, she had neither the aptitude for aeronautics nor the personality to be a flight attendant. She ended up studying English instead.
It wasn’t until she went from a job in media relations at Massachusetts Port Authority to working with aviation consultants SH&E in Boston that the one-time magazine writer and editor realized her dream job lay in airport operations. The airports she worked with around the world were so complex, “and that fascinated me,” she says.
In 2015, she brought her business and communication skills to Pittsburgh, after a headhunter called out of the blue to offer her the top job at Allegheny County Airport Authority, which oversees and maintains the Allegheny County airport system.
Initially, the 54-year-old didn’t see a whole lot of opportunity here. After US Airways pulled its hub in 2004, Pittsburgh was left with an airport that was severely underused with a poor reputation. But she loves a challenge.
In the three years since becoming CEO, the airport has witnessed record demand growth. The number of nonstop U.S. and international flights has gone from 37 markets to 65, and there are a lot more passengers — 9.6 million, or 21 percent more than in 2015.
Among new air service she brought here, one big coup was again persuading British Airways to offer service to London’s Heathrow Airport. (There will be four weekly flights starting in April.) She also initiated the myPittpass program that allows non-flyers airside access and brought more local food purveyors into the terminal, along with its first Starbucks.
Ms. Cassotis, who holds an MBA from Massachusetts Institute of Technology, also has been instrumental in getting a $1.3 billion modernization program underway that when completed in 2023 will bring the Pittsburgh International Airport into the 21st century.
Married with a 16-year-old son, she lives in Bell Acres. She travels more than 100,000 miles a year by plane and rides coach on domestic flights and business on international flights.
Aviation has long been a male-dominated industry, but Ms. Cassotis is proving that the sky’s the limit for women who can problem-solve.
“I have walked into a lot of meetings where I’ve been totally underestimated, and I think, ‘Wow. That was probably pretty miscalculating of you,’ ” she says with a laugh.
Karen Hacker, M.D.
When Karen Hacker arrived in Pittsburgh more than five years ago, her task was overwhelming. As its new director, she faced the challenge of reorganizing and revitalizing the Allegheny County Health Department.
Coming from the Boston area, she replaced Pittsburgh native Bruce Dixon, the old-guard director for 20 years who sported a crew cut, a thin black tie and Hush Puppies shoes. He had the pragmatic ability to withstand the job’s political and industrial winds and currents.
So Dr. Hacker drew from a graduate course she took in management that “spoke to the fact that a leader has enormous potential to shift the culture of the organization.” Her initial goal was getting people on board through improved equity and respect that in turn encouraged stronger job performance and ethics.
In her own terms, leadership should promote teamwork and competence. On that front, she says, she’s adopted a policy of recruiting and retaining skilled employees whose efforts bring measurable improvements in public health programs. Much like Dr. Dixon, she also showed up regularly at public events to discuss issues and promote programs.
And, by any standard, Dr. Hacker, 63, of Highland Park has made notable changes and “dramatic improvements” in the Health Department and its culture of about 400 employees. One persistent challenge is the number of department “silos” — programs specializing in air and water quality, disease prevention, food quality, immunization and her focus in reducing socioeconomic and racial inequities, most notable in eastern Allegheny County communities.
She continues working to expand parochial interests into department-wide improvements. And over the past five years, she says, employees have become more aware that higher expectations can lead to benefits for them and the public.
The first question locals posed to Marya Sea Kaminski when she was named the Pittsburgh Public Theater’s artistic director was: “Where are you going to live?” Then they tried to persuade her to move to their neighborhoods.
She wound up renting an 1800s carriage house in Deutschtown on the North Side and is “basking in the character of that,” a choice also within walking distance of her job, which officially began Aug. 1.
Ms. Kaminski, 41, the Public’s first new AD in 18 years — following the tenure of Ted Pappas — arrived from Seattle having met with local theater artists and with her picks for the 2018-19 season in place, and having formed a tight leadership team with managing director Lou Castelli. She often points out that she looks to Mr. Castelli for guidance; he has been with the company for two decades.
