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��������Ƶ University’s Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration Task Force will hold its annual educational program in commemoration of Dr. King’s birthday featuring Dr. Kathi Elliott, CEO of Gwen’s Girls and convener of the Black Girls Equity Alliance. Dr. Elliott will be speaking about empowerment and advocacy. 

The event will be held on Monday, February 5 at 7 p.m. in Cecilian Hall on the second floor of the University’s Administration Building. While in-person attendance is limited to members of the ��������Ƶ community, a livestream of the program will be available via .

In addition to the education program, the ��������Ƶ community will participate in Take the Day On, a day of community service in honor of Dr. King, on Saturday, Feb. 17.

As ��������Ƶ’s Spring 2024 Semester did not begin until after Martin Luther King Jr. Day, events honoring Dr. King are held in February.

About the Speaker

Advocacy and giving back to others are values that were instilled in Dr. Kathi Elliott by her mother and founder of Gwen’s Girls, the late Pittsburgh Police Commander Gwen Elliott. Since 2002, Gwen's Girls' mission has been to empower girls and young women to have productive lives through holistic, gender-specific programs, education and experiences through afterschool, school and community-based programming throughout Greater Pittsburgh. A visionary leader, Dr. Kathi Elliott has positioned Gwen’s Girls in becoming a well-recognized forerunner in the integration of evidence-based clinical prevention and intervention policies and practices that enhance the child and social welfare system. In 2016, Dr. Elliott spearheaded the formation of the Black Girls Equity Alliance (BGEA), a collaboration of over 75 practitioners, researchers, system administrators, and other stakeholders committed to addressing systemic inequities in the juvenile justice, child welfare, education, and health care systems. In December 2022, Gwen’s Girls and the BGEA launched a new county-wide initiative in Allegheny County called Caring Connections for YOUth, a community-led program that provides access to a 24-hour centralized call center that will be managed through Gwen’s Girls and United Way's PA 211 helpline to connect youth, families and systems to community-based resources. Although Gwen’s Girls programs have traditionally been focused on girls, this initiative is for any youth up to the age 18, living in Allegheny County as a diversion to the Juvenile Justice and Child Welfare systems.

Dr. Elliott has over 30 years of experience in nursing, social service, community and individual mental health treatment. In addition to being the CEO of Gwen’s Girls since 2015, she’s a Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner at the VA Pittsburgh outpatient mental health clinic. She earned a Doctor of Nursing Practice degree from Chatham University in August 2014. Dr. Elliott also completed dual Master’s degrees in Nursing and Social Work from the University of Pittsburgh in 2008.