board of directors
Susan Burke
Susan has had a 30-year career with Gannett Co., Verizon Communications, and Westinghouse Electric Co., where she currently works as a project engineer. Her 25 year old autistic son participated in the first four years of Evolve’s Arts for Autism program: Joey Travolta Film Camp. She and her son believe it was the most effective of all the programs they had tried.
Jocelyn Gaviola
Jocelyn serves as Client Relationship Manager at Access Data Broadridge, a provider of technology-driven solutions for wealth and asset management. She assists Evolve in the use of technology & data to better anticipate future projections and evaluate student progress.
Colin Healey
Colin is a filmmaker, teacher, copywriter, and proud Evolve board member with a special focus on Evolve’s arts education offerings. As a neurodivergent and learning disabled student who struggled in school, he has developed a passion for creating experiential learning alternatives to traditional education at arts programs across the Northeast. The New York Times called his award-winning feature film HOMEMAKERS - filmed in Pittsburgh - a "raggedy ode to the DIY ethos" and the film made Bust Magazine write "Healey nails it!”. He currently lives with his wife and two dogs in a tiny New England hilltown, but relishes any opportunity he gets to come to Pittsburgh and work with Evolve.
Carolyn Komich Hare, M.S., CTBS
Carolyn has been working in the field of Autism for more than 20 years and is the President of Evolve's Board. She is a former special education teacher and currently the Clinical Director for Autism BrainNet. Carolyn founded Achieving in Higher Education with Autism and Developmental Disabilities (AHEADD) as well as the Arts for Autism Foundation of Pittsburgh which brought the Joey Travolta Summer Film Camp to Pittsburgh. Outside of her career, Carolyn is enjoying raising a family in Pittsburgh and spending as much time as possible in the outdoors
Ronald E. Heakins
Ronald is President and founder of the locally owned Registered Investment Advisors firm OakTree Investment Advisors and is Treasurer of Evolve’s Board. He focuses on community outreach through a number of local charities, Arts for Autism being one of them.
Michelle Jamison
Michelle is the Director of Programs for Boys Hope Girls Hope of Pittsburgh, a non-profit education based residential program. Boys Hope Girls Hope of Pittsburgh selects young people who are in need with the determination and motivation to succeed in a high expectation environment. Our goal is to encourage, empower and nurture young people through crucial adolescent years through college and beyond. Michelle’s goal is to further educational needs to those in diverse populations, environments and communities.
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Emma Lamberton
Emma is the Grants and Contracts Manager at VISIMO, an artificial intelligence company in Pittsburgh. Prior to living in Pittsburgh, Emma received a Fulbright Scholarship to Mongolia, where she conducted mixed-methods research on nationalism and gender equity. She currently serves as an advisory board member through her church, supporting legal aid and other refugee services. In her free time, Emma sings with the Mendelssohn Choir of Pittsburgh and the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra.
Erin McPeak
Erin works for ZOLL LifeVest in New Product Planning and is Secretary of Evolve’s Board. As part of the Evolve Coaching team, she hopes to leverage her business experience to help reach more individuals in the community.
Daniel Moses
Dan is a seasoned leader in IT and technology-driven business transformation. He has worked across multiple industries, including manufacturing, retail, grocery, consumer products, apparel, industrial products, high-tech, entertainment and media, financial services, non-profit, and law firms/professional services. He also serves as a Director to PriceWaterhouseCoopers (PWC) Advisory.
Shemaria "Mimi" Scharmann
Working tirelessly to support families and their children from birth through adolescence, Shemaria (“Mimi”) Scharmann has been an advocate and champion in the field of early childhood education. She uses her gifts and talents to ensure comfort for delivering mothers as a doula, encourages and guides the development of children and youth in their endeavors as they navigate the challenges in life as a teacher and is a visionary and global leader in the raising of “a village.” She is an educator who believes that each student has the potential to change the world, and through her social media platform on Facebook, she provides events and programming with Mimi’s Kinder Connection. This mom, daughter, sister, and friend is the epitome of love and care to a world that is sorely in need of both.
Justin Williams
Justin works in Quality Assurance for Bayer US LLC and serves as the President-Elect for Evolve-Coaching’s Board of Directors. He has worked for many years to push Pittsburgh to be a more inclusive, diverse, equitable and accessible place to live for all individuals. He firmly believes in Evolve-Coaching’s mission and is dedicated to helping the organization meet their goals and aspirations. In his free time, Justin enjoys spending time with his family, watching and participating in sports, and cooking.
Patricia Wright
Patricia’s commitment to ensuring all individuals with autism have access to effective services and supports has guided her work for more than 30 years, from her earliest responsibilities as a special
educator, to state and national-level program management.