Matt is Executive Director of the Breathe Collaborative and its communication platform, the Breathe Project, beginning in September 2016. From 2007 – 2016, he served as Program Director of Sustainable Pittsburgh where he created Pittsburgh’s sustainable business network, Champions for Sustainability, and its performance programs and networks. Matt has been teaching sustainability and environmental policy at Heinz College, Carnegie Mellon University, since 2008. He has published multiple peer-reviewed articles in sustainability, design and education and has co-authored “Ethical and Environmental Challenges to Engineering” with Michael E. Gorman and Patricia Werhane. Matt’s Ph.D. is in Systems Engineering from the University of Virginia. For the past 25 years, Matt has dedicated himself to creating and managing networks that transform systems for a sustainable, just, fair and hopeful future. He serves on the Phipps Conservatory Board of Trustees.

Deb serves as Director of Communications of the Breathe Project where she is managing media, marketing and messaging for more than 36 environmental organizations in Southwestern Pennsylvania, Ohio and West Virginia who are members of the Breathe Collaborative. She is an award-winning editor and journalist with more than 25 years of experience in print, radio and digital media. As a reporter, she specialized in environmental issues, business, technology and healthcare features. She was the founding associate editor of NEXTpittsburgh, a popular city-based publication, and a frequent contributor to Pittsburgh Magazine and Crain’s Pittsburgh. Her work has appeared in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Fast Company, OZY, The Washington Post and Time-Life Books. Deb grew up in the suburbs of Philadelphia and has lived with her family in Mt. Lebanon for the past 20 years.Director

As Director of Programs for the Breathe Project, Phoebe facilitates collaboration and collective action between the 60+ member organizations in furtherance of the Collaborative’s core clean air campaigns. She brings experience leading community climate action, sustainability consulting and visual storytelling. As Co-Chair of the Climate Reality Project Pittsburgh and Southwestern PA Chapter, she produced non-partisan climate education events and delivered a variety of public climate talks. Through her work as a sustainability consultant, she helped divert tens of tons of waste for large events such as a Hollywood movie premiere, a day of action on the National Mall and a clean air conference for 10,000 high school students. Previously, she served on the Executive Board of the Orange County, CA Renewable Energy Society and worked in the Sustainable Commerce Program at World Wildlife Fund. During her multimedia career, Phoebe worked on two independent features that won prizes at the Sundance and Cannes film festivals; a network TV show; several commercials; corporate video for Fortune 150 Companies; and a series for The History Channel. Phoebe holds a BA with honors in Literature from Yale, and an MFA in film and television production from University of Southern California School of Cinematic Arts where she focused on directing and producing

NaTisha uses her extensive organizing experience and media skills to educate residents on air quality and petrochemical issues alongside 60+ organizations. Formerly she worked as an Environmental Justice Organizer for 412 Justice advocating with community members to improve the quality of their environment. Formerly as the Green Initiative coordinator at Operation Better Block, she worked with the Junior Green Corp youth program in urban farming, vacant lot restoration and community engagement work within Homewood. In addition to her organizing work, she also owns an environmental consulting business named Washington Green Solutions and co-owns a DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) consulting business named Just by Nature. In January 2023, she was officially sworn in to serve as a Wilkinsburg Borough Council member for her hometown. Her ultimate goal is to ensure that disinvested communities are provided with the resources and investment needed to create equitable, safe and healthy communities.

Joe serves as the Business Manager for the Breathe Project and Marketing Specialist for the SWPA Grassroots Town Halls. He is a seasoned marketing and operations professional with over 20 years of experience managing complex campaigns and projects across many different industries. He is published in more than 100 journals publications and blogs including Forbes, Wall Street Journal, Women’s Wear Daily, CNBC, Time, Fortune and Marketing Sherpa. Joe grew up in the south hills of Pittsburgh and is a graduate of Westminster College.

Emily is the Program Manager for the Upper Ohio River Valley Monitoring Project, which aims to support Beaver County residents in understanding how petrochemical buildout in Beaver County, Pa., has affected air quality and health outcomes in the region. Emily works closely with community partners to provide concerned residents with monitors they can install at their homes, providing them with real-time, highly localized information on air quality. She recently received her master’s degree in Global Health from Duke University, where she conducted air quality research in Mongolia and Los Angeles. Before that, she worked for the Philadelphia Department of Public Health where she managed relationships with community partners before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. She grew up in Pittsburgh, Pa., and received her BA in Urban Studies and Anthropology from the University of Pittsburgh. She is passionate about connecting people to resources that will improve their health and providing them with tools and knowledge to affect change in their own lives and their communities

This region has a rich industrial history with the steel industry and a newly developed history with the petrochemical industry. Thus, this project establishes an air monitoring network for Beaver County and the Greater Pittsburgh Region. As a lifelong Beaver County resident who grew up in a steel river town, Maxwell has seen and felt the direct impacts of living alongside industry, a region with a rich industrial history with the steel industry and a newly developed history with the petrochemical industry. Maxwell is a graduate of Geneva College with a Bachelor of Science degree in Environmental Science and Policy, where he focused his studies on creation care policy, environmental justice policy, GIS mapping, and environmental air and water data reporting. As an Environmental Planning and Policy Intern at a Real Estate and Appraisal Firm, he conducted compliance with environmental laws and regulations. In addition, he conducted training in Green Sustainable Design and Construction for residential and commercial properties. Maxwell also attended Au Sauble Institute of Environmental Studies, where students are inspired and educated to serve, protect, and restore God’s earth. At Au Sauble, he focused on interactive environmental learning through a Creation Care framework. Maxwell is also a Pennsylvania-licensed realtor. Having the unique opportunity to combine his passions for real estate and the environment, Maxwell has developed an advocacy for environmental health for residential communities of all socioeconomic classes. He continues to reside in Beaver County with his wife. He serves in the Beaver County community as an active member of his church,

Kate is a data analytics summer intern with the Breathe Project and is from Pittsburgh, Pa. She is a sophomore at Penn State University where she studies Data Science and Statistics in the Schreyer Honors College. Kate is working with the Mon Valley/Clairton campaign and the Upper Ohio River Monitoring project to aid in data collection and analysis. She also aids with communications tasks and updating different items on the project’s website. Kate has interests in analyzing environmental and climate change data to help others understand those issues, and she is excited to use her skills to raise awareness about air quality in Pittsburgh.