Becky Withrow

Executive Director

Becky began her career in 1992 with the March of Dimes when she was hired to coordinate Walk America events. Her March of Dimes career spanned multiple roles and culminated with her final role as Executive Director of Market Development. Under her leadership, the New Mexico Chapter of the March of Dimes achieved National Chapter of the Year awards for two consecutive years for excellence in revenue development, mission integration, advocacy, and communications. She served on national training faculty and earned the President’s Team Award for excellence for five consecutive years.

In her most recent role, Becky led the Greater Pittsburgh development team of the American Heart Association (AHA).   At AHA, she focused on staff development/coaching and volunteer leadership recruitment and development.  She provided strategic direction for fundraising initiatives, cultivated and developed donors and corporate relationships, while executing mission impact and virtual event revenue strategies in rapidly changing giving environments.

Becky is excited to continue her career as Executive Director of the Western and Central PA Chapter of JDRF, bringing her years of experience and passion to the team of staff and volunteers. In her free time, Becky enjoys the outdoors, biking, hiking, cooking, and watching college basketball and the NFL.

Carling Nolan

Development Director

Carling Nolan is the Development Director for the Western and Central PA Chapter. Carling previously served as the Outreach Manager before moving into her current role overseeing corporate development for peer-to-peer fundraising events, and management of the JDRF One Walk, Team JDRF for the Pittsburgh Marathon, Ride to Cure Diabetes, and Community Engagement.

Carling is both professionally and personally connected to the mission; she was diagnosed with T1D at the age of five years old, and has been living with the disease for over 30 years. Carling lives in McCandless with her husband and their three children. She attended The Ohio State University, and is a retired professional golfer on the LPGA.

“I am so proud to be part of the JDRF family, and I am inspired by the thriving T1D community here in Western and Central Pennsylvania every single day. Together, anything is possible!” -Carling

Terry Koontz

Development Director

Terry Koontz joined JDRF in December 2021 as Development Director for the Western and Central PA Chapter, based in Pittsburgh. He joins a passionate staff and volunteer-powered team, dedicated to improving lives today and tomorrow by accelerating life-changing breakthroughs to cure, prevent and treat Type 1 Diabetes and its complications. Terry will play a key role in the design, execution, and supervision of the Chapter’s overall fundraising strategy with primary responsibility for corporate relations, high-impact fundraising event execution, and portfolio-based constituent and donor management.

Most recently, Terry served as Regional Chief Development Officer for the American Red Cross.

He managed a team whose primary focus was securing new and upgraded major gifts to help deliver the Red Cross mission.   He led the creation of both short and long-term plans that were donor focused and tailored to increase funding while achieving strategic goals for the overall organization.  He encourages a participative style with both staff and volunteers with a focus on coaching to achieve positive results.   Terry is excited to bring his experience and collaborative spirit to the strong team of staff and volunteers at JDRF.

Terry enjoys spending time with his wife Alana and his adult son Gage, who lives in Ohio.  He also enjoys playing basketball, biking, antiquing and spending time with extended family and friends.

Kristina Riggans

Development Manager, Community Engagement

Born and raised in New Castle, Pennsylvania, Kristina developed a love for serving her community. After graduating from Union Area High School, she pursued a degree in Musical Theatre and a minor in Communications from Seton Hill University. During her early career, she formed the foundation, and executed all aspects of numerous summer theatre camps, student ambassador programs, and sensory friendly performances at various non-profit arts organizations across the country, including Weston Playhouse Theatre Company and The Smith Center for Performing Arts.

Most recently, she supported and led fundraising initiatives and special events with Cirque du Soleil’s philanthropic arm, One Drop, and Nevada Ballet Theatre. Kristina also served on the Board of Directors as the Director of Development for a startup theatre company, the LABLV, for two years.

