Staff
Dana Brown
Executive Director
(412) 365-2725
Dana M. Brown began her tenure as the new director of the Pennsylvania Center for Women and Politics and assistant professor of political science at Chatham University in July of 2010. Ms. Brown is a doctoral candidate (ABD) in American Politics and Women and Politics at Rutgers University and recently completed a year as a Visiting Assistant Professor of Political Science at Allegheny College.
Ms. Brown has had the honor of being an Eagleton Fellow at the Eagleton Institute of Politics and PLEN Coordinator for Douglass Residential College at Rutgers University. Ms. Brown has also been Research Assistant at the National Asian American Survey (NAAS) and a Graduate Assistant at the Center for Race and Ethnicity at Rutgers University. She has completed additional graduate work in political and social research at the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor. She has presented research on women in politics, political psychology, political media, and political participation by women of color. Before entering graduate school Ms. Brown worked in Washington, D.C., as a development assistant for EMILY’s List and for the mutual fund trade association, the Investment Company Institute. She earned her MA in political science from Rutgers University and BA in political science from Allegheny College.
Ms. Brown currently participates on the Community Advisory Board for the YWCA Greater Pittsburgh's Center for Race & Gender Equity and the Pennsylvania Advisory Committee to the U.S. Global Leadership Coalition.
Jackie Filla
Assistant Professor of Political Science & Faculty Affiliate of the PCWP
(412) 365-1817
Jackie Filla is Assistant Professor of Political Science and scholar for the Center. Previously an Assistant Professor of Political Science and Geography at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Va., her research interests include direct democracy, political participation, public policy, urban politics, women and politics, and Constitutional law. Her current research includes “The Impact of the Initiative on Municipal Politics and Citizen Participation,” a book manuscript based upon her dissertation. Most recently she was awarded the John Randolph Haynes Doctoral Dissertation Fellowship Award (2008-2009), which included a $20,000 research grant. Dr. Filla earned her Bachelor’s degree in Political Science from California State University – Fullerton and her Master’s and Doctorate degrees in Political Science from the University of California – Riverside.
Annie Guadagnino
Program Coordinator
Annie is the Program Coordinator for the Center. Before joining PCWP’s staff in 2012 she was a Campaign Director for Fund for the Public Interest and a Campus Organizer for the Public Interest Research Group. Annie is a 2009 graduate of the University of Michigan with a BA in Environmental Studies and a minor in Political Science.
Rebecca Pressimone
Office Assistant
Rebecca Pressimone is a second year student at Chatham University and is majoring in Interior Architecture and minoring in Music. Rebecca is an active member in the Chatham community. She is a Class Representative for the class of 2014, a Resident Assistant (RA) on campus, the Chair of the Chatham Relay for Life Event for the second consecutive year, a student member of the American Society of Interior Designers (ASID), and is going on her second year as the Pennsylvania Center for Women in Politics Office Assistant. Rebecca is on track to graduate in May of 2013 and continue on to get her Masters in Interior Architecture.