In 2002 My husband and I moved back to Pittsburgh after living in Seattle and Atlanta .We chose to live in Bellevue because I lived here as a single and loved it’s proximity to everything and the walkable, quaint community. We couldn’t believe how much house you could get for the money if you were willing to put in a little elbow grease. We did a total renovation of our 100 year old house in 2004- We were thrilled with our “masterpiece” and our friendly neighbors. However, in the process as we got more acclimated with the community, we realized that Bellevue was at a crossroads. It had great potential, but it also needed people to step up and make it’s potential become reality. After living in two booming, hip towns (Seattle and Atlanta) I was bursting with ideas on how we could enhance our town and draw people to it. In 2008 I gathered a group of like-minded people and we began to envision and set goals to revitalize and grow Bellevue to it’s greatness…thus BIGr was formed. I have also had the chance to serve on the Bellevue Council the last five years and run for State Representative in an effort to  impact Bellevue from the legislative side as well. I am thrilled with our progress and believe the best is yet to come!

My husband and I moved to Bellevue in 1984.  We liked Bellevue because it was a short commute from downtown Pittsburgh and because we loved the old homes and the fact that residents can walk to the active main street. We raised our children here and they attended schools in the Northgate School District which is one of very few walking school districts.  I am currently a probate and estates attorney with Marks Elder Law. I became involved with Bona Fide Bellevue because I wanted to be a part of efforts to make Bellevue more beautiful and vibrant.  I became a director of Bona Fide Bellevue shortly before it incorporated, worked on obtaining 501(c)(3) tax exempt status, and recently became the group’s treasurer.

Jean Dennison moved to Bellevue as a child in 1953. She joined the Bona Fide Bellevue Board in 2016. Recently retired from her position as Executive Director for the Office of Mission Advancement for the Sisters of Divine Providence, she brings her experience in the field of public relations and communication to her board work. Please direct all media inquiries to her at dencom2@gmail.com or 412-759-1359. Jean has seen Bellevue through many transitions over the years and is eager to work with Bona Fide Bellevue to revitalize both the business district and the residential area of the borough. She believes in the potenial of the borough and its residents to move into the future with a renewed commitment to make Bellevue all that it can be. Jean currently serves on the Main Street Committee.

Sabreena Miller moved to Bellevue in the Spring of 2017 with her, now, husband Jon. During her time working with a city of Pittsburgh nonprofit, her work focus was blighted property, specifically PA’s blighted property conservatorship act. She is the author of The Abandoned and Blighted Property Conservatorship Act: Ten Years of Productive Reuse. In this role, she also worked toward developing a stronger relationship between her work organization and BonaFide Bellevue. Through this goal, she became immersed in the culture of Bellevue borough and grew more active in its development. She previously served as a member of the Bellevue Borough blight committee and as the Chief Administrative Officer for the former North Suburban Chamber of Commerce. As a board member of BonaFide Bellevue, she is the chair of the Bellevue Blighted Property Working Group (BPWG) and plans and coordinates both the Bellevue Classic Car Cruise as well as the Bellevue Art & Wine Crawl. Sabreena looks forward to continuing her service to Bellevue where she has not only started and grown her family but has also made lifelong friends.

I’m a lifelong Bellevue resident looking to roll up my sleeves and work to make Bellevue a more vibrant community that attracts new businesses and families to the area.

Bio coming soon. 

In 1994, Susan, her husband Roger and daughter Zeilend moved to Bellevue so they could enjoy a more relaxed lifestyle in a small community with great housing stock. Four houses later, they’re still here. Susan studied interior design at Hood College and IUP and worked in commercial design in the Washington, DC. area as a buyer, facility designer, and project and design manager. She switched to residential design after the move and started her own company, Susan Stabnau Interiors, in 2005. Participating in the community and volunteering for any project that needs help with function and aesthetics has always been her focus; so, joining the Bona Fide Bellevue board in 2016 was a natural fit. Chairing Bellevue’s Live Worship Shop House Tour has allowed Susan to help bring new people and positive attention to the borough. She wants everyone to experience first-hand what makes Bellevue so special – its people and sense of community.

RJ Thompson is the Associate Director of Student Engagement in the College of Business Administration at the University of Pittsburgh. He is a former tenured Assistant Professor of Graphic + Interactive Design in the Department of Art at Youngstown State University. He is also the Co-Principal and Creative Strategist for +Public, a Pennsylvania-based social enterprise that focuses on cultivating community and economic development impact through the creation of branded communication platforms, creative place-making, and storytelling initiatives for communities-in-revival. In 2015, he was one of several recipients of the National Endowment for the Arts “Our Town” grant, valued at $100,000, for the INPLACE (“Innovative Plan for Leveraging Arts & Community Engagement”) project. In 2017, RJ received a “Best of Marketing Award” from the Ohio Economic Development Association for his efforts in rebranding the City of Youngstown, Ohio. RJ was accepted into the prestigious Cohort 2 of the National Arts Marketing Project, a program supported by Americans for the Arts and the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts. RJ also received a scholarship to join the National Arts Strategies Executive Program in Arts & Culture Strategy through the School of Public Policy at the University of Pennsylvania.