Board of Commissioners

Agendas & Approved Minutes from previous Board of Commissioners meetings.

HACP is governed by a Board of Commissioners. The board is charged with the task of establishing goals, approving policy and budgets, and providing general direction to the Executive Director.

Valerie McDonald-Roberts, Chair of the Board of Commissioners

Valerie McDonald-Roberts is the appointed Chief Urban Affairs Officer, Bureau of Neighborhood Empowerment, within the Office of Mayor William Peduto. She has served in elected and appointed office for more than 24 years, starting in 1989 as a Pittsburgh School Board Member, becoming Board President in 1993. In 1994, she became the first African-American woman to be elected to Pittsburgh City Council, where she served as President Pro-Tempore and as Budget and Finance Committee Chair. In 2001, she became the first African American in the history of Allegheny County to be elected county-wide to a row office, Recorder of Deeds, and later served as manager of the subsequently appointed Department of Real Estate. In that capacity, she was elected President of the 67 county state-wide organization Pennsylvania Recorders of ... Deeds, and was the first African American to do so, hosting and organizing two state-wide conventions. Valerie McDonald-Roberts has served on over 25 non-profit boards and has been a recipient of over 30 awards for public service including Pittsburgh Business Times Women in Business, YWCA Tribute to Women Leadership Award, Carlow College Women of Spirit, University of Pittsburgh Legacy Laureate, and the New Pittsburgh Courier Woman of Excellence. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Medical Technology and Master of Science degree in Forensic Chemistry from the University of Pittsburgh, both Summa cum Laude. Politically, Valerie has served in Democratic Party endeavors on the state, local and national levels, including appointments as a member of the Electoral College in 2008 for Barack Obama and in 1996 for President Bill Clinton. She has been a children’s Christian educator for more than 30 years and served as a Girl Scout leader for 8 years. She is married to Theodore Roberts, Jr. and has four adult children, a son-in-law and 10 grandchildren. She has been a regular panelist for WQED’s “4802” (formerly OffQ) on Friday evening for more than 6 years.

Janet Evans, Vice Chair of the Board of Commissioners

Janet B. Evans is a long-time resident of the Bernice Washington Crawley High Rise, located in Glen Hazel. She has been an active member of the community’s tenant leadership and an advocate for the rights of both low-income individuals and persons with disabilities. Janet currently serves on the Housing Authority of the City of Pittsburgh Board of Commissioners as the Vice Chair as well as host of committees and boards based in the City of Pittsburgh, including Community Living and Support Services (CLASS) and the City County Task Force for People with Disabilities. In addition to her many volunteer activities; Janet operates her own small business, H & J Laundry Services and participates with Fishes and Loaves Buying Club. ... Janet earned her associate’s degree in behavioral sciences at CCAC North Side. She is widowed and says that she is blessed to have her friends and neighbors from the Glen Hazel High Rise as her family.

Peter R. Kaplan, Secretary of the Board of Commissioners

Peter R. Kaplan is a recently retired banker with extensive experience in the financing of affordable rental housing, including public housing. During the final 16 years of his 27-year career at PNC Bank, Mr. Kaplan originated investments in housing developments using the low income housing tax credit. He provided equity and debt financing for 91 properties with a total of over 5,900 units, primarily in Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Kentucky. Of these properties, 30 were located either in the City of Pittsburgh or in Allegheny County outside the City of Pittsburgh. Twenty-three of the 91 properties were public housing developments, including 11 located either in the City of Pittsburgh or in Allegheny County outside the City. ... Mr. Kaplan has been an active volunteer during the 28 years he has lived in the City of Pittsburgh, serving on the governing boards of ACTION-Housing, the Pittsburgh Housing Development Corporation, the Squirrel Hill Urban Coalition, and Sixth Presbyterian Church. He has a B.A. in History from Antioch College, a Masters in City and Regional Planning from the University of California at Berkeley, and a Masters in Business Administration from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Enid Miller, Treasurer of the Board of Commissioners

