cityLIVE!

16 March 2011 | New Hazlett Theater | 6:30 p.m.

In addition to the myriad of great things Pittsburgh has to offer, we also have some of the brightest minds and best ideas. cityLIVE! has a history of featuring some of the most established of these brilliant minds and ideas, but now it’s time to hear from the up-and-comers!

This event features some of our region’s best and brightest college students. We’ll hear about their passions, their creative innovations and current projects.

Derrick Lopez, Assistant Superintendent of Secondary Schools, Pittsburgh Public Schools, will moderate our bright young minds, who include Mary Beatrice Dias, a Ph.D. student at CMU, who is conducting research in the field of Information Communication Technology for Development in collaboration with TechBridgeWorld; Alise Kuwahara, a fifth year Architecture student at CMU, interested in the relationship between architecture and social issues; Mackenzie Smith, a creative writing major in the English Department at CMU who hiked the Appalachian trail and traveled in the Middle East before beginning her studies; Micah Toll, a senior at Pitt, who is a serial inventor and entrepreneur, submitted his first patent application at 15 and started his first company at 17; and Chas Wagner, a second year MBA student at Pitt, who has launched Fanattix Media, a mobile applications company building iPhone and Android apps that will make it more fun and competitive for sports fans to root for their favorite college or professional team.

Does Pittsburgh’s future look bright or what? Break out your shades and join us …

Missed this event? Catch the full video here or the short version here.

24 January 2011 | New Hazlett Theater | 6:30 p.m.

Heads up Pittsburgh. It’s year three! of 10 opinionated souls giving us outstanding ideas for change.

Give us 30 minutes and we’ll change the way you see the city. As always, each person gets a mere three minutes to offer up an idea without any restrictions. And all we ask for is ‘thought-provoking’ and ‘outside the box’ concepts that examine change in Pittsburgh and how we approach it.

Chris Potter, editor of the City Paper, joins us once again as moderator for this idea-fest where we will be hearing from the panelists including:

Adrienne Wehr, local actress, producer and filmmaker; Babs Carryer, adjunct professor of entrepreneurship at CMU; Bill Cagney, of the International Union of Operating Engineers, and active in green jobs locally; Chris Ivey, award-winning local filmmaker; Dutch MacDonald, COO at Maya Design; Evan Frazier, senior vice president for Highmark Inc., overseeing community affairs; Jean-Jacques Sène, assistant professor of History, Cultural and Conflict Studies as well as the coordinator for the Global Focus program at Chatham University; Jessica Trybus, CEO and founder of Etcetera Edutainment; Nina Maria Barbuto, multi-media artist, entrepreneur and co-founder of the I Made It! Market, and Vanessa German, award-winning multi-disciplinary artist.

Missed this event? Catch the full video here or the short version here.

09 November 2010 | New Hazlett Theater | 6:30 p.m.

In Spring 2010, Huffington Post listed Pittsburgh as their #2 pick on their Best Cities for the Newly Graduated list.  “Pittsburgh seems an unlikely place for a renaissance but the city escaped the recession relatively unscathed and is moving forward in many areas”, Huffington Post noted.  “Besides having bustling education and health care sectors, the city is also generous with arts initiatives.”

What is it that motivates young people to choose a city?  Is it employment opportunity, cultural diversity, cost of living or quality of life? What is it that Pittsburgh does well, and what could we be doing better?  How do we become everyone’s #1 pick?

Join cityLIVE! as a panel of experts discuss why we need to be picked, what criteria young (or old) people use when selecting a city to live in, and how Pittsburgh might become more competitive in attracting and retaining young and talented professionals in our region.

Our panelists include Jim Russell, co-founder and chief strategist of the Pittsburgh Expatriate Network (PEN), Regina Koetters, an urban redevelopment consultant who chose to relocate to Pittsburgh, and Luis von Ahn, a professor in the Computer Science Department at Carnegie Mellon University.  Jesse Schell, CEO and founder of Schell Games will moderate the anticipated lively discussion.

Missed this event? Catch the full video here or the short version here.

21 September 2010 | New Hazlett Theater | 6:30 p.m.

Once upon a time our children looked up to star athletes.  Then, those athletes were untarnished, vital heroes who parents could point to as role models.   Now, those same parents must shield their children from a long parade of fallen sports heroes and their questionable behavior.

Is ethics in sports dead?  Has the business of sports lost its way?   Is no one holding our sports stars accountable for their behavior?   Are we asking too much of them? Pittsburgh has long been known for its legendary loyalty to their sports starts.  How do the antics of hometown players affect our community?

Each of our star panelists will tackle this difficult subject from a different point of view. You will hear from Franco Harris, our enduring local sports hero; Ayanah Moor, an associate professor in the School of Art at CMU , and a former football player with the Independent Women’s Football League, the Pittsburgh Passions; and Jack Marshall, president of ProEthics and the primary writer of Ethics Alarms, moderated by Priya Narasimhan, Director of Intel Labs Pittsburgh, the founder of Yinzcam and a huge Steelers’ fan.

