Staff Bios

Donna taught preschool for over 20 years and earned certification in Early Childhood Education. Donna joined Beginning with Books in September 2004 as an Outreach Specialist.

 

Donna and her husband, Ralph, established a tradition of reading to their two sons every day. Their granddaughter benefits from this tradition as she is read to daily by her parents. Baby Danced the Polka by Karen Beaumont is her granddaughter’s favorite book.

 

 

As an Outreach Specialist for Beginning with Books, Mary Ellen provides professional development training and mentoring for childcare practitioners. Her past experiences include teaching high school English and working in an independent children’s book store where she gained a vast knowledge of quality children’s literature.

 

Mary Ellen enjoys reading, genealogy, and singing in an archeparchial choir. She and her husband, Bill, have lived in Penn Hills for over thirty years. They have one son and a daughter-in-law. 

 

 

Since 2003, Cindy has coordinated the EVERYBODY WINS! Program at Martin Luther King Elementary. She enjoys working in a school setting with teachers, students, and volunteers from companies and organizations. 

 

Cindy is a graduate of Franklin & Marshall College and earned an M.Ed in Educational Counseling with a specialization in Cross-Cultural Counseling from the University of Pittsburgh. She was the Executive Director of the Pittsburgh Mediation Center and taught Multicultural Education to pre-service teachers in the School of Education at Duquesne University. 

 

Her current community involvement includes the Center for Victims of Violence and Crime, the Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle, Congregation Beth Shalom, Anti-Defamation League, the UJF’s Community and Public Affairs Committee, the Education Committee, and the Israel-Pittsburgh sister city project, Partnership 2000.

 

Cindy loves to travel, and in her free time, she runs and cycles on the trails, streets, and parks around Pittsburgh. Her favorite Pittsburgh cycling and running events are the Great Race, Race for the Cure, and Tour de Cure. Cindy is married to Scott and has two children, Elena and Josh.

 

Tarthan joined Beginning with Books in 1993 as a member of Literacy AmeriCorps. He served for two years and became a full-time staff member in 1995.  He is currently the Storymobile Specialist.

 

Tarthan holds a B.S. in Elementary Education from Cheyney University of Pennsylvania. He and his wife have four daughters. Like many BwB staff members, he doesn’t have just one favorite children’s book. His current favorite is Best Books for Babies honoree Peek-a-Baby by Karen Katz.

 

 

Sandi has a doctorate in education and a master’s degree in early childhood from the University of Pittsburgh. She has worked in the early childhood education field for 34 years and early literacy for the past 10 years. 

 

As Director of Early Literacy Education for Beginning with Books, Sandi promotes the importance of early literacy with early childhood practitioners, community organizations, and families. Sandi is also active with other community organizations including Board Secretary for the Pittsburgh Association for the Education of Young Children, and as a Keystone STARS Technical Assistant. Her passion for reading and interest in literacy all began with a girl named Nancy (Drew).

 

Chris is a recent graduate of Kenyon College in Gambier, Ohio where he majored in American Studies with a specialization in African American History. His Senior Exercise at Kenyon examined African American representation in books for children. While in college, Chris also played varsity football. 

 

He first worked with Beginning with Books during the summer of 2007 as an intern and joined the staff full time in September of 2008 as a Community Outreach Specialist. He works closely with various Beginning with Books programs. Chris’s favorite book is Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak.

 

 

 

 

Jen arrived at Beginning with Books in August of 2007. She is an alumni of Carlow College ‘93 and Pittsburgh Theological Seminary ’99. As a childcare provider going through our Early Literacy training program in '04, she learned firsthand what Beginning with Books offers the child care community. Jen recognized immediately that quality care needed to be modeled as opposed to simply talked about and insists today that, “Beginning with Books is exactly what providers need to help them become successful.” Her favorite children’s book is Caps for Sale by Espyhr Slobodkina.

 

 

Linda is our Director of Development. She joined the staff in 2006, after a career as a corporate lawyer with a Pittsburgh law firm. Linda is a graduate of the Duquesne University School of Law and Indiana University of Pennsylvania. Her favorite book as a child was Beezus and Ramona by Beverly Cleary.

 

Kate graduated from the University of Pittsburgh with a degree in English writing. She spent the following three years teaching English in Thailand and Taiwan. Her inspiration to work in early literacy came while visiting a village in Laos, where she was showered with thanks and hugs for simply giving a group of children their very own books. She came to Beginning with Books as an Everybody Wins! Americorps member in 2008 and recently joined the staff as an Everybody Wins! Coordinator. Her favorite children’s book is The Lorax by Dr. Seuss.

Tess received her B.A. in History from Allegheny College and M.A. in History and Museum Studies from the University of Delaware. After six years as a curator and archivist, Tess returned to her first loves—reading and children’s books. After all, she was a history major because it involved great stories and wanted to be a curator so she could be in museum storage, just like Claudia in From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E.L. Konigsburg.

 

Tess served as a Literacy AmeriCorps member with Beginning with Books. After completing her year of service in 2000, she joined the BwB staff. Her duties include remaining up to date on new children’s books, developing and conducting early literacy trainings, coordinating Storywalk and Best Books for Babies, and selecting books for use in a variety of settings, including child care centers, after-school programs, school classrooms, and pediatric clinics. Tess is an instructor in children’s literature at the University of Pittsburgh- Greensburg.

 

  

Barbara joined the staff of Beginning with Books in January 2007. She has worked in the nonprofit sector for more than 30 years supporting staffs in health care settings, as well as human service organizations focusing on issues critical to the elderly, children, and those affected by HIV/AIDS. In 1984, Barbara took a break from the workforce to earn her Bachelor’s degree in Urban Studies from the University of Pittsburgh. 

 

A native of Pittsburgh, Barbara now resides in Forest Hills with her dog, Jessie. Through the years, Barbara has had plenty of experience reading to her younger brother and five nephews. The book titles and quality of books may have changed over time, but the joy of reading aloud remains. 

 

Barbara’s favorite books are Mother Goose and fairy tales, appreciating the beautiful detail of the illustrations, as well as the written word.

 

 

Cindy, Assistant Director of Development, is our Boston transplant. She comes to us with a background in education having taught high school Marketing in Lexington, MA for seven years. Since living in Pittsburgh she has been active in politics and was a staffer on both Clinton Presidential campaigns and on Dan Onorato’s run for County Executive.

 

Cindy is passionate about interior design (“never underestimate the power of a beautiful space”), dark chocolate, and her three lovely daughters. Her favorite children’s book is A Blue So Blue by Jean FranCois Dumont, winner of the 2004 Prix Saint-Exupery, the French equivalent of the Caldecott.

 

Gina makes certain that we all have the support we need to complete our jobs. She is the mother of two and grandmother to one. Her favorite children’s book is Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus by Mo Willems.

 

Linda came to Beginning with Books in 2001. She found her way to BwB through a career change and going back to school. She loves working at BwB especially creating the Best Books for Babies Baskets. She is a wife, mother of three grown children, and grandmother of two. Her grandsons are the loves of her life. When Linda isn’t at BwB, she can be found in Phoenix spoiling her boys. Linda’s favorite childhood story was Grimm’s The Twelve Dancing Princesses.