Enid Miller was a Senior Vice President when she retired from BNY Mellon, after a career that included positions in the Risk Management, Compliance, Finance, and Economics departments. Ms. Miller serves on the Board of the Jewish Association on Aging, where she is a member of the Executive, Finance, Nominating & Governance, and Audit & Compliance Committees. She also serves on the Curriculum Committee of the CMU Osher Lifetime Learning Institute. Previous community involvement includes Be a 6th Grade Mentor, The Power of 32, where she moderated Community Conversations, the Executive Women’s Council of Greater Pittsburgh, where she was President in 1990 and led the Women on Boards Committee in 1988, the Women’s Leadership Assembly, which she Chaired in 1991. ... Ms. Miller has a BA degree in Mathematics from Barnard College and a MA degree in Economics from Northwestern University. Before joining Mellon Bank, Ms. Miller worked at the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System in Washington, DC.

Rev. Ricky Burgess, Commissioner

Councilman Rev. Ricky Burgess has a strong belief in the community of Pittsburgh and in the greater community he serves. For the past 27 years, Rev. Burgess has been pastor of the Nazarene Baptist Church. In that capacity, Reverend Burgess has served with faithful distinction with a firm belief in the greater power that guides and offers hope for us all. Over the last 20 years, he also served as a Professor of Communications at Community College of Allegheny County. Rev. Burgess is currently serving his second term on Pittsburgh’s City Council representing the neighborhoods of Homewood, Larimer, North Point Breeze, East Hills, Lincoln/Lemington/Belmar, East Liberty and Friendship. During his tenure he has been fighting for the rights of low-moderate income people by creating legislation that empowers the community to be a part of the government process. ... Currently, Rev. Burgess is Chair of the City of Pittsburgh’s Finance and Law Committee where he has oversight of the City’s fiscal and legal matters. In addition, Rev. Burgess is the Chairman, Board of Commissioners for the Housing Authority for City of Pittsburgh. Councilman Burgess has also been an active Board Member of the Pittsburgh Pastoral Institute, Allegheny Union Baptist Association and Homewood Community Ministries. Councilman Burgess graduated from Central Catholic High School and LaSalle University and has a Masters from Eastern Michigan University. He has also studied at Penn State University and the Pittsburgh Theological University.

Leroy Morgan, Commissioner

Leroy Morgan is a resident of Oak Hill and an active member of the Housing Authority of the City of Pittsburgh Board of Commissioners. Mr. Morgan worked for U.S. Steel and during his time as an Oak Hill resident he has been an active member of his community and resident council member. He has lived in the hill district for 35 years. He is a volunteer with the Wadsworth Hall Youth Program where he has an annual bike fair for kids where he repairs their bicycles. He attended Airco Technical Institute where he earned a welding diploma. He raised four children. He is 58 years old and the brother of six sisters.

Richard Butler, Commissioner

Richard Butler is an accomplished results-oriented leader with a diverse background that includes business leadership, coaching, fitness and business development. He currently serves as the Executive Director for the Southwest Pittsburgh Community Development Corporation (SWPCDC), a nonprofit corporation tasked with addressing the issues of economic development, housing, public safety, arts designation and green infrastructure in Pittsburgh’s West End Community. In the capacity of Executive Director of SWPCDC, Mr. Butler coordinates interactions with local government, foundations, authorities, and the various neighborhoods, community groups and stakeholders who comprise Council District 2. Mr. Butler is also an adjunct professor at Robert Morris University, where he teaches a course on organizational ethics. ... He currently serves as a member of the city’s Affordable Housing Task Force, the Pittsburgh Shade Tree Commission and is a member of the United States Olympic Committee’s Champions of Diversity Team. He has formerly served on a wide range of governing boards, including the Environmental Charter School at Frick Park, Bike Pittsburgh, The West End Alliance Board and the Council for Responsible Sport. In addition, Mr. Butler has extensive experience in the health and fitness industry having served as Executive Director for the Three Rivers Rowing Association and operating a personal fitness business for more than a decade. Mr. Butler earned a degree in communications from Slippery Rock University and a Master’s in Organizational Leadership from Geneva College.