Uniontown native hired to head Mon Valley Alliance
The Mon Valley Alliance has hired a Uniontown native as its first chief executive officer.
Christopher Whitlatch, who graduated from Uniontown High School in 1991, was the unanimous choice of the MVA’s board of directors. Whitlatch has been director of digital initiatives/communications with The Pittsburgh Foundation for the past seven years. He will begin his new job in mid-September.
Whitlatch was selected from a panel of more than 40 candidates identified by a firm hired to conduct the search for the new leader of the community development organization. The alliance formed earlier this year by the merger of the Mon Valley Progress Council and the Middle Monongahela Industrial Development Association. The former executive directors of each of those organizations, Joe Kirk and Lue Ann Pawlick respectively, were among those considered for the position.
“We wanted to make it very clear that the job was more than what we had expected from the executive directors,” said John Easoz, chairman of the MVAS board of directors. “We want this person to have a broader role. We are still on very good terms with our executive directors and we would like to continue on with them in some manner.”
Easoz said that while the MVA wants to continue in its traditional role in the Mon Valley, it is also time to head in some new directions. Easoz said Whitlatch offered a new creativity to the position.
“He had some unique ideas for economic development,” Easoz said.
Whitlatch said growing up in Uniontown, the Mon Valley was an extended part of home for him.
“It’s nice to come back to make an impact on the Mon Valley,” Whitlatch said. “It is a challenge and there are both infrastructure and social issues to deal with in the area. We need to think creatively to deal with some of the issues.”
Whitlatch said his past seven years with The Pittsburgh Foundation have provided him with the tools to tackle his new job.
“The Pittsburgh Foundation is the thirteenth largest community foundation in the country. It has a lot more resources, but it has the same issues as the Mon Valley,” Whitlatch said.
Whitlatch said his time with The Pittsburgh Foundation has also connected him with resources that will be needed in his new role with the MVA. In addition, there are opportunities for the two organizations to work together in partnership on several projects, Whitlatch said.
“It’s not a sprint, it’s a marathon,” Whitlatch said of the revitalization of the Mon Valley. “It’s an area I truly believe in.”
Whitlatch said he is looking forward to getting out into the community, meeting with individuals in each town.
“The success of the Mon Valley will be the success of each of them working together,” Whitlatch said of the towns.