Building Community: A Black History Month Spotlight with Donita Thomas

The URA is celebrating our Black employees during Black History Month. These employee spotlights are a small way of showing our appreciation for the important work they’ve done for the URA, the City of Pittsburgh, and beyond.

Donita Thomas, President of the Pittsburgh Economic & Industrial Development Corporation (PEIDC), one of the URA’s nonprofit affiliates, is a born and raised Pittsburgher.

Between 1980 and 2020, Pittsburgh lost over 100,000 people from its total population. Donita stayed though, and through the years, she’s seen all of Pittsburgh’s changes. “After my family moved to the Hill, we’d go back to Hazelwood, and when the bus doors would open, you would get smacked with the smell of sulfur. It was so overwhelming and so powerful,” she said.

Donita is a graduate of three different Pittsburgh schools: Brashear High School, Carlow University, and Carnegie Mellon University. She spent several years in the oil and gas industry in the region, but eventually, she had enough. Donita wanted to find something more fulfilling. “I ended up getting laid off, and I decided to reevaluate my life plan. I wanted to pursue something that better aligned with my life plan and my values. I wanted to connect with people on a more personal level and give back.”

She continued, “We don’t always get it right. Nobody does. But the desire to continuously learn and do what’s right, that’s a metaphor for life in general, constantly growing and constantly evolving and learning.”

So, Donita went on a brief adventure to rediscover what’s important to her. She spent some time in California as a member of the public works department in Paradise, clearing outdoor areas that had become overgrown since a wildfire in the region, and eventually, she made her way back home to Hazelwood.

The former Carnegie Library building in the neighborhood is at the top of PEIDC’s list for revitalization in collaboration with the City. She’s in the early stages of finding potential grant funding to help stabilize the building. Donita said, “I want to save it for my mom who has fond memories of the library and my grandmother who passed away just as I started my role at the URA. They used to live right down the street from the library, and I want to save a piece of their past.”

Read the rest of the interview to learn more about Donita’s Pittsburgh life.

What’s the most memorable part of Pittsburgh?

There’s always something to discover in Pittsburgh. You end up in your bubble, and then you talk to people and learn that there’s this other cool thing here. I started playing rugby in my 20s, and all my closest friends now are all my friends I met playing rugby at the time. It’s very unique to find a group of people who all stay together that long, and twenty years later, are still such good friends. It’s a special place, to be able to discover new things and have my group of friends. It’s not a big city. It’s a big-ish city with a small-town vibe.

How has Pittsburgh changed since you were a kid?

A big change that comes to mind is in how the Hill District has been redeveloped.  I lived in the low-income, tenement-style apartments owned by the Housing Authority on Waring Ct. near Burrows St. from the age of 6 to16. It was a huge rectangular building with three main doors and six apartments to each door. Waring Ct. doesn’t exist anymore, and that style of housing is no longer used by the Housing Authority. Residents can have single-family, low-income houses. From where I lived all the way down Burrows St. was mostly replaced with single -family homes. I think it’s a step in the right direction that gives people more dignity and the feeling of being a lot closer to what they see in other communities where people own their homes. I think it also helps people to strive to want to own something similar for themselves one day instead of renting.

What are some of your personal or professional goals?

I would really like to be a part of saving the former CLP Hazelwood. I feel like if I can make that happen that would be really exciting, and I’d be really proud of myself for doing that. I’d also like to get a little more experience with the URA’s housing programs, and I want to try to make an impact in helping people build generational wealth. A lot of brown people don’t think homeownership is for them, and I would hope to try to change that stigma. Housing is a human right, and home ownership is attainable and has a lot of benefits. The Down Payment and Closing Cost Assistance Program is a great example of one of our programs. It’s amazing that we can do that and offer that to people.

What’s your favorite thing to do after work?

Hang out with my dogs, Knox and Ash. When it’s warm, go to the dog park. Pop a squat at the brewery with them. They’re cooped up all day, and we’ll do something for them, the walk, and do something for me, the brewery, it’s alright. Ash is a 120-pound Cane Corso. Knox is a little wiry, adorable, perfect thing. And Allegheny City Brewing is my favorite brewery. They’re super dog friendly, the owners are cool, and they’ve got great beer.

What advice would you give to yourself when you were younger?

Don’t get so caught up in making the right decision that you don’t act. There’s no such thing as wrong. Think instead of what’s the next step and how to evolve and grow. Don’t get so hung up on being perfect. Mistakes are inevitable. It’s all part of life and all part of growing up.