academic leadership. Most recently, she was the executive vice chancellor of a 99,000-student college in Houston, one of the largest school systems in the country. Over the past three years, PTC has modified its name from the previous Pittsburgh Technical Institute, switched its status from for-profit to nonprofit, achieved Middle States accreditation status and implemented a more ambitious strategic plan. The nonprofit designation allows PTC to receive grants that contribute to expanded offerings for students, said Harvey-Smith, adding that the status is also more beneficial to local communities. Harvey-Smith is grateful for the rare opportunity to rebuild and re-establish PTC in the minds of airport area community members. Though she believes in the description of the college as “the best kept secret” in the area, her intention is to advance the profile of the institution as a household name. One of Harvey-Smith’s main goals is to position PTC locally and regionally as a pipeline for middle skills jobs, thousands of which go unfilled each year. Harvey-Smith touts the consistently high 95% in-field placement rate for degree- seeking students who participate in onsite internships, clinical rotations, or employer partnerships in the quarter before they graduate. PTC offers nine academic schools, including a school of the trades, and awards certificates and both associate and bachelor’s degrees in more than 30 programs. Though the school has provided online learning for years, Harvey-Smith believes PTC was one of the first colleges in the country to go remote early in 2020. The CEO reported that PTC had a COVID-19 task force in place within the first two weeks of last January and was prepared for 100% remote learning by the time of the national shutdown. Following a comprehensive plan, students phased back to in-person classes with roughly 500 students on campus by July. Harvey-Smith speaks not only of advancing the airport corridor through PTC talent, but of “regrowing the Commonwealth.” “Not only through thoughtful leadership, but through the applied and technical training needed in multiple STEM and trade related fields, PTC is being positioned as a go-to institution for jobs of the future,” she stated. Originally from the Baltimore area, Harvey- Smith was excited to come to this region of the country and has been “pleased with how supportive and welcoming the people of Pittsburgh have been.” The PTC leader was educated predominantly at Maryland schools, including Morgan State University, The Johns Hopkins University, and the University of Maryland - College Park. She also received training for the college presidency from the Harvard University School of Education. She is a graduate of Western High School, which was founded in 1844, and is the oldest public all-girls college preparatory school remaining in the U.S. Harvey-Smith believes that potential challenges for women in leadership roles, particularly African American women, are being underestimated and misunderstood as emotional or angry when conveying a message with passion. Women in executive roles are often the only, or among a few, women at the table for high profile meetings and decisions, stated Harvey-Smith. She added that such women should use every opportunity to be authentic rather than conformist, and should be proud of the fact that women excel at soft skills such as empathy and effective communication. Alicia Harvey-Smith, Ph.D. President, Pittsburgh Technical College According to Angela Garcia, executive director of the Greentree nonprofit Global Links, the word “waste” is a five-letter word that is not used or spoken of at the nonprofit company. Nor is it printed in any of its communications. “We don’t use the word waste because everything we do is geared at preventing it,” says Garcia. The 18-employee nonprofit was founded in 1989 and maintains a long list of humanitarian projects, including disaster recovery. However, Global Links’ primary agenda has two fairly simple goals: 1) annually preventing 300 tons of local surplus medical equipment from going unused and causing environmental damage in a landfill, and 2) redirecting this surplus equipment for use to areas of the region and world with less resources. Garcia took the baton from the Global Links director and co- founder Kathleen Hower two-and-a- half years ago. She started working alongside Hoover in 2000. Global Links is a local organization that was founded by Hower and two other women from Pittsburgh. Garcia says the organization got its start after those women witnessed the worldwide disparity in quality healthcare and came to the realization that no one was addressing medical surplus in clinical settings. Garcia herself was no stranger to the global disparity in healthcare. Prior to joining Global Links, she worked in senior care in Belgium, Mexico, and the U.S. She was distressed by the reality of low- income seniors who could not afford basic medical and hygiene supplies. When anyone is deprived of incontinence items or mobility aids, said Garcia, that person’s quality of life declines to the point of isolation because embarrassment and fear keep them from leaving the home. Numerous U.S. residents also often go without healthcare items, says Garcia, because personal care Angela Garcia CEO, Global LinksFebruary/March 2021 • www.awmagazine.com • 31 supplies such as shampoo, toothpaste, and incontinence supplies are not covered by insurance or government assistance programs. Through two main programs, Global Links helps redirect a portion of the staggering amount of clinical surplus generated in this country. Before COVID-19, 3,000 to 4,000 people volunteered every week sorting and packaging supplies donated to the “Blue Bag program” by regional hospitals and healthcare facilities. A second program recovers larger unneeded medical items such as stretchers, exam tables, and IV poles, as well as commercial office furniture from companies that are downsizing. Office chairs and lunchroom tables can be put to use in a developing country’s hospital waiting areas, nursing stations or cafeterias, said Garcia. Garcia is particularly proud of the local impact Global Links had during this year’s pandemic. In a normal year, the organization redirects unused medical items to roughly 30 recipient organizations in southwestern Pennsylvania. That figure increased to 400 between March and December. An “amazing model of collaboration” stated Garcia, expanded the manufacturing and distribution of masks, face shields, gloves and other personal protective equipment to safety net organizations and nonprofits. “COVID gave us the opportunity to respond to a disaster here,” said Garcia. Figures indicate that in six western Pennsylvania counties, Global Links impacted 402 agencies, 600 childcare centers and 152 schools by providing $2.3 million in total protective supplies. Garcia has been named a Cribs for Kids Woman of Achievement and a “40 under 40” winner by PUMP and Pittsburgh Magazine. Recently, she accepted the Green Building Alliance’s Emerald Award for Global Links in recognition of the organization’s direct relief to local communities. When asked if there are challenges to being a female in a leadership role, Garcia replies, “I can’t even answer that…I hate gender stereotyping! When you put people first and value individual talents, gender shouldn’t matter at all.” Visit our website to read more profiles of women in leadership throughout the airport corridor: www.awmagazine.comPRSRT STD U.S. Postage PAID PITTSBURGH PA PERMIT NO. 5605 Hughey Publications, LLC P.O. Box 220 McDonald, PA 15057 Now in Our 22 nd Year Proudly Serving the Airport Area Allegheny West MagazineNext >