Meet Our Staff
Career Development Center
- Erin Barr, LSW, Social Worker
- Elizabeth A. Berkely, SPHR, Career and Employment Counselor
- Sandra L. Coda, CEC, GCDF, Career and Employment Counselor
- Joseph P. D'Anna, Career and Employment Counselor
- Šemsa Dobrača, Employment Services Specialist
- Dorcas Evans-Miller, Information & Referral Specialist
- Patrick Ferraro, Employer Relations Coordinator
- Estee Gelman, Program Assistant
- Pamela A. Harris, NCC, Work-Able Career Counselor (Consultant)
- Dana Himmel, Scholarship Administrative Assistant (Consultant)
- Justin Kelly, Career and Employment Counselor
- Alayne Lowenberger, Scholarship Program Director
- George R. Ponticello, Career and Employment Counselor (Consultant)
- Wendy Solomon, Client Coordinator
- Jeanne Williams, Career and Employment Counselor
Erin Barr, LSW
Social Worker
Erin Barr is a Social Worker for the AUNO (Age Up Not Out)
program. In this role, she will develop relationships with young
adults between the ages of 18 to 21 who have aged out of the foster
care system. Her primary responsiblity is to assess each AUNO
participant to determine what barriers to employment may exist. She
connects participants with resources for housing, food assistance,
clothes, childcare, medical care, legal aid and any other needed
service.
Erin transitions over to this position after a history of working
at Jewish Family & Children's Service as a caseworker with the
Family Hope Connection. She was responsible for preparing children
for permanency, creating life books with children, writing child
profiles and recruiting families for waiting children. Erin
provided training for adoptive and foster families on the topics of
child development, and the impacts of physical/sexual abuse and
neglect. She also conducted orientation to adoptions meetings,
wrote home studies for families adopting both internationally and
domestically, supervised the placement of children and provided
post-permanency services to families who have finalized adoptions.
Prior to joining the Family Hope Connection, Erin was an intensive
case manager for Mon Yough Community Services working with
seriously and persistently mentally ill adults, connecting them
with needed services and providing crisis on-call services. In
addition to her current work, she teaches 2nd grade at Rodef
Shalom's Jacob Religious School.
Erin holds a bachelor's degree in psychology and religious studies from Allegheny College and a master's degree in social work from the University of Pittsburgh. Erin is a licensed social worker (LSW).
Elizabeth A. Berkely, SPHR
Career and Employment Counselor
Elizabeth "Betty" Berkely's responsibilities include providing assessment, career counseling and job search skills to a variety of CDC clients.
Betty is a proven educator and senior business leader with more than twenty years of experience in the management of line and staff functions with Fortune 500 companies. While the majority of her career has focused on human resource management, she also served as the Director of Career Services for the Graduate School of Public and International Affairs at the University of Pittsburgh. Betty is also an adjunct Career Management Consultant with Right Management, an international human resources consulting and outplacement firm.
Betty has an undergraduate and graduate degree in English from Slippery Rock University, and a graduate degree in the Sociology of Education and Mass Communications from the University of Leicester, Leicester, England. She is also a certified Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR) from the Society of Human Resource Management.
Sandra L. Coda, CEC, GCDF
Career and Employment Counselor
As a career and employment counselor, Sandy's responsibilities include career counseling and job development. In addition, Sandra is a facilitator for workgroups and workshops providing job search skills training.
Sandy has over 20 years' experience relating to career counseling, job development, sales and marketing. In Pittsburgh, Sandy has worked as a certified employment counselor for a company with more than 450 offices in the U.S. For outstanding performance as an employment specialist, including the placement of more applicants than any other specialist, Sandy was honored with many awards and accolades.
Sandy also worked as an admissions representative for the Wheeler School. She counseled students regarding their careers, financial aid and course selection, and gave effective presentations at college fairs.
Sandy has a bachelor's degree in business and communications from Carlow University, where she received a Community Service Award. Sandy has been designated as a Certified Global Career Development Facilitator. Working with Pittsburgh/Allegheny County Career Link System, Sandy has completed requirements for Core Knowledge, Job Seeker Services 1 and Employer Services 1 certified professional designations.
Joseph P. D'Anna
Career and Employment Counselor
Joe D'Anna serves as a career and employment counselor in the CDC's Business Services Division. He is responsible for providing career counseling to individuals and assisting area employers with recruiting efforts and outplacement services, as well as conducting group workshops on career planning. He has more than 25 years of experience in management consulting, executive recruiting and corporate outplacement for major corporations and non-profit organizations.
Joe has served as Executive Director of the Redevelopment Authority of Allegheny County and as Chief Administrative Assistant to the County Commissioners where he recruited, trained and supervised department heads and managers for positions in Allegheny County government. He also has served as Vice Chairman of the Allegheny Housing Authority and as Chief Deputy Clerk of Courts.
