Black History Facts

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Sean Simmons

Director of Athletics, Shady Side Academy

Sean Simmons has served as Shady Side Academy’s director of athletics since July 2021. In this role, he oversees the strategic development and day-to-day operation of a comprehensive athletics program and serves as a member of the Academy’s executive leadership team. SSA Athletics fields 29 highly competitive varsity/prep teams in 16 sports in grades 9-12 plus numerous junior varsity, freshman, middle school and elementary school teams. In Simmons’ first two years at SSA, the Bulldogs have won four WPIAL team titles in boys’ basketball, girls’ field hockey, boys’ lacrosse and girls’ lacrosse.

Prior to SSA, Simmons was director of athletics for the Pine-Richland School District from 2018-2021. The Rams won multiple WPIAL and PIAA championships under his leadership, including the 2020 PIAA 6A football title and WPIAL 3A field hockey title. He also established the PR Athletic Hall of Fame and the PR Academy for Coaches. Prior to Pine-Richland, Simmons served for more than a decade as an associate athletic director at Robert Morris University, contributing to the most successful period for athletics in school history. Prior to RMU, he spent four years as an academic coordinator for student-athletes at the University of Virginia. Early in his career, Simmons worked for six years at The Hun School of Princeton, an independent day and boarding school for grades 6-12 in Princeton, N.J., where he taught math, coached soccer, basketball and track, and served as an advisor, dorm parent and diversity coordinator. 

Born in Trinidad,Simmons holds a bachelor’s degree in finance from Seton Hall University, where he was a member of the track and field team and won the Big East indoor and outdoor 400-meter titles, as well as a master’s degree in athletic administration from James Madison University. 

He and his wife, Tawanna, have three children, all of whom are NCAA Division I athletes: Jarrod, who played men’s basketball at Penn and Hofstra and now plays professionally in Europe; Sanaea, a women’s volleyball player at Holy Cross; and Molly, a women’s volleyball player at Michigan. 

PUM ONE ON ONE MR. SIMMONS:

PUM: Tell us more about the projects and activities you have been focused on as director of athletics since being hired at Shady Side Academy.

Mr. Simmons: There are a couple of projects I have been focused on. The first is working to expand partnerships with other institutions that are different from SSA. This has led to the launch of cooperative sponsorships between Shady Side Academy and our friends at The Neighborhood Academy in football and girls’ volleyball. In these co-ops, students from TNA can play on SSA’s football team and students from SSA can play on TNA’s volleyball team, which has enabled students from the two schools to develop bonds as teammates and friends. We're exploring possible co-ops with other schools as well.

I have also been focused on expanding our athletic offerings while developing and maintaining a highly relational coaching model. The goal is to provide as many athletic programs as possible to meet the needs of all of our students, while ensuring a low player-to-coach ratio and an intimate team atmosphere where every student-athlete is known and supported. 

Finally, I have been focused on developing an SSA Coaching Academy dedicated to relational coaching instruction. This involves developing a curriculum for a three-part series that will teach relational coaching philosophies and skills to all SSA coaches. 

PUM: SSA fields 27 highly competitive varsity/prep teams in 16 sports for boys and girls, and boasts a rich championship history, how do you manage this enormous responsibility while keeping the school competitive?

Mr. Simmons: It is truly a collaborative effort that involves the entire Shady Side Academy community. I am fortunate to have a lot of support, starting with SSA President Bart Griffith and our Board of Trustees, and including our executive leadership team, my amazing athletic department staff, our faculty, our facilities department and more. Every member of the Shady Side Academy community has been very supportive of our efforts to field highly competitive teams while maintaining a rich championship history and a tradition of excellence.  

PUM:  Shady Side students benefit from some of the region’s finest on-campus athletic facilities, including a turf stadium with lights, hockey rink, swimming pool, gymnasiums, grass fields, tennis, and squash courts. This campus offers young athletes an awesome opportunity to participate in some of the best facilities.

Mr. Simmons: At Shady Side we are blessed to have outstanding athletic facilities, which enhance the experience of all our student-athletes. We were thrilled to cut the ribbon this fall on our newest facility, the Gene Deal Fields, which I believe gives us the premier outdoor turf field complex in Western Pennsylvania. This beautiful new facility will not only support our soccer, field hockey, baseball, softball and lacrosse teams and SSA summer camps, but it is also available for rental by youth and community programs.

PUM:  You were born in Trinidad and earned a Bachelor of Science degree in finance at Seton Hall, where you also were a member of the men’s track and field team and won the Big East indoor and outdoor 400-meter titles. How did athletics help you while pursuing your career goals?

