The Global Switchboard | Hub | Audiences

“Exploring the intersections between Pennsylvania and Asia”. This blog has been exploring some of the cultural, educational, and social links between Pennsylvania and Asia since 2011. That means news, events, movies, lectures, festivals, and random stuff, primarily as they happen in western Pennsylania. Frequent topics include: Asian movies released in Pittsburgh, from brand-new Chinese films […]

PennsylvAsia

April 24, 2018 1:34 pm Comments Off

Asian movies released in Pittsburgh, from brand-new Chinese films and Japanese anime releases to kung-fu and horror classics.
Lectures related to Asian studies, the social sciences, the humanities, cultural studies, and other academic topics at local universities and community centers.
Concerts from Asian, Asian-American, and Asian-inspired performers, from Korean rappers to Mongolian throat singers to Japanese punk bands
Restaurant openings (and, occasionally, closings).
Cultural and food festivals.
Postings for job openings in the Pittsburgh area that require bilingual or cross-cultural skills.

Goal 7C Training

April 13, 2018 1:34 pm Comments Off

Goal 7C of the Millennium Development Goals was to halve, by 2015, the proportion of the population without sustainable access to safe drinking water and sanitation. Greg and Janet Smith are high impact volunteers whose main interests are Micro Finance and WaSH related issues They have extensive experience overseas in teaching in the areas of clean water, sanitation, and hygiene. They are certified by Lifewater International as field trainers in the areas of Community Development, Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene.

Projects worldwide.

Elisabeth Udyawar

March 23, 2018 8:49 pm Comments Off

Elisabeth is well versed in answering why she loves Pittsburgh. That is because as a SoCal native, it’s the first question always asked of her when meeting someone new: “Why are you here??” She holds an MA from George Washington University and a BA from University of California, Riverside in English Literature with a specialization in Postcolonial Literature from South Asia. After graduating from GWU, she moved to Pittsburgh due to two important factors: 1) its high volume of universities and nonprofits per capita and 2) it was where her heart already resided with her husband.

Her six plus years of residence in Pittsburgh has been spent working for Carnegie Mellon University in various roles in the College of Engineering. Throughout her tenure at CMU, she has focused on aiding professors with administrative support for their innovative research in climate and manufacturing at both the local and global levels. Her professional skills include: project management, grants administration, event planning, Oracle systems, MailChimp, and html coding. In 2018, she also took the opportunity to use her academic training to begin teaching Comp 101 at Allegheny Community College and has specifically designed her syllabi to focus on women authors with 70% of her works represented by minority authors as well. In her creative pursuits, Elisabeth has begun a series of personal essays related to her journey through sobriety and hopes to start a project highlighting the stories of women’s everyday #resistance through the ages.

Through The Global Switchboard, Elisabeth hopes to find new volunteer opportunities and to connect others with her vast academic network.

Surgicorps International

March 20, 2018 7:35 pm Comments Off

Surgicorps International is a non-profit organization located in Glenshaw, PA whose mission is to provide free surgical and medical services to people in need around the world. Surgicorps was founded in 1994 by Jack Demos, a plastic surgeon, and has traveled to 22 countries providing over 5,500 free surgeries. Teams are comprised of both medical and non-medical volunteers who pay 100% of their trip expenses.

“Alone we can do so little. Together, we can do so much.” ~Helen Keller

Coffee Arabica Foundation for Education (CAFE)

March 12, 2018 6:49 pm Comments Off

Coffee Arabica Foundation for Education is a 501 (C) (3) charitable organization whose mission is to prevent youth delinquency and youth violence in Honduras through education and employment training. Its goal is to provide scholarships to impoverished rural Honduran children so that they may receive education from 7th to 12th grade. Currently, CAFE sponsors multiple students from the coffee farm areas of the mountain chain, El Merendon, Honduras, Central America. CAFE’s scholarship program has benefited dozens of children with education and has facilitated the high school graduation of these students. CAFE is supported by the sales of coffee produced in El Merendon communities and by private donations.

Jennifer Novelli

February 7, 2018 2:39 pm Comments Off

Jennifer is the Development Manager at Global Links, a Pittsburgh based medical relief and development organization, where she leads the fundraising and communication team. Previously, she served as the Executive Director of Building New Hope from January of 2015- 2019. In January 2019, Jennifer returned to Global Links where she had previously worked for ten years. Jennifer also previously worked in the field of international education for over six years at the University of Pittsburgh Study Abroad Office.

Jennifer received her Master of Public and International Affairs in International Development with a focus in environmental sustainability in 2003 from the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public and International Affairs (GSPIA).