Want another sports hit? Check out WHATEVER IT TAKES: Steelers Fan Collections, curated by Jon Rubin + Astria Suparak, at the Miller Gallery, Carnegie Mellon University, Purnell Center for the Arts.   The show runs through January 30, 2011.

Missed this event? Catch the full video here, or the short one here.

26 August 2010 | New Hazlett Theater | 6:30 p.m.

Nerves of Steel:  Stories of Moxie & Might.

Called “New York’s hottest and hippest literary ticket” by the Wall Street Journal, The Moth is an acclaimed nonprofit organization dedicated to the art of storytelling. Each Moth Mainstage program features two acts of original stories told by a variety of artists and personalities live, without notes. Past storytellers include celebrated writers and actors, as well as folks with true stories to tell—a car salesman, a business executive, a former pickpocket, an astronaut. Of course, when The Moth goes on the road, they pick up local storytellers along the way.

On August 26th, the evening of storytelling will relate back to a theme relevant to Pittsburgh’s local culture, “Nerves of Steel: Stories of Moxie & Might.”  The host is talented stand-up comic and Saturday Night Live writer Jessi Klein.  Jessi will be joined by Jimmy Krenn, another storyteller from Pittsburgh and a musician, as well as three visiting storytellers from New York, including George Dawes Green, American novelist and founder of The Moth.

This special event is a cityLIVE!, American Shorts @ WYEP, and New Hazlett Theater collaboration.

29 June 2010 | New Hazlett Theater | 6:30 p.m.

We live in a region defined by our rivers. Our region has plentiful water supplies — a tremendous economic and quality of life asset — but significant water quality challenges.

Pittsburgh was selected as the North American host city by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) to join World Environment Day 2010 and is hosting the WED conference, “Water Matters!”, on June 3. Participants from across the country will speak to the problems and possibilities of water in our region – its impact on health, energy and the economy.

The June 29 cityLIVE! event will reflect upon the results of the conference, discuss what we’ve learned and how we can protect and embrace our most valuable resource – water.

Our panelists are Jeanne VanBriesen, director of the Center for Water Quality in Urban Environmental Systems at CMU, Janie French, director of Green Infrastructure Programs at the Pennsylvania Environmental Council and John Schombert, executive director of 3 Rivers Wet Weather. Moderating is Pittsburgh City Councilman, Patrick Dowd.

Missed this event? Catch the full video here, or the short one here.

17 May 2010 | New Hazlett Theater | 6:30 p.m.

Many buildings of the Modern Movement have already been saved; the icons amongst these have even become so precious that they are treated like pieces of art rather than as buildings in everyday use. Can we craft such a future for the Civic Arena? Can the social, political and cultural baggage that comes with it be set aside? Who should decide on whether the igloo survives or not?

Our distinguished panel will be moderated by Evan Stoddard, Associate Dean of the McAnulty College and Graduate School of Liberal Arts at Duquense University.  Panelists include Kimberly C. Ellis, Ph.D., Executive Director of the Historic Hill Institute; Christine Madrid French, Director of the Modernism + Recent Past Initiative with the National Trust for Historic Preservation; Larry Glasco, an expert in the history of Black Pittsburgh and Associate Professor of History at the University of Pittsburgh and Rob Pfaffmann, AIA, AICP, architect  and planner whose proposals for the reuse of the Civic Arena received an AIA design award last fall.

Missed this event? Catch the full video here, or the short one here.

27 April 2010 | New Hazlett Theater | 6:30 p.m.

How can we take control and make sure our environment is healthy and pure? How can we turn the tide and reclaim our air, water and land? Who is working to make this happen in Pittsburgh?

Three Pittsburghers will share stories of their efforts to make a cleaner environment for all of us. Our panelists are Meredith Grellis, cofounder and director of ‘Burgh Bees; Tom Hoffman, the Western PA director for Clean Water Action and Ned Mulcahy, the founder of Three Rivers Waterkeeper. Discussion will be moderated by Khari Mosley, Director of Green Economy Initiatives at G-TECH.

Missed this event? Catch the full video here, or the short one here.

16 March 2010 | New Hazlett Theater | 6:30 p.m.

One Moderator, Five Panelists, More Soapbox Ranters than you can count on two hands, and you!

Soapbox Rant, cityLIVE!’s March event, will be held on the 16th of the month, at our usual place, the New Hazlett, and our usual time of 6:30 pm. But rest assured, there’ll be nothing usual about the event.

You’ll hear passionate perspectives, pet peeves and inner fury about immigration, city finances, smoking, free markets, customer service, trash on the street and much more.   Jim Denova, Benedum Foundation, will moderate the crowd.  Panelists include Tracy Certo, Pop City, Selena Schmidt, Power of 32 and three Coro Civic Leadership Fellows – Zachary Morris, Lena Andrews and De’Sean Woods.

90 quick seconds for each rant, big or small, spicy or tame. You’ll have to make the most of it.

Tune in now, or forever hold your peace.

Missed this event? Catch the full video here, or the short one here.