Mr. Simmons: For a long time, sports have been viewed as a way to stay healthy and in shape, but their importance goes much further than the obvious physical health benefits. Athletic participation has taught me some very valuable personal and professional life lessons like discipline, responsibility, leadership, self-confidence, accountability, time management, and teamwork. These life lessons have contributed greatly toward the pursuit of my career goals.

PUM: What are some of your goals for 2023 as the director of athletics, any additional big projects on the horizon?

Mr. Simmons: Overall, I would say my goal for 2023 is to continually improve the athletic experience for all students at Shady Side Academy, and all of our decisions regarding funding, facilities, coaching, etc. are centered around that goal. I mentioned a few of my specific goals above, but one additional goal is to arrange an international trip for one or more of our athletic teams where they can experience life in a culture that is totally different from their own.

The Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy announces the appointment of James Brown as Director of Education and the Frick Environmental Center. Recently serving as the Senior Program Director of Creative Youth Development at the Homewood-Brushton YMCA, Brown has nearly two decades of youth development, mentorship and artistic expertise. 

As director of education and the Frick Environmental Center, Brown will lead the Conservancy’s education team and the implementation of environmental education programs for people of all ages as he works to advance inclusion and park equity through engagement with schools, organizations and city departments.

“We’re honored to have James join us at the Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy,” said Catherine Qureshi, President, and CEO of the Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy. “He brings an impressive and unique skillset to the organization and we’re thrilled to see him flourish in this role as he leads the next generation of park stewards.”

Prior to joining the Parks Conservancy, Brown served the YMCA of Greater Pittsburgh for 15 years in various roles as a teaching artist in music production, Program Director and most recently served as the Senior Program Director of Creative Youth Development. Brown also worked for the Pennsylvania Environmental Council and served as a teaching artist for the Arts Greenhouse, a teen outreach program of Carnegie Mellon University. He served as a fellow of the inaugural cohort of LEAD Now Pittsburgh, an advanced leadership program for the civic sector. Brown is committed to supporting the mental well-being of the youth he serves and recently completed an intensive course in Trauma Informed Practice of Arts Education Administrators by the Bartol Foundation.

"I believe the parks are one of Pittsburgh's greatest assets, where youth of all ages and backgrounds can come to play, learn, grow and gather,” said Brown. “I'm excited to join a talented team of outdoor educators and work together to create exciting and equitable park experiences at the intersection of nature, sustainability, culture and wellness."

A New York native, Brown earned a Bachelor of Arts in sociology from Vassar College prior to moving to Pittsburgh to pursue ethnomusicology at the University of Pittsburgh. During his time in Pittsburgh, he has been an active musician, bandleader, and music producer with a number of collaborations with local recording artists. He released his own album in 2007.

One on One:  James Brown as Director of Education and the Frick Environmental Center

PUM:  As an African American in this role, tell us more about how this is significant and relates to the Conservancy's mission on equitable park spaces and programming. 

Mr. Brown:  It’s really important to me that black and brown kids and families feel like the parks -- all the parks -- are theirs to enjoy. And for folks to enjoy the parks they must feel safe, and welcome, and they have a voice in how the parks are used, including the types of programs that take place in them. Fulfilling this mission requires effort on multiple fronts and part of what attracted me to this role is the work the Conservancy has done in the past few years; leading capital improvement projects in McKinley Park and Allegheny Commons, and the launch of the Meet Me in the Parks community program which brings facilitated nature experiences to the parks and black neighborhoods.  I’m humbled to be the second African American in this role. That’s significant because one of those fronts is making sure park staff and leadership reflect the communities served. Parks and park leaders should be in conversation with the communities they serve and that requires a commitment to sustained relationships and trust-building.

Access to parks and park programs are a vital part of individual and community health. But different communities have different needs. I’m looking forward to continuing conversations with our community partners and stakeholders about the types of programs and experiences that are relevant and accessible to all Pittsburghers and co-build a vision that is reflective of Pittsburgh’s diverse communities.

PUM: Tell us more about your focus and immediate goals as the new director of education and the FEC. 

Mr. Brown: The education team here at the Conservancy is already doing amazing work with school groups, summer camps and community programs. My initial focus has been to simply learn the details of these partnerships and programs so that I can best support the work they are doing through the 2023 program year. We have some new partnerships budding with organizations in Homewood and I’m looking forward to supporting those efforts and more broadly, strengthening our ties with organizations and families in Homewood and the surrounding communities. The education team has done a great job building partnerships with schools and I think there’s an opportunity to replicate that success through collaborations with after-school providers. I know from experience that for many middle and high school youth, after-school programs are the space where they thrive and feel in control of their own learning. Bringing after-school programs to the park or visiting their sites, reaches another audience of young people who are open to learning new things or who may already have an interest in nature and sustainability.

PUM: You mention that you believe the parks are one of Pittsburgh's greatest assets, where youth of all ages and backgrounds can come to play, learn, grow and gather, tell us more about your vision and utilization of the parks.

