Ruth Byrd-Smith

Ruth Byrd-Smith is Director of the Allegheny County Minority/ Women/ Disadvantaged Business Enterprise Department, located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. She was appointed to this position in February of 2004. In this position as Director, Ruth oversees the budget, certification of minority, women and disadvantaged business enterprises, technical assistance programs, and dissemination of information on contracting opportunities.

Prior to her appointment, Ruth was principal of Ruth Byrd-Smith Consulting, a firm that assisted governmental entities in managing diversity and communication issues. Ruth holds a bachelor’s degree in Corporate Communications from Point Park College.

Ruth is Chair of the Governor’s Advisory Commission on African American Affairs, the Pennsylvania Unified Certification Oversight Board and a member of many other organizations and boards.

In 2006 Ruth was awarded the Minority Business Champion for the SBA Region III which is a seven state area and in 2007 was awarded the Civic and Community Leadership award from the YWCA. In 2008 and 2009 respectively, Ruth was the recipient of the New Pittsburgh Courier – 50 Women of Excellence Award and Onyx Woman Network – 2009 Lifetime Achievement Award.

Ruth’s son and daughter-in-law reside in Virginia Beach, VA.

Magdeline Jensen

Magdeline (Maggie) Jensen has been the Chief Executive Officer of the YWCA Greater Pittsburgh since November 2007. The YWCA is a non-profit association whose mission is to eliminate racism and empower women and girls. Founded in 1869, the Association operates 12 programs and five annual events, all of which are managed by more than 200 employees working at four locations throughout Allegheny County. Her selection as CEO is a tale of transferable management and leadership skills.

Prior to joining the YWCA, Ms. Jensen was the first woman to be selected as the Chief Federal Probation Officer in Arizona, where she managed a $15 million operation of the U.S. Probation Office for nine years across the state. She served on the Pima Community College Administration of Justice Advisory Board. Ms. Jensen worked in Washington, DC as an administrator for the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, the headquarters of the Federal Courts, managing development of national sentencing policy and functioning as liaison to the U.S. Sentencing Commission. While in Washington, she was an instructor at the Federal Judicial Center and a Professorial Instructor at American University in the Department of Justice, Law and Society, and a member of the Board of Directors of the Thurgood Marshall Child Development Center. She has hands-on experience connecting people in need to community resources having been a U.S. probation officer in San Diego and a deputy probation officer in Contra Costa County, CA. She was also a Lecturer at California State University, Hayward in the Department of Criminal Justice for five years.

Ms. Jensen holds a Bachelor of Arts, Criminology and a Master of Criminology from the University of California, Berkeley, CA. She is currently a member of the Job Development and Educational Services Advisory Committee for the U.S. District Court, Western District of PA, a member of the Board of Directors for the Program for Offenders, Inc., and is on the Advisory Committees for the professional journals Federal Probation and the Federal Sentencing Reporter.