Mary Anderson Hartley is a parent advocate and a disability systems-change professional who started her professional career in 2007, working with Nancy Murray at Achieva on the Disability Healthcare Initiative, a stakeholder effort to increase access to health care for people with disabilities. As a parent advocate, she started volunteering on the Pittsburgh Local Task Force on the Right to Education. Prior to returning to Achieva as the President of The Arc of Greater Pittsburgh, Mary was the Executive Director of the PEAL (Parent Education & Advocacy Leadership) Center. For almost 20 years, she has engaged advocates and organizations to target the fix for broken policy and practice - solving issues through advocacy and legislation and identifying and developing unique programs that increase inclusion. Working with the United Way of Allegheny County’s 21 and Able Initiative, she helped to bridge the divide between youth and adult systems so that students with disabilities can transition more successfully to adulthood in employment, housing, and supportive services. Most notably, she directed #IWantToWork, a self-advocacy social media campaign, increasing employment and financial freedom through three successive efforts that resulted in legislative wins. As a consultant, she also served as Project Director for the Western Pennsylvania Disability History and Action Consortium (WPDHAC). Governor Wolf appointed Hartley to serve on the Employment First Oversight Commission, where she was the inaugural Chair. She is the 2023 recipient of the Richard Meritzer (Pittsburgh) City-(Allegheny) County Task Force on Disabilities/Reel Abilities Award and, in 2018, received Achieva’s Excellence in Advocacy Award. Governor Wolf appointed Hartley to serve on the Employment First Oversight Commission, where she was the inaugural Chair. She has served on the Board of Disability Rights Pennsylvania and is past Chair of UPMC’s Disability Resource Council. Mary lives in Pittsburgh with her husband, Bob, and has two adult children, Jack and Grace.
As President of Achieva Resource, Ms. Warren oversees all matters involving finance, human resources, information technology, facilities, fundraising, and communications.
Her contributions to the organization include leading the effort to develop and implement Achieva’s Strategic Vision Plan, overseeing key administrative services such as Information Technology and Human Resources, and coordinating Achieva’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion strategy.
Most recently, Warren was also employed by Allegheny County as the Deputy Director for Administration for the Department of Human Services (DHS). Her previous roles with DHS include Assistant Deputy Director for Forensic Services and Assistant Deputy Director for the DHS Executive Office. Before joining DHS, Warren held the positions of Policy and Planning Administrator and Deputy Warden with the Allegheny County Bureau of Corrections.
Warren earned her Master of Public Administration, Master of Social Work, and Bachelor of Science in Psychology at the University of Pittsburgh.
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Vanessa Rastovic is an attorney, a math and science nerd, and a person experiencing disability. She has been an awardee of the National Science Foundation and a member of the Law Review. After earning her BA, she served at a Non-Profit Organization (NPO) as the Public/Community Relations Director, an InterPersonal Violence Medical/Legal/Law Enforcement Trainer, and Advocate.
She went on to Legal Aid where she worked on behalf of refugees, older adults, and people experiencing disabilities. An IRS-Certified Attorney, she worked for a tax law corporation before returning to NPO work. She continues to serve in immigration and tax matters pro bono.
In her free time, she likes snorkeling and diving, jogging, gardening, and learning languages.
Vanessa is a member of the American Bar Association’s Health Law and Administrative Law groups, the Alliance for Disability in Healthcare Education, and the Advisory Council for UPMC’s Disability Resource Center. She is a member of the Network for Public Health Law and the American Society of Law, Medicine, and Ethics.
Lu Randall has a master's degree in rehabilitation counseling from Wright State University, and a bachelor of science in Art Education, concentrations in Art Therapy and Creative Studies from SUNY College at Buffalo. Early in her career she worked with people who had moderate to severe physical disabilities and traumatic brain injuries directing an adult day center. She landed solidly in the
autism world in 1994 as a mobile therapist in the Pennsylvania Wraparound system. Working in family homes and community settings informed her practice and helped develop her practical knowledge base related to autism spectrum disorders and family living. With colleagues she co-founded the Spectrum Charter School in Monroeville, PA, educating high school students in community-based, real work, nontraditional instruction addressing PA state standards and their IEP goals. Ms Randall was a key player in the design of the Pittsburgh International Airport Sensory Room, a one million dollar, award winning project designed to facilitate air travel for people with neurological disabilities of all ages and ability levels. She has led the Autism Connection of PA since 2010, and speaks extensively on all areas of autism life, including education, employment, healthcare, victims services, jail and prison advocacy, and law enforcement officer continuing education. She is a member of the Office of Developmental Programs Information Sharing and Advisory Committee, the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency Victim Services Advisory Council, the Allegheny County Autism in the Courts Workgroup, the PA Provider Oversight subcommittee, and the Advisory Board of the Carnegie Museum of Natural History. She loves to cultivate native plants, monarch butterflies, friendships, and draw, hike, bike, and sleep.
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