Joe has authored numerous articles including manuals for successful job searching and termination training for managers. He has taught career planning courses for the University of Pittsburgh's Program Improvement Plan.
Joe holds a bachelor's degree in business management from Loyola University and is a Certified Career Development Facilitator.
Šemsa Dobrača
Employment Services Specialist
Šemsa Dobrača is the Employment Services Specialist for the
Career Development Center. Her responsibilities include providing
job development and employment services to refugees and immigrants.
She also trains CDC clients in LinkedIn workshops, maintains social
media pages for the CDC and coordinates outside presenters for the
monthly workshop and events calendar.
Prior to joining CDC, Šemsa worked in various programming and
administrative capacities in organizations such as the
University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, Council for International
Visitors to Iowa Cities, and most recently at the Nonprofit
Resource Center in Sacramento, CA.
Šemsa holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Iowa, with a double major in Political Science and International Studies.
Dorcas Evans-Miller
Information & Referral Specialist
Dorcas Evans-Miller is the Information & Referral Specialist for the Career Development Center. In this position, she welcomes clients to the CDC’s Resource Center and assists clients with their online job registration and searches. In addition, as an employment and career counselor, Dorcas provides clients with job search and career transition consultation.
Dorcas served as job developer from 1989 – 2006 at the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh in the Job and Career Education Center (JCEC) located in Oakland. At the JCEC, she served over 200 job seekers a year by building resumes and referring clients to job leads.
Dorcas earned a bachelor’s degree in Humanities from the University of Pittsburgh and is a certified Global Career Development Facilitator.
Patrick Ferraro
Employer Relations Coordinator
Patrick Ferraro is an employer relations coordinator for the
Career Development Center. Patrick develops relationships with
regional employers to identify career opportunities for CDC clients
and facilitate their placement. One of his initiatives
includes hosting employers onsite at the CDC, where job seekers
meet employers face-to-face for pre-interviews. Patrick also
pre-screens and coaches clients when referring them for specific
jobs.
Prior to working with the CDC, Patrick was principal owner of
Pinnacle Associates, a search firm specializing in placing middle
to upper management personnel in all disciplines. He also served as
vice president of client services consulting for Right Management
Consultants, an international career counseling and transition
firm. He has been involved in the planning and implementation of
career centers for numerous organizations in Western Pennsylvania
and West Virginia that were downsizing their workforce due to
restructuring or merger and acquisition activities.
Patrick earned his undergraduate degree in psychology at California
University of Pennsylvania and completed additional masters-level
coursework in human resources management at LaRoche College.
Estee Gelman
Program Assistant
Estee provides administrative support to the CDC staff, ensuring materials are prepared for workshops on a timely basis, assisting with workshops and performing a variety of other administrative functions.
Prior to joining the CDC, Estee worked, in New York, for the Hebrew Academy of Special Children (HASC), a non-profit organization that deals with developmentally-disabled adults. Estee provided an array of services, including working closely with the director of the Health Center on updating manuals and ensuring all regulations were being met. She also worked under the Acting Director of Quality Assurance to ensure all staff members were properly certified and that all clients were receiving the best possible care from the staff.
Pamela A. Harris, NCC
Work-Able Career Counselor (Consultant)
Pam Harris is a Work-Able counselor and career consultant in the
Career Development Center. Her responsibilities include
providing individual and group career assessment and development of
career goals, and job search strategies. She also coaches clients
in interview techniques, the job transition, and maintaining
employment. Pam insures that clients have high-quality professional
documents, such as resumes and cover letters. She also conducts
workshops on a variety of career development topics. Pam has
experience counseling clients of all ages and with a variety of
backgrounds and career interests through her work in both
university career counseling and in mental health counseling.
Most recently, Pam worked as a career consultant with the
University of Pittsburgh’s Career Development Office and the
College of General Studies. Pam began her career as a state auditor
and then progressed into the corporate tax arena as a public tax
consultant, tax specialist, strategic planner, and manager for
several global corporations. In addition, she has experience as a
fiscal specialist in the non-profit sector.
Pam is a National Certified Counselor. Her educational background includes a master's degree in community and agency counseling and a bachelor's in business administration and accounting from California University of Pennsylvania.
Dana Himmel
Scholarship Administrative Assistant (Consultant)
Dana Himmel is the Administrative Assistant for the Central Scholarship & Loan Referral Service, a program administered by our Career Development Center. Her responsibilities include overall administrative support to the scholarship program. Additionally, she develops and distributes the Career Development Center’s Weekly Jobs Update, an e-newsletter featuring the latest job openings and assists departmental billing.
Prior to coming at JF&CS, Dana worked for Race for the Cure where she registered over 30,000 race participants, processed and acknowledged donations, fielded phone calls from volunteers, survivors and donors and directed them to the appropriate information.