She also holds a B.A. from Juniata College in Anthropology and International Studies. Jennifer received a Fulbright Scholarship to Germany in 1995/1996; and studied alongside German students at Phillips-Universität Marburg, Germany in 1993/1994 during her junior year.

Latin American Cultural Union

February 1, 2018 10:39 pm Comments Off

Our Mission is to promote, preserve and enrich the Latin American culture, while unifying the Latino community and bridging with other communities within the Greater Pittsburgh Area.

The Latin American Cultural Union (LACU) is a 501 (c) (3) nonprofit organization dedicated to cultivating and preserving the culture and Latin American traditions in southwestern Pennsylvania.

LACU is a PLATFORM for Latinos and members to engage in their visibility and promote the Latino cultures in the region.

Come be part of the Latin American family in Pittsburgh while discovering what we have in common!

Our work builds stronger communities by:

Unifying the Latin American community in Southwestern Pennsylvania in a manner that helps its members to preserve and promote their cultural values and Latino identity.
Helping Southwestern Pennsylvania to overcome cultural barriers by improving the communication and understanding between the Latin American community and other communities in the area.

La Roche University Office of International Admissions

January 30, 2018 7:00 pm Comments Off

A private, Catholic, co-educational university north of Pittsburgh founded by the Sisters of Divine Providence, La Roche welcomes students of all religions, ethnic origins and talents.

The international engagement of La Roche University is based on a mission statement that clearly articulates a strong global commitment and dedication to peace and justice. With these values at the core of who we are, we continue to seek and implement new and innovative strategies that are rooted in that mission.

International Admissions

International Outreach

English As A Second Language

Athena Study Abroad

January 24, 2018 2:07 pm Comments Off

Athena Study Abroad puts a personalized and customized focus on study abroad. They are a boutique partner, helping students from the U.S. study abroad. Athena was created to work with and help universities achieve their goals across the spectrum of study abroad – from customized programming to short term offerings to semester and year long personalized immersive programs – they have worked diligently to answer the needs of their partners. With over 50 years experience in international education, their US team (as well as their overseas team) support and guide their partners through all the stages of the process. They know that each university has unique needs and they aim to determine which Athena programs are the best fit for each institution’s student body.

Emily Markham

January 18, 2018 9:40 pm Comments Off

Emily Markham works to facilitate great connections between American and International scholars as the Assistant Director of Global Engagement at La Roche University. She supports key initiatives including International Education Month, the annual Global Problems, Global Solutions Conference, and the Global Development and Humanitarian Aid Training program.

A native of Pittsburgh, Emily holds a bachelor’s degree in global policy studies from Chatham University, and a master’s degree from the University of Pittsburgh’s Graduate School of Public and International Affairs. Prior to joining the La Roche team, Emily worked with the World Affairs Council of Pittsburgh supporting the design and implementation of global education programs in the Pittsburgh community and secondary schools in the region.

Michael Goodhart

January 16, 2018 1:12 am Comments Off

Michael Goodhart is Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of Pittsburgh, and he holds secondary appointments in Philosophy and in Gender, Sexuality, and Women’s Studies. He is Director of the Global Studies Center at Pitt and a University Honors College Faculty Fellow. His current research focuses on questions to do with global injustice, responsibility for injustice, and the ways political theorists think about these problems. He is also interested in the historical and conceptual relationship between human dignity and human rights and in the emerging human rights cities movement. His core intellectual interests are in the theory and practice of democracy and human rights in the context of globalization and in related questions concerning democratic governance and accountability at the international and transnational levels.

Dr. Goodhart is author of Injustice: Political Theory for the Real World (Oxford, 2018), Democracy as Human Rights: Freedom and Equality in the Age of Globalization (Routledge, 2005), contributing editor of Human Rights: Politics and Practice (Oxford University Press, 2009, 2012, 2016), and contributing co-editor of Social Movements and World-System Transformation (Routledge 2017, forthcoming) and Human Rights in the 21st Century: Continuity and Change since 9/11 (Palgrave, 2011). He is also author of numerous articles and book chapters. Dr. Goodhart is an affiliate of the Human Rights Institute at the University of Connecticut, a member of the Center for Ethics and Policy at Carnegie Mellon University, and sits on several editorial boards. In 2008-2009 he was an Alexander von Humboldt Foundation research fellow and Guest Professor in the Hertie School of Governance, Berlin. He is a member of the Board of Directors of The Global Switchboard.

