Heather and her wife moved to Penn Hills in 2015 with their 2 dogs, Bali & Bella, and 4 cats, Layla, Missy, Romeo & Juliet. In 2019 they welcomed their daughter into the world and in 2021 their son made their family complete!

She currently works as the Director of Business Operations for a local manufacturer & distributor in Homestead and has previously served on the board at the PGH Equality Center in the role of Secretary.

She has a Bachelor’s Degree in Social Sciences and a Master’s Degree in IT Security Assurance, both from Robert Morris University. She hopes to use her professional and personal experiences to make the Penn Hills School District better for all the kids in our community, including her own.

When she first moved here, the school district was the last thing on her mind, but with her daughter entering Kindergarten next year and getting diagnosed as being Autistic in 2022, she wanted to make sure she gets the support she needs, along with a high-quality education.

Looking at the test scores for the Penn Hills School District (currently ranked at the bottom 15% of all School Districts in Pennsylvania!) and hearing about all the financial issues over the years mixed with the annual property tax raises, she was considering leaving Penn Hills like so many other young families have.

However, she was happily surprised to find that the elementary school has many support systems in place for a child like hers and that the schools have been designed in a way to separate out the grades, so it doesn’t seem so big and intimidating for little learners once inside.