The Luminari Team
Board Members
Hilda Pang Fu
Founder & President
Hilda founded Luminari because she believes each of us is a citizen of the world, and we can all use a bit of mind-broadening. Entrepreneurial in nature, Hilda excels at building both non-profit and for-profit ventures. Global thinker, social entrepreneur, communicator, advocate for gender equity. She created the Pittsburgh Regional Champions program, empowering professionals and volunteers to promote the region for economic development. Hilda was also Executive Director of summer programs at Point Park University and served as Director of External Relations at the University of Pittsburgh Health Sciences.
Hilda currently serves on the Regional Asset District board of directors. She is a founding board member of the Women and Girls Foundation and has served on many nonprofit boards including The Ellis School, Pittsburgh Opera, Saturday Light Brigade, and WQED-Multimedia, just to name a few. She has been recognized and awarded by several prestigious organizations for her excellence in service. Hilda has a Master of Library Science from the University of Pittsburgh and Master of Public Management from Carnegie Mellon University. Hilda speaks three languages and in the little spare time she has, is a porcelain painter!
Joyce Fu
Vice President
Joyce grew up passionate about sports. Combining her Columbia Law School degree with her love of athletics, she travels the world expanding the reach of Major League Baseball and working her magic through diplomacy. Joyce works for the Strategy & Development team at MLB, focusing on international matters. She believes the power of sports often brings people together, and gives people of different backgrounds a common ground. She grew up in Pittsburgh where she was a standout student athlete at Shady Side Academy. An avid photographer, Joyce now lives in New York where she’s the mom of three.
Gordon Fu
Secretary
Gordon is an established marketing change-agent who currently works as marketing innovations manager for a leader in the worldwide medical technology market. He is a Communicator, Analyst, Planner, Product Launcher, International Businessman, Youth Advocate, and Surfer.
Ilene Hurwitz Schwartz
Treasurer
Ilene has the brains and drive to make things happen! She is the Principal of IHS Consultants, a strategic marketing firm and she recently joined 4Rivers Wealth Management as Director of Marketing. Ilene has over 30 years of experience and expertise in strategic marketing and has served in many senior positions for corporations, small businesses and nonprofits. Ilene also lends her time and talents as an adviser to several local and national nonprofits. She and her husband Louis live in Squirrel Hill and have one son.
The People of Luminari
Harold Behar
Harold is President and Creative Director at Behar-Fingal, an agency that delivers innovative, integrated marketing solutions to nonprofits, municipalities and small businesses. He is an award-winning marketing professional, problem solver and idea generator, he enjoys traveling, experiencing live music, and is a lover of the arts.
Roberta L. Brody
Roberta Lando Brody spent most of her career building messages for her clients. As owner of Advantage Communications, she specialized in advertising, marketing and public relations. That experience helped her launch two retail businesses, which she subsequently sold, and led her to a two-year stint as Editor-in-Chief of a local lifestyle magazine. Although she is recently retired, she still does occasional consulting work.
Nathan Browne
Nathan loves to learn and teach about the globe and its people. He leads the social studies department at Chartiers Valley Middle School, where he teaches Global Perspectives, Civics, and Early American History. His background is in historic preservation, archaeology, curriculum design and global studies and cultures—passions he has brought to the “I Want to be an Ambassador!” camp as its director and assistant director.
Susan Brozek-Scott
Susan Brozek-Scott (Camp Director) has a rich background of experience working with young people and the community. For much of her career, Susan was a reporter and producer for television stations in Pittsburgh and other cities. Eventually she landed at Pittsburgh’s WPXI-TV. In 2008, Susan began “Afterschool Buddy, Inc.,” a children’s multimedia programming and production corporation.
Lani Cataldi
Lani has the soul of an artist. As co-founder of Gemini Theater, she brings music and stories to audiences both young and old, including teens in Luminari’s “I Want to be an Ambassador!” camp. She’s an actress, singer, composer-lyricist, visual artist, and a proud mom. She loves Native America, and loves living in her 1820 log cabin home.
Rebecca Cataldi
Rebecca loves reaching across cultural divides to build common ground. She is Program Manager at the International Center for Religion & Diplomacy and founded the American-Islamic Friendship Project. She was named an Ambassador for Peace by the Universal Peace Federation, based on her work as a conflict resolution specialist. She’s also a published author.
Gina Catanzarite
Gina is Owner of Arania Productions. She is the Co-Author of two non-fiction books and Teaches broadcast journalism at Point Park University. And is an Emmy award-winning television Producer, Writer, Family Advocate and Media Consultant.
Bonnie Chan
Bonnie Chan is an advertising innovator, who has spent 35 years connecting people with ideas. She believes minds will be broadened by great experiences. That same passion for inspiration is what brought her to Luminari.