Women’s Center & Shelter of Greater Pittsburgh

December 21, 2017 6:05 pm Comments Off

Women’s Center & Shelter of Greater Pittsburgh is a safe harbor that provides specialized care and support for women who have experienced all types of intimate partner violence, from physical to emotional, through our Emergency Shelter, Legal Advocacy, a 24-Hour Hotline (412-687-8005), Support Groups and more. Women’s Center & Shelter has been a trusted and respected resource in the Pittsburgh Community for more than 45 years, offering hope and healing to adult and child survivors who have suffered from the devastating effects of domestic abuse. The WC&S RIL Team specifically serves Refugees, Immigrants, Limited-English Speakers, providing all WC&S services in a culturally informed and humble manner, both on-site and in the community, and offering training, education, and support to professionals working with refugees, immigrants, and limited-English speakers. Whether someone is just discovering they may be in an abusive relationship, or find they need to flee for their life, or are anywhere in between, WC&S can help them on their healing journey.

Library Welcome Center at Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh

December 20, 2017 7:00 pm Comments Off

Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh continues its long tradition of welcoming immigrants, visitors, and newcomers to Pittsburgh. Library staff listen to your needs and connect you to language learning, citizenship resources and more. At the Library, you can make new friends, practice English, borrow books and DVDs, use the internet, start a business, and find a job. Your privacy is important; the Library does not share your borrowing history or personal information with anyone.

Vanessa Griffith

December 10, 2017 9:43 pm Comments Off

Vanessa Griffith joined Justice at Work (formerly Friends of Farmworkers) in September of 2017. She recently graduated cum laude from the University of Pittsburgh School of Law, where she participated in the law school’s Immigration Law Clinic. Upon graduation from Pitt Law, Vanessa was awarded the Pro Bono Service Recognition Award and the School of Law Community Service Award. Prior to law school, Vanessa volunteered in Santa Marta, Colombia for a grassroots nonprofit, Fundación Mariposas Amarillas, where she worked for five months as their Social Projects Coordinator. Her work focused on providing health, educational, and recreational services to women and children in an isolated neighborhood in Santa Marta. Vanessa has a B.S. from SUNY College at Oneonta where she dual majored in Political Science and International Studies. In 2012 she spent a semester studying in Chile.

Laurel S. Murray

9:39 pm Comments Off

Laurel Murray is currently working towards a dual B.S.B.A degrees in Accounting and Finance, along with a minor in Data Analytics. She spent her summer 2017 working as an intern in Berlin, Germany for a start-up business intelligence and acceleration company, and also traveled to various countries during her summer abroad. She is looking forward to studying in London for her Spring 2018 semester, as well as backpacking Southeast Asia upon completion of her semester in London.

Laurel’s passion is economic development and giving back to her community, which she feels accounting and finance will enable her to pursue in her future. Upon graduation in May 2019, she hopes pass her CPA and enter into an economic development project in the Peace Corps and pursue a master’s degree in Urban and Economic Development.

Kelly Mack

9:31 pm Comments Off

Kelly is the Coordinator of International Admissions and Student Services at Saint Francis University. She serves as a DSO for the university and was also a high school guidance counselor in the past. Kelly enjoys working with students from all over the world to help them reach their goals and to teach Americans about the different cultures of the world.

Lois Larson Johnson

9:27 pm Comments Off

Lois Johnson has designed and implemented educational programs for institutions of higher education, designed and developed two private schools, and spearheaded new initiatives for organizations. She is interested in and conducts research in international education and works to improve curriculum strategies for international education and faculty for international programs. Infusing curriculum with globalization and inspiring faculty and students to catch a global vision are her passions.

Work (formerly Team Tassy)

9:13 pm Comments Off

Work accompanies families in Haiti out of poverty through good, dignified jobs. Focusing on one community in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, called Menelas, where about 1,500 families live, Work places two heads of households into a good, dignified job, so that participating families and their community can lift themselves out of poverty forever.

anupama (anu) jain

9:08 pm Comments Off

anupama (anu) jain, PhD, is Principal Consultant for Inclusant diversity and inclusion consulting and the inaugural Executive Director for the Gender Equity Commission of the City of Pittsburgh. She spent more than a decade in higher education conducting original research, teaching varied topics, and supporting diversity initiatives. More recently, anu has focused on collaborative community organizing and public humanities initiatives in Pittsburgh, partnering with diverse local groups and designing original programming. All her work is informed by a passionate commitment to understanding structural barriers to equity, facilitating community partnerships, encouraging experiential learning, and practicing inclusion as an ongoing ethical project.

Switchboard Stories

9:03 pm Comments Off

The Switchboard Stories project is a series produced by Amizade that profiles members of the Global Switchboard and other organizations and initiatives from across the global engagement landscape.

Tax Term Archive

​Our work builds stronger communities by:​​​

Our work builds stronger communities by: