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ACHIEVE! School Choice Guide 2022 Special Edition Inside
ACHIEVE!
School Choice Guide New Pittsburgh Courier November 9-15, 2022
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Pittsburgh Courier NEW
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www.newpittsburghcourier.com Vol. 113 No. 45 Two Sections
NOVEMBER 9-15, 2022
Kendra Whitlock Ingram named President and CEO of the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust First person of color to hold title in organization’s 38-year history by Rob Taylor Jr. Courier Staff Writer
Everyone knows just how much Pittsburgh loves the arts. The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust is the heartbeat of said arts, and theater, so when Kevin McMahon, the CEO of the Trust, announced his retirement after 20 years at the helm, the city had its eyes affixed on who next would occupy such a coveted seat. The search is over. Complete. And the New Pittsburgh Courier has learned it’s a Black woman who rose to the top. Kendra Whitlock Ingram has been named President and CEO of the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust. Her first day is Feb. 1, 2023. She’s the second female and first person of color to hold the title of President and CEO for the Trust. Ingram told the Courier in an interview, Nov. 2, that she identifies as a biracial Black woman. Ingram is coming from Milwaukee, where she is the President and CEO of the Marcus Performing Arts Center. But she’s
not new to Pittsburgh. The Scranton native told the Courier about how impressed she was with Duquesne University’s “pitch” to her about attending the university while she was in high school. “Duquesne came to my high school and talked about the school of music there,” Ingram said. “I was planning to teach either elementary or high school music. My mom was an art teacher all of her career, my dad was a social worker, and I had an interest in that kind of service work, and I loved music.” But coming to the big city also exposed Ingram to the 14-block area that the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust encompasses, complete with the Benedum Center, Heinz Hall, Byham Theater, and more. “If I didn’t go to Duquesne and went to a school that was in a more rural area, I don’t know if I’d be in this business now,” Ingram told the Courier. “So it was a real gift and opportunity, and fortunate that it all KENDRA WHITLOCK INGRAM
SEE PRESIDENT A4
FAMILY FIRST Ryan Houston leaving WPXI-TV to help a sick relative in central Arkansas by Rob Taylor Jr. Courier Staff Writer
For Ryan Houston, it’s family first. You’ve seen him come into your living rooms, detailing the news on WPXITV (Channel 11) for nearly three years. He loves the profession, telling the stories that impact viewers the most, in a firm, confident manner on the anchor desk. But when his mother told him that she needed him, he knew he had to go. Back to central Arkansas, where he was raised. “My stepfather has colon cancer, and it’s just better for me to be closer to my family in Arkansas,” Houston told the New Pittsburgh Courier in an exclusive interview, Nov. 8. “My mom really needs me
right now. It’s just best for me to head South. I have appreciated my time here in Pittsburgh, meeting all the viewers at Giant Eagle, or Mt. Ararat (Baptist Church) or Macedonia Church (of Pittsburgh). I’ve appreciated all of that and hopefully I have made the viewers of Pittsburgh proud.” Houston’s last day at WPXI is November 28. “I’m a mama’s boy, the oldest of four, and my mom just really needs me,” Houston continued, “and after seeing so many people die from COVID and so many other horrible things happen that sort of keep people from their families, after all that I’ve seen, it’s just shown me that family is what’s most important. The jobs, they come and go, situations
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come and go, but family is forever.” Ironically, it was Houston himself who was one of the first high-profile individuals to catch COVID-19. Not even three months into his TV news career in Pittsburgh, Houston found himself battling the invisible COVID bug. “I couldn’t get out of the bed, my chest started to harden, it was hard to breathe, I couldn’t sleep at night because I was in pain in any way that I laid down in the bed,” Houston said on WPXI in late March 2020. Houston eventually made his way back on the anchor desk and in the field. He proved to be a valuable commodity for WPXI, in a Pittsburgh television market that has a true three-way battle for news supremacy. There was no story that Houston couldn’t tackle. “We are excited to have someone with his experiSEE HOUSTON A8
RYAN HOUSTON, RIGHT, WITH COMMON PLEAS JUDGE DWAYNE WOODRUFF.