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League of Women Voters Guide Voters Guide General Election November 8, 2022
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This guide lists all candidates for the November 8, 2022, General Election for U.S. Senator, Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Representatives in Congress, State Senators in even-numbered districts, State Representatives, Special Election candidates for Pittsburgh City Council District 5. Ballot questions for residents of Allegheny County and Wilkinsburg.
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CLIMBING THE LADDER Inaugural ‘Girls Fire Camp’ exposes girls to the firefighting profession
BROOKE CLARK, RIGHT, ONE OF THE CAMP PARTICIPANTS. (PHOTOS BY J.L. MARTELLO)
by Rob Taylor Jr. Courier Staff Writer
Most people don’t usually associate Black women with being a firefighter. Heck, most people don’t usually associate women
in general with being a firefighter. But Lisa Epps-Cuda checks both boxes. Not only is she held in high regard as a firefighter-turned fire inspector/fire prevention officer with the City of
Pittsburgh, but she wanted desperately to open a path for more women, especially Black women, to enter the field. On Aug. 22, the first-ever “Girls Fire Camp” was held by the City of Pittsburgh.
DAMAYA WILLIAMS, A CAMP PARTICIPANT, WITH THE “JAWS OF LIFE” TOOL. It was a week-long camp, held at the Fire Training Academy, on Washington Boulevard, and Ebenezer Baptist Church, in the Hill District. Seven girls participated in the camp— Brooke Clark, Gabriella
Minton-DeSarro, Angel Epondulan, Isabella Ferro, Ajayda Jetter, Samantha Vietmeier, and Damaya Williams. Pittsburgh has more than 700 firefighters, but just four are women. The four
women—Lisa Epps-Cuda, Lt. Lindsay Bihler, Lt. Kari Burnham and Judy Pudup—led the camp. “I’m so emotional right SEE GIRLS FIRE CAMP A4
Camila Rivera-Tinsley named CEO of Women and Girls Foundation Making organization more inviting for women and girls of color a top priority by Rob Taylor Jr. Courier Staff Writer
The Women and Girls Foundation has taken a big step in its commitment to tackling the issues that affect not just women, but women of color. Camila Rivera-Tinsley officially began her tenure as CEO on Aug. 15, but it wasn’t made public until Sept. 26. She told the New Pittsburgh Courier she identifies herself as a “woman of color,” and she believes being a woman of color played a role in her selection as CEO. And the organization’s current director of its youth advocacy arm, “Girl Gov,” is also a woman of color, Alexis Walker.
The Women and Girls Foundation, based in Pittsburgh, has a mission to achieve equality for women and girls, “now and for generations to come.” Rivera-Tinsley told the Courier she’s excited to bring her environmental education background to WGF. She’s the former director of education for the Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy, and before that, worked at the Schuylkill Center for Environmental Education, in Philadelphia. Rivera-Tinsley also helped start two small environmental-based nonprofits focused on advocacy for people of color in the outdoors, and served on numerous boards and committees that were ded-
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icated to improving environmental outcomes for underserved audiences. “The issues of our time— reproductive rights, paid family leave, pay equity, equitable access to quality healthcare and health outcomes—none of these issues can be solved or addressed without considering their intersection with the climate crisis, and conversely, the climate crisis cannot be addressed or solved without addressing the needs and the voices of women, femmes and gender-expansive individuals,” Rivera-Tinsley said in a statement. “I feel a strong sense of urgency to empower the women and girls of Pittsburgh and across the state, to tell their stories and advocate for the issues important to them. I want to continue the work of creating leaders that can implement the needed changSEE RIVERA-TINSLEY A3
CAMILA RIVERA-TINSLEY