Dana earned her bachelor’s degree in sociology from Kent State University.
Justin Kelly
Career and Employment Counselor
As a career and employment counselor, Justin Kelly's
responsibilities include providing assessment, career counseling
and job search skills training to a variety of CDC clients.
Justin started his career as an assistant recruiter at FreeMarkets
Inc. (now Ariba Inc.). While he gained great experience at
FreeMarkets, Justin decided that he wanted to utilize the skills he
learned and developed in human resource management to help students
at the university level. He became a career counselor at Duquesne
University, serving students (and alumni) in the A.J. Palumbo
School of Business. After spending six years at Duquesne
University, Justin went to Chatham University to serve as Associate
Director of Career Services/Internships. In this role, he developed
internship opportunities with employers and counseled students to
help them obtain internships. Justin then worked at the
Pennsylvania Institute of Certified Public Accountants as a Senior
Chapter Administrator before coming to JF&CS.
Justin earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Communication Arts
from Allegheny College in Meadville, PA.
Alayne Lowenberger
Scholarship Program Director
Alayne Lowenberger is the scholarship program director of Central Scholarship & Loan Referral Service (CSLRS). CSLRS is a program of the United Jewish Federation, administered by the Career Development Center (CDC) of Jewish Family & Children's Service. CSLRS coordinates the efforts of a group of organizations, agencies and scholarship endowment funds which provide scholarships to local undergraduate and graduate Jewish students who have demonstrated financial need. Alayne interviews applicants, reviews and processes the applications, provides professional support to the lay allocations committee and markets the program.
Alayne worked in various capacities in the community prior to joining the CDC. She was the consumer benefits coordinator at Mercy Behavioral Health, the social worker/training and placement director at the Epilepsy Foundation of Western Pennsylvania and the administrative assistant to the executive director at Three Rivers Youth. She had previously worked at Jewish Family & Children's Service as the administrative assistant to the executive director.
Alayne holds a master's degree in social administration and a Juris Doctor from Case Western Reserve University and a bachelor's in Jewish studies from University of Pittsburgh. She is a member of the Pennsylvania Bar Association and she is a PA licensed social worker.
George R. Ponticello
Career and Employment Counselor (Consultant)
George Ponticello is a career and employment counselor at the Career Development Center. His primary responsibilities include individual assessment, career counseling/coaching, job search skills, training, job development and providing ongoing support and resources to CDC clients in career transition.
George has worked for several organizations in the human resources field where his primary focus has included corporate recruiting, contingency search, outplacement and career counseling. George also serves as an adjunct consultant with Right Management, an international human resources consulting and outplacement firm and spent four years working as a contract career advisor for Verizon Communications. In addition to his diverse experience in the human resources area, George's previous business experience includes positions in advertising, sales and information systems—working in small, mid-sized and Fortune 50 corporations.
George's educational background includes a master's degree in human resources management from LaRoche College, a master's of library and information sciences from the University of Pittsburgh and a bachelor's in Journalism/Advertising from Penn State University.
Wendy Solomon
Client Coordinator
Wendy Solomon handles client intakes, helps coordinate CDC contracts and conducts a client workshop. She is the first stop for clients seeking assistance. After carefully assessing their needs and background, she refers them to one of the career counselors. Additionally, she administers contract programs for the state and foundations as well as teaching workshops.
Prior to her role as client coordinator, Wendy managed the Central Scholarship & Loan Referral Service (CSLRS) program for several years, designing Access reports and maintaining data quality control. Before joining the CDC, Wendy coordinated research projects at WPIC and Carnegie Mellon and managed technical upgrades for UPMC departments.
She holds a master's degree in management from the Heinz School of Public Policy and Management, Carnegie Mellon University and a bachelor's degree in psychology from the University of Pittsburgh.
Jeanne Williams
Career and Employment Counselor
As a career and employment counselor in the Career Development Center, Jeanne will be working with special populations including at-risk youth, immigrants, refugees and dislocated workers.
Jeanne has more than 20 years of leadership experience building internal and external relationships within financial institutions, corporations, and academia settings. Her most recent position as an admissions coordinator for Pittsburgh Technical Institute provided opportunities to work mainly with non-traditional students. Her desire to bring hope to a population of people who are often complacent and defeated about their careers became a reality as many students met and surpassed their goals.
Prior to joining Pittsburgh Technical Institute, Jeanne was a senior auditor with Mellon Financial Corporation’s Audit & Risk Review Department. The majority of her service with Mellon Financial Corporation resided within the Global Trade Finance & Services Department where she served as an assistant vice president.
Jeanne holds a bachelor’s degree in Professional Communication and Organizational Behavior from Duquesne University. She is currently a teaching assistant and has taught classes in organizational behavior, critical thinking and export finance.
