The Pittsburgh Business Times kicked off the new year with the release of its fifth annual Power 100 list, and we’re cheering a little louder for four familiar names. Curated by the editorial staff of the Business Times with input from members of the community, the list serves as a guide to the most influential business leaders in the Pittsburgh region. Our alumni recognized this year are:
Mr. Brandon Mendoza (MPA ’11) is the Director of Public and Government Affairs at the Master Builders’ Association of Western Pennsylvania Inc. Previously named to the Power 100 List in his position at NAIOP Pittsburgh, Mendoza has also managed local and federal government affairs strategies at the Greater Pittsburgh Chamber of Commerce. He currently sits on the Board of Visitors here at the Graduate School of Public and International Affairs, a position he has held since 2021.
With her appointment as Executive Director of the Urban Redevelopment Authority of Pittsburgh (UPA) in 2023, Susheela Nemani-Stanger (MPA ‘07) made history, becoming both the first woman and the first person of Indian descent to serve in the role. Ms Nemani-Stanger previously worked for the URA from 2007 to 2020, returning in the fall of 2022 after serving as Deputy Director of Allegheny County Economic Development for more than a year.
David K. Roger (MPIA, ‘93) is the President and Director of the Hillman Family Foundations, a private foundation that administers the 18 philanthropies associated with the Hillman Family. Working with the foundation since 2001, he was named president in 2008 and has overseen the mission of improving the quality of life in Pittsburgh and southwestern Pennsylvania for the past sixteen years.
In 2019, Bobbi Watt Geer (PhD, ’09) became the first female president and CEO of the United Way of Southwestern Pennsylvania. Greer, who joined the organization in 2017, has more than three decades of experience in the nonprofit sector, previously serving as senior vice president of United Way of Southwestern Pennsylvania and president of The Community Foundation of Westmoreland County. She lives with her family in Murrysville, where she is the president of the Franklin Regional Band Fund and previous vice president of the Murrysville Community Library Board.