After spending nearly five years in the Las Vegas Valley, Kristina followed her heart back home to the Greater Pittsburgh Area to be closer to her family. She is honored to serve on JDRF Staff and bring her wealth of knowledge and passion to an organization whose mission is near and dear to her heart, as her dad has been living with T1D since he was only 9 years old. At the chapter, you will find her leading Community Engagement and Outreach Initiatives, as well as managing the chapter communications and social media platforms.

Kristina currently resides in North Huntingdon with her partner in crime, Zac. In her spare time, she can be found singing, dancing, laughing, knitting, drinking coffee, enjoying pizza, nurturing her indoor vegetable garden, and dreaming of adopting a puppy.

Melissa Fereday

Development Manager

Melissa joined JDRF in late January 2022 as Development Manager for the Western and Central PA Chapter, based in Pittsburgh. She joins a passionate staff and volunteer-powered team, dedicated to improving lives today and tomorrow by accelerating life-changing breakthroughs to cure, prevent and treat Type 1 Diabetes and its complications. Melissa will play a key role in the Chapter’s signature events and the JDRF donor giving cycle.

Melissa is an enthusiastic non-profit professional with excellent skills in people, group & corporate engagement. Over her 25+ years working for various nonprofits she brings direct experience in meeting fundraising goals, successful grantwriting, volunteer and donor engagement, event planning, administration and budget management. She is proud of her dedication and success in leading donors, volunteers, programs, and staff with respect, dignity and lots of creativity.

Melissa enjoys spending time with her husband, 2 teenage sons and their one year old chocolate lab “Moose”. She enjoys time on the beach, skiing in the mountains, anything Disney and spending time with family and friends.

Lee Salsbury

Development Manager, Walk

Lee Salsbury joins JDRF as a Development Manager for the Western and Central PA Chapter, working remotely in the Harrisburg area. Beginning March 2022, he joins a passionate staff and volunteer-powered team, dedicated to improving lives today and tomorrow by accelerating life-changing breakthroughs to cure, prevent and treat Type 1 Diabetes and its complications. Lee will play a key role in the overall execution and revenue-driving strategy for the peer-to-peer fundraising programs including the Harrisburg One Walk and JDRF Ride. Plus, he’ll be supporting Central Pennsylvania’s thriving T1D community through JDRF’s community engagement programs.

Most recently, Lee worked at Kegel’s Produce in Lancaster County for 12 years. He managed the Food Safety Program as well as the company’s processing department. He led the creation of the Food Safety program to becoming SQF certified which is globally recognized as one of the highest levels of food safety. Lee would create daily, weekly, and monthly benchmarks for production and would keep his team of 40 employees on pace to reach those benchmarks. Prior to being promoted to those positions, he was in sales for the same company. His territory was Central PA where he grew the customer base from 100 to over 300 customers in a few years. Customers of Lees ranged from School District, Colleges, Retirement homes, Casinos and any places that would have food service. Lee does feel that the reason for his success in sales was due to him being genuine, caring and willingness to go above and beyond their expectations. He is excited to bring this enthusiasm to the JDRF.

Lees’ ties to the JDRF are his son Will who was diagnosed with T1D 3 years ago at the age of 3. Lee loves being active in the community, cooking and enjoys coaching both of his children’s sports teams.

Lori Smeigh

Development Manager

Lori focuses on corporate and individual donor development and signature events in the Central Pennsylvania market area.

In her most recent role, Lori was a Corporate Support Representative with Penn State University and WPSU Public Media where she worked with corporate donors in raising funds to support WPSU’s NPR/PBS broadcast programming, local content production and sponsorship events. Prior to that, Lori was the Director of Corporate Sponsorships & Events at Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Capital Region where she established and grew corporate and donor relationships and managed the execution of fundraising events in the Harrisburg area. In addition to her experience in fundraising, Lori also has a strong background in advertising and media sales.

Lori is excited to bring her experience and passion to the team of staff and volunteers. In her free time, Lori enjoys spending time with friends and family, reading, and cheering on her favorite sports teams – Penn State Football, North Carolina Tar Heels Basketball, Dallas Cowboys, and Boston Celtics!

Paul Himes

Development Coordinator

Paul