Hours before opening night of the Pulitzer Prize-winning “Sweat” and with the season-opening “Pride & Prejudice” under her belt, it was the first Pittsburgh snow that gave her a warm feeling of home.
“It had been a little while since my sweetheart and I had seen a real snow, so we just walked around the Allegheny Commons, got some food at the Park House … maybe it was the fact that we were embarking into the Pittsburgh winter, but we both felt like it was the beginning of a new chapter,” she says.
Before arriving in Pittsburgh, when Ms. Kaminski served as associate AD of Seattle Rep, she worked with New York and Dallas companies to create Public Works Seattle, partnerships that produced an epic musical of “The Odyssey.” For “Sweat,” about blue-collar woes in Reading, Pa., the Public invited more than 150 steelworkers to a preview, and Ms. Kaminski led a postshow Q&A with USW president Leo Gerard.
It was a moment reflective of her vision of the Public and its Downtown home, the O’Reilly Theater, as a hub of creative and civic activity.
“In my wildest dreams, I show up here, and in the afternoon, kids are doing homework in the lobby, and at night, we have education programs running all over the building and artists collaborating onstage,” Ms. Kaminski says.
But first, there’s a “Tempest” brewing at the Public, and “it’s going to be amazing,” she says.
How does a city demonstrate that it’s the most livable city in the country?
By working toward creating a more equitable transit system, for one. And that’s what Katharine Eagan Kelleman, 45, is doing as she leads the Port Authority of Allegheny County as its CEO.
Originally from Colorado, she has lived in many places; her father was in the military and her family moved five times during her childhood. “I looked at it as, ‘Oh I get to make more new friends,’ ” she says.
That gregarious and outgoing nature served her well as she made her way through school, traveling 90 minutes each way to attend Angelo State University in Texas, where she received a full scholarship and her graduate degree in public administration.
After settling into a position as transportation planner for San Angelo, Texas, she spent the next seven years working for Dallas Area Rapid Transit before moving to Baltimore as a transit planner for a year. A recruiter connected her to Tampa, Fla., where she was for three years, directly reporting to the CEO of the city’s transit authority. She worked as the chief of service development, eventually rising to COO before becoming interim CEO.
Then, Pittsburgh called. “There’s only so many hurricanes you can take,” she jokes.
Her husband, Chris, a stay-at-home dad with their two boys, ages 5 and 6, had family outside of Harrisburg. The opportunity to be closer to them was another benefit.
“I try to have a work-breathing balance in my life,” she says.
Her family has settled in Upper St. Clair, and she takes public transit regularly, connecting directly to her customers as well as the people she works with.
Does she consider herself a trailblazer in what some might consider a male-dominated field?
Jayne Miller grew up in New York’s Adirondack Mountains, 45 miles southeast of Lake Placid.
Her father was a large- and small-animal veterinarian, and her family lived next door to the hospital where he worked. Ms. Miller spent a lot of time outdoors and encountered many stray animals. In the winter, her father flooded the yard to create a skating rink, and one year, they built a rope tow.
Now, Ms. Miller lives in a home that’s a short walk from Highland Park with her partner, Diana Sepac. Articulate and focused, Ms. Miller, 60, is the new chief executive officer of the Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy. Founded in 1996, the nonprofit is active in 22 parks. The 40-member staff has completed 17 projects over the last 20 years.
Ms. Miller and Ms. Sepac became friends while both worked in Ann Arbor, Mich., during the 1990s and have been together for nearly 20 years. The two women have visited many national parks, including the Badlands, Big Bend, Bryce, the Grand Canyon, the Grand Tetons, Mammoth Cave, Mount Rainier, Saguaro, Theodore Roosevelt, Voyageurs, Yellowstone and Zion.
In 2019, Ms. Miller will attend