Beth Dolinar
Beth is a writer and producer who uses her skills in television, newspapers, magazines, web content and teaching. She has won Emmy awards for her work at WQED-TV, has written a popular column for the Washington “Observer-Reporter” for 18 years, and is on the adjunct faculty at Robert Morris University. Beth has a son and a daughter. She’s an avid yoga devotee and cyclist and reader. Beth types like lighting but reads slowly. And she loves a really good sentence.
Annamaria Fato
Annamaria Fato is a lover and student of travel and culture. She lives in Zurich, Switzerland and works as a communications and marketing manager. Zurich is just the latest stop on her world travels; she’s circled the globe, becoming fluent in Italian, French, Spanish and German along the way.
DeAnne Hamilton
DeAnne has traveled the world, finding it at once impossibly large and surprisingly small. DeAnne has spent her career in media, and now serves as executive director and general manager at KBTC Public Television in Tacoma, Washington. Having raised two of her own children, she is inspired by the energy of young people. She was plenty inspired while serving as chaperone for our ambassadors’ trip to Washington, D.C. in 2016.
Lazar M. Palnick
Lazar is a Pittsburgh attorney who specializes in government relations and economic development. He helps his clients navigate government regulations. He is also an expert on election law, and consults with countless national and local political candidates and their campaigns. He also brings his expertise to a bevy of causes important to him.
Kyle Smith
Kyle loves history, and has spent his career studying and teaching it. He teaches both history and philosophy at Shady Side Academy, and still finds time to coach the basketball and golf teams. During his summer breaks, Kyle has been an active part of Luminari’s “I Want to be an Ambassador Camp”, serving both as a participant and as camp director.
Jennifer Stancil
Jen is a specialist in start-up non-profits and gifted in the art of creating experiences. An innovative and visionary executive living in North Carolina, Jen founded The Hello Studios which create spaces, places and stories that spark opportunity and impact. For more than 20 years, Jen’s ethos of inclusion has gained acclaim nationwide in her many and varied roles: leading educational organizations with a focus on motivating girls in the STEM field, creating impactful work through award-winning media work and even helping to open two museums!
Rick Tony
Rick Tony serves as the Director of Studies at Solebury School, an independent day/boarding school in eastern PA. But his true passions include food, travel, and playing games—all of which require the skills of civility and diplomacy. He loves sharing his ideas with campers as a guest presenter during the Ambassador summer camp.
Gina DeMarco Wall
Gina DeMarco Wall loves languages. As ESL coordinator for the Allegheny Intermediate Unit, she works as an ambassador for students who are learning English as a Second Language. She is a lifelong learner, a mom and an entrepreneur.
Joe Wos
Joe Wos is a cartoonist, storyteller, writer and pop culture historian. His popular feature MazeToons is distributed to newspapers worldwide by Creators Syndicate. His creative energy takes him all over the community, as a speaker, performer, educator and visual literacy advocate. He brings his talents to Luminari camps each summer. www.mazetoons.com
Staff
Tom Berich
Operations Manager
Tom Berich is originally from Pittsburgh and has worked in arts, culture and media for over 25 years – most recently as the Program Director for Buffalo Toronto Public Media. He’s also been Creative Services Producer for Montana Public Radio, Producer for Indiana Public Media, and as host of the nationally syndicated music show “World Bridges.” He held multiple positions at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival along with being a producer for Nickelodeon for 5 years. Recently he has been the Company Manager for the Pittsburgh CLO and the House Manager and Artist Service Coordinator for The Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival. As a professional musician he has toured nationally and performed in Trinidad & Tobago, Antigua & Barbuda, and Ghana. When he is not facilitating the creative process for others, he enjoys hiking, rock climbing, and kayaking…and cooking. Lots and LOTS of cooking!
Heather Schirra
Camp Administrator
Heather, a dedicated Special Education Teacher at the Westmoreland Intermediate Unit, has spent years immersed in various special education classroom environments. Heather holds a Bachelor’s degree from Indiana University of Pennsylvania, where she earned certifications in Special and Elementary Education. She furthered her education by obtaining a Master’s degree in Curriculum and Assessment from Clarion University. Beyond her commitment to education, Heather is passionate about providing life-changing experiences for children and teens.
Pilar Brown
Pilar is Graphic Designer and Owner of PilarDesigns. As a Designer, Writer, and Editor, she broadens the knowledge base of business and non-profit organizations to community members and the media. She is a Creator, Visual Communicator, Creative Problem Solver, and Community Advocate.
Brittany Barnicott
Brittany is a social media manager and the owner of On Mission Media, providing social and digital strategies for non-profit organizations and small businesses. When she’s not spending time online, Brittany loves traveling, spending time with her three adorable nieces, and picking up new hobbies.
