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Board of Directors

Patricia M. Schaefer, Chair

Patricia Schaefer is Chair for the 3 Rivers Wet Weather Board. The former president of Edgewood Borough Council, she has served as a borough representative to the Turtle Creek Council of Governments and is Chair of the 3 Rivers Wet Weather Eastern Basin Group, a position she has held since the creation of the basin groups in 2001. She is First Vice Chair and an Executive Board Member of CONNECT (Congress of Neighboring Communities), an organization that promotes cooperation and collaboration between the City of Pittsburgh and the 35 municipalities that share a common border with the City. A local expert on the wet weather issue, Pat has spoken on the economic and intergovernmental impact of the wet weather problem at the University of Pittsburgh Environmental Issues Conference and the 3RWW Annual Sewer Conference. She is the Protocol Specialist for the National Surgical Adjuvant Breast and Bowel Project Foundation Inc. A registered nurse, she earned a BSN from Carlow College and a Masters of Divinity from the Pittsburgh Theological Seminary.

Lorraine Makatura

Throughout her career, Lorraine Makatura has gained a great deal of experience in management roles for local municipalities.  In 2017, after serving a number of years as the borough’s Assistant Manager, she was named Manager of the Borough of Avalon, a community of about 4,600 in the North Hills of Pittsburgh.  Previously, she served in a management role for Kilbuck Township. As Avalon Borough Manager, she coordinates the municipality’s day-to-day business, projects and activities, and also serves as the community’s Coordinator for the Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System (MS4) requirements. A trained stormwater expert and NPDES (National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System) Certified Stormwater Inspector, she works to ensure Avalon meets all minimum control measurers required for DEP and EPA inspections, including a program she implemented with the local elementary school to meet public outreach and education requirements.  She is a member of various organizations, including the Society for Women in Environmental Professions and the Pennsylvania Association of Municipal Administrators. 

 

Kevin Garber

A shareholder in the Environmental, Health and Safety and Natural Resources Groups of Babst Calland, Kevin Garber is an attorney who specializes in natural resources law and water law. He leads the firm’s municipal environmental services practice area, which concentrates on sewage facilities planning and permitting, storm water management, and related development issues facing developers, municipalities and municipal authorities. Kevin graduated with Distinction from The Pennsylvania State University with a B.S. in Biology/Chemistry, an M.S. in Oceanography and Limnology from the University of Wisconsin, his Ph.D. in Ecology from the University of Pittsburgh and his law degree from the Duquesne University School of Law. His graduate and doctoral work researched point and non-point source pollutant loadings to lakes and the development of remedial alternatives. He is a past Chairman of the Environmental Section of the Allegheny County Bar Association, serves on the Board of Directors of the Pennsylvania Environmental Council and the Local Government Academy, and has been ranked among Pennsylvania’s top environmental lawyers in Chambers USA’s America’s Leading Business Lawyers and in Best Lawyers in America since 2004. He teaches environmental law, litigation and forensics courses at Duquesne University, where he also serves on the Advisory Committee for the University’s Center for Environmental Research and Education.

Michael E. Lamb, Secretary/Treasurer

Michael Lamb took office as Controller of the City of Pittsburgh on January 7, 2008. As Controller, he created Open Book Pittsburgh, a website that allows citizens to search and view all City contracts, and campaign contributions and expenses of all candidates running for office in the City of Pittsburgh. Michael was instrumental in the creation of CONNECT (Congress of Neighboring Communities) and was an outspoken supporter of row office consolidation. In 2005, the citizens of Allegheny County voted to consolidate the County’s row offices, making Michael the last Prothonotary of Allegheny County. He is also active in the community serving on the boards of the Kane Foundation, the Catholic Youth Association and the Downtown Pittsburgh YMCA. He is a member of the Mount Washington – Duquesne Heights Community Development Corporation, and the Board of Fellows of the University of Pittsburgh’s Institute of Politics. Michael received his Juris Doctorate from the Duquesne University School of Law, his Master’s Degree from Carnegie Mellon University’s H. John Heinz School of Public Policy and his Bachelor’s Degree from Penn State University.

Corey O'Connor

Corey O’Connor was elected to represent Pittsburgh City Council District 5 in 2012, and is currently serving his third term. His legislative accomplishments are many, including investing heavily in green infrastructure and flooding mitigation projects. He has been a Board Member of the Allehgeny County Sanitary Authority (ALCOSAN) since 2014, and currently serves as ALCOSAN's Board Chair. O’Connor began his career in public service as a Community Development Representative for U.S. Congressman Mike Doyle’s Pittsburgh District Office. A graduate of Central Catholic High School, Corey is the school’s varsity golf coach, where he has led the team to two State Team Championships and four WPIAL Team Championships. He earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Elementary Education from Duquesne University.  Corey chairs Council’s Committee on Public Safety Services and serves on several boards, including the Children’s Home of Pittsburgh and the Lemieux Family Center, the Holocaust Center of Greater Pittsburgh, First Tee of Pittsburgh, Omicelo Cares, and the Cancer Caring Center.   

Senator Jay Costa, Vice Chair

Elected to the Pennsylvania State Senate in 1996, Senator Jay Costa is serving his fifth full term as state Senator for the 43rd District. He is currently the Democratic Floor Leader, a position which makes him the highest-ranking member within the Senate Democratic Caucus. Formerly, he served as Allegheny County Deputy Sheriff (1984-1989) and Register of Wills (1992-1996). The Senator has also served as an adjunct professor to the Community College of Allegheny County and currently serves as Treasurer for their Board of Trustees. He also is a member of the Pennsylvania and Allegheny County Bar Associations. He earned his Juris Doctorate at Duquesne University and is a shareholder of Grogan, Graffam, P.C. In addition to serving as Vice Chair of the 3 Rivers Wet Weather Board, he serves on the Board of Trustees of the University of Pittsburgh, as well as the Board of Directors for many Pittsburgh organizations including The Catholic Charities Free Health Care Center, the Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre, the Pittsburgh Civic Light Opera, and the Senator John Heinz Pittsburgh Regional History Center. He attended the Allegheny County Police Academy in 1985 and earned a Bachelor of Arts at Indiana University of Pennsylvania in 1979.

Paul A. Supowitz

Paul Supowitz is Vice Chancellor for Governmental Relations at the University of Pittsburgh, overseeing the University’s interactions with all levels of government – federal, state and local. Prior to joining the University, he was an Associate in the Pittsburgh law firm of Klett Rooney Lieber & Schorling from 1989 through 1997, where his practice focused on environmental law and litigation. He represented parties before state and federal courts, the Pennsylvania Environmental Hearing Board, the United States Environmental Protection Agency and the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, and counseled clients in a wide variety of environmental compliance and remediation related matters. A 1985 graduate of Indiana University, Bloomington, IN with a B.S. degree in Public Affairs and Environmental Science, Paul received his law degree from the University of Pittsburgh School of Law, cum laude. He is a Member of the Allegheny County Bar Association Professional Ethics Committee, a past Chair of the ACBA Environmental Law Section, and a board member of the Oakland Business Improvement District and Hebrew Free Loan Association of Pittsburgh.

D. Tyler Gourley

Ty Gourley is Vice President of the Hillman Family Foundations, where he is responsible for diverse grantmaking and administrative functions. Prior to this position, he was Principal of Gourley Consulting where he specialized in project management, government relations, policy analysis, community outreach and strategic planning for nonprofit and government clients in southwestern Pennsylvania. Previously, he also served as Senior Policy Strategist at the University of Pittsburgh Institute of Politics, where he took on the role of Project Manager for the Regional Water Management Task Force. He coordinated extensive research and stakeholder outreach processes which led to the establishment of a water planning and technical assistance directorate at the Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission.  He earned his B.A. at the University of Pittsburgh as well as his Masters of Public Administration. He was honored as Pitt’s 2005 Senior of the Year and the Pitt Alumni Association’s 2014 Ivan and Mary Novick Young Alumni Leadership Award winner.

Senator Randy Vulakovich

In 2012, lifelong citizen of Allegheny County, Senator Randy Vulakovich, was elected to serve the 255,000 residents of the 38th Senatorial District in the Pennsylvania. Prior to joining the Senate, he was elected to three terms in the state House of Representatives. He serves as Chairman of the Veterans Affairs & Emergency Preparedness Committee and as Vice Chairman of the Aging and Youth Committee. He is a member of five other Senate committees: Appropriations (Public Safety and Criminal Justice Subcommittee); Communications and Technology; Judiciary; Majority Policy; and Transportation, and serves on the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency, the Advisory Board of the Southwestern Pennsylvania Veterans Center, the Port of Pittsburgh Commission and the Pittsburgh Ballet Theater Board of Trustees. Known to many throughout the community as simply “Officer V,” the Senator has encountered many demanding situations and experienced valuable life and leadership lessons during his 27 years of service as a sergeant with the Shaler Township Police Department, including six years serving as the public school instructor in the nationally recognized anti-drug and life-skills D.A.R.E. program.