Union Project, located at 801 N. Negley Avenue in Pittsburgh, east end, uses the arts to bridge gaps between communities.
Union Project is a historic space that is community restored and maintained; the building itself was transformed as a creative solution to a community problem. We’ve come a long way since 2001, but our work still centers on the power of arts to transform. We believe that art can create change, and help us build a more inclusive, empathetic, and just community. (Click on "Union Project" to learn more)
Union Project Staff
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Jeffrey’s expertise in arts-based community development
and non-profit management has spanned over two decades across various sectors in and around Pittsburgh. His background includes working as an artist, performer, arts educator, arts manager, and economic development strategist. He has helped shape some of Pittsburgh’s most progressive community building initiatives including managing the Penn Avenue Arts Initiative, co-founding the East End Partnership of Pittsburgh, directing the Friendship Development Associates, and chairing the expansion of the Waldorf School of Pittsburgh. |
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Michelle Clesse has lived in five different states, but fell in love
with Pittsburgh’s hefty winters, arts organizations, library system, and friendly neighbors. With over fifteen years of experience as a visual artist, arts educator, and arts manager; Michelle values communication and knowledge-sharing as essential ties strengthening and binding a community together. She is excited to contribute her skills to Union Project.
Michelle received her Master of Arts Management degree from
Carnegie Mellon University, and her Master of Fine Arts degree in Ceramics and Sculpture from Washington State University. |
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Milo Berezin grew up in a small town in Alaska, where he spent
most of his summers in the woods chasing bugs and most of his winters sheltered from the snow constructing extravagant sculptures out of collected junk. The son of a potter, he discovered at an early age the joy inherent in making and building, and he loves sharing that sense of power and accomplishment with young learners. Milo studied sculpture and printmaking at Carnegie Mellon University and later went on to earn his MAT and PK-12 art education certification from Chatham University.
Since moving to Pittsburgh in 2004, he has worked with kids
all over the city, including the Carnegie Museum of Art, the Children's Museum, Pittsburgh Public Schools, and the YMCA. |
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Jaclyn Harris began pursuing ceramics along with a glass
art education at the Pittsburgh Glass Center in 2008. In 2011, Jaclyn moved to Baltimore, Maryland and began working for Venetian glass artist Anthony Corradetti as an assistant for 2 years. By 2015 she received a Bachelors of Fine Art in ceramics at the Maryland Institute College of Art, where she studied casting, printmaking processes, and atmospheric firings. After returning to Pittsburgh, she became a studio technician apprentice at the non-profit organization, the Pittsburgh Glass Center where her practice continues. After completing her technical training, she joined her second non-profit at the Union Project where she currently supports twenty ceramic artists as Ceramic Studio Coordinator. |
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Rebecca McNeil is the shared chief financial officer (CFO)
of the Arts Finance Cohort, a group of five Pittsburgh-based arts organizations.
Rebecca has always been interested in how financial information
translates across disciplines and now gets to see it first-hand every day! She is excited to work with such a diverse group of organizations and help strengthen the arts community in Pittsburgh.
Before joining the Arts Finance Cohort, Rebecca was the
Director of Finance at the Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh. The Arts Finance Cohort members include New Hazlett Theater, Pittsburgh Glass Center, PICT Classic Theatre, Society for Contemporary Craft, and Union Project. |
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Tim Poellnitz first found out about Union Project from a friend eight
years ago and has since been an invaluable member of the UP Staff. In his spare time, he likes playing football, basketball, and cooking with his family. Tim is happy to have been present to see the many changes that have happened to Union Project through the years, most recently the finished stained glass windows and the newly renovated Great Hall. What Tim has come to value most about his job are the people he works with and the fact that he is helping the community every day. |
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