Who Are We?

Founders

The Pittsburgh Kindness Initiative was founded in November of 2013. The goal is to make Pittsburgh the kindest city in the world simply by performing random acts of kindness and encouraging others to pay their kindness forward. Since its founding, the Pittsburgh Kindness Initiative has grown exponentially, and anyone can be a part of the movement.

 

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Bert Dorazio is the Director of Learning & Development for Nestle Purina PetCare, North America.  Bert is a Pittsburgh native and is actively involved in the community.  In addition to being a founding member of the Pittsburgh Kindness Initiative, Bert is active with the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s Team In Training Program and the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Western Pennsylvania.  He is also a board member at Our Clubhouse, a cancer support organization in Pittsburgh.  Bert is a fitness enthusiast.  He likes to run marathons all over the world.  He is also a professional musician.  Bert has two children, Brittany and Carlo.  In his spare time, he likes to follow the Steelers, Penguins and Pirates.

 

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Larry Gioia is a Director in PwC’s Health Industries technology consulting practice. When not traveling, Larry is usually in his hometown of Pittsburgh, helping connect the dots between other entrepreneurs and social innovators who have a shared passion for kindness. Larry serves on the Board of Directors of local non-profits, Find Some Flow and Paddle Without Pollution, he volunteers as a Trip Leader with Venture Outdoors, and he serves as the co-chair of PwC’s United Way Giving Campaign. He had first-hand entrepreneurial involvement with the launch of COMPackage.com (CMU spin-out 2005), the Alphabot mobile app, and True North Outdoor School.  Larry is also the founder of Dynamic Paddlers, a local kayaking school which specializes in adaptive kayak instruction for people with disabilities. Most recently, Larry co-launched the Pittsburgh Adaptive Sports Network (PASN) – a consortium of adaptive sports and recreation organizations.

 

 

Carnegie Mellon University: Software Development Project

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The building of the Pittsburgh Kindness Initiative’s website and the spreading of our word of kindness is part of a project at Carnegie Mellon University for the Software Development Project class in the Information Systems department. We work with an exceptional group of students who show us not only their technical and management skills, but also their drive to spread kindness throughout CMU and the Pittsburgh community.

 

 

 

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Gale Bonker is an Information Systems major with a Human-Computer Interaction minor at CMU. She is very involved on campus as a baritone horn player in the Kiltie Marching Band, the president of CMU’s gender and sexuality alliance ALLIES, the lead caller at CMU’s Telefund, and an active sister in her sorority, Alpha Chi Omega. In her free time, Gale enjoys crafting, exercising, and spending time with her family. After graduation, Gale aspires to earn a career as a user experience designer.

 

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Annie Chen is an Information Systems major with a minor in Human Computer Interaction. She’s very involved on campus as the Vice President of Awareness of Roots in Chinese Culture, a dance choreographer for One Night in Beijing, and is part of the CMU Ballroom Dance Competition Team. On her free time, she enjoys cooking, crocheting, drawing, and sewing.

 

 

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Raksha Rao is an Information Systems major with a minor in Business Administration and Technical Writing and Communications, and she will be in the Accelerated Master’s program for Information Systems Management in Fall of 2016. She is very involved in campus activities, and serves as a current Teaching Assistant for the Information Systems Department and the Vice President of Communications for her sorority, Delta Gamma. During her free time, Raksha enjoys writing, reading, and spending time with friends and family.

 

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Lamis AL-Agamy is an Information Systems major with a minor in Business Administration. She is very involved in the community. Lamis likes to participate in a variety of volunteering projects and have a fingerprint in every organization. She has a passion for design and art. In her free time, she likes spending time with friends, shopping, watch movies, cooking, and playing tennis.