Project Team
Heidi Ward
Director, Greater Hazelwood Neighborhood Commitment
haw221@pitt.edu
All Greater Hazelwood Neighborhood Commitment Staff
Priority Areas and Planning Team
- Pre-K to 12 Education
- Launched the Smithsonian Biotechnology Curriculum in collaboration with Center of Life’s Fusion after-school program for middle school students.
- Connected EvolvingSTEM with Jada House International to offer Jada GEMS sessions, providing hands-on laboratory experience for Propel-Hazelwood middle school students.
- Workforce Development
- Established office hours for a Pitt career counselor at the Greater Hazelwood Family Center and the Carnegie Library – Hazelwood to help residents access employment opportunities at the University.
- Secured funding to develop a Life Sciences Bridge Program for 18-to-24-year-olds, increasing exposure and awareness of life sciences career pathways (two cohorts expected to launch in 2026).
- Inclusive Community Development
- Organized a 5-week Health Lecture series, featuring various Pitt departments at the Carnegie Library – Hazelwood on Tuesdays from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m. in May 2025.
- Partnered with Pitt’s School of Computing and Information to secure an NSF Air Quality Planning Grant to build infrastructure (sensors, filters, events, and programs) for collecting and understanding air quality data to drive change.
- Cross-Cutting Initiatives
- Designed and launched the inaugural Offroute Art Biotechnology Fellowship with six emerging artists (ages 18 to 24).
- Developed and distributed a 20-page life sciences coloring and activity book.
Dedicated planning team that organized the Greater Hazelwood Kaleidoscope Summit on February 24, 2024, at Mill 19