Mr. Brown: My vision is really to help residents and communities see the potential of the parks to be a “green slate” for their own wellness, social, educational and cultural goals. The parks are green slates because they can be a classroom, a place to exercise, meditate, observe nature, play games, relax or be active. The Conservancy’s public programs are free or affordable and provide guided examples of the ways people can enjoy the parks. Tabletop gaming, self-care workshops, guided hikes, birdwatching, forest bathing (for those not familiar with the term it’s not what you think!) and community-based Earth Day celebrations are just some of the public programs that we offer. Through our community engagement efforts, I think there is space to imagine and develop new experiences that connect with different interests and attract new audiences to the park. My background is in music and arts education, so my imagination turns to things like drumming, nature photography and sustainable art-making workshops as possible experiences to explore.

 When it comes to our education programs, we offer something for every age group – pre-K through high school. Much like the paths that lead through the park, there’s an educational pathway from early learners to teens. Part of my vision is to strengthen these pathways so that schools and caregivers can provide young people with sustained engagement with nature. Taking care of our green spaces on a local level and taking care of the earth on a global level is a shared responsibility for all of us. And I think the hands-on learning experiences that take place in the park are critical in helping young people develop an appreciation for nature and make sense of the complex environmental challenges we face.

PUM: What are some of the programming for the Frick Environmental Center?

Mr. Brown: We have several school-based programs in partnership with Pittsburgh Public Schools, Propel and other private schools. Elementary, middle and high school classes visit Frick Park three times per year for age-appropriate naturalist experiences. Elementary students learn about habitats, middle schoolers observe streams and forests and high school students participate in stewardship projects such as tree plantings and invasive plant removal. We also have seasonal programs that provide opportunities for all age ranges to enjoy nature throughout the year. During the summer we offer weeklong camp programs with different themes for different age ranges. For example, Survival Camp focuses on survival skills for rising 7th and 8th grade campers. In addition the Young Naturalists Program is a 5-week paid summer internship for high school students. Interns serve as park stewards while also learning about natural history, green careers and climate change. In the spring, we’ll be hosting an Earth Month celebration each Saturday in April in four community parks — Westinghouse Park, McKinley Park, Allegheny Commons and August Wilson Park.  In the fall, one of the most popular special events is Bump in the Night, an annual family friendly fall festival featuring evening hikes through the woods, pumpkin picking, campfires and other activities. We keep busy even in the cooler temperatures of winter and have a full winter programming guide detailing programs available across the city’s parks.

PUM: Prior to joining the Parks Conservancy, you served the YMCA of Greater Pittsburgh for 15 years in various roles as a teaching artist in music production, Program Director and most recently served as the Senior Program Director of Creative Youth Development. Tell us more about how your background will help enhance your role as the new director. 

Mr. Brown:  My first job out of college was working in the central office for New York City’s Parks and Recreation Department where I helped to coordinate citywide sports leagues and cultural events in parks across the five boroughs. Shortly after I moved to Pittsburgh, I started at the YMCA as a teaching artist working for the Lighthouse Project, an arts and media after-school program for high school teens. I worked directly with students in the classroom using hip-hop as a platform for self-expression, positive identity and critical thinking.  There’s this concept called culturally relevant arts education which has been around for a few decades now but was something we really embraced as we were building out our vision. I think the concept can be applied to outdoor education as well. Outdoor education is not just science-based, in fact there’s a lot of culture embedded in how we think about the environment. For indigenous people, culture and nature are so deeply intertwined. I believe there are ways to engage black and brown youth in outdoor experiences in ways that validate their culture and recognize their knowledge, values and history. The Conservancy’s ‘From Slavery to Freedom’ Garden is a great example of this. The garden showcases the plants, fruits and vegetables that grew in the wooded areas along the passage to freedom that were used for food and medicine. When I became program director, we really got interested in finding ways to turn cultural practices and youth interests into learning — so we built lessons around hip-hop lyricism, beat making, Anime and fashion design and connected the teens’ interests to real word discussions about things like social justice and entrepreneurship. In my new role, the classroom and the context may be different, but there’s a lot to apply here in terms of the process, the mindset and the goals. What does culturally responsive outdoor education look like? That’s something I want to explore.

 As the senior program director of Creative Youth Development part of my job was communicating the impact of our work to various stakeholders including schools, caregivers, community partners and foundations. That part of the job has prepared me for my new role as I set out to grow the support for our education programs. The most exciting parallel for me is the realization that artists and naturalists speak similar languages, or perhaps dialects of the same language, when it comes to education and youth development. The same themes come up in both spaces — community, belonging, mental health, youth voice, justice. I’m excited to be embarking on this new journey and to learn new things, but also to be in a position to continue serving and empowering our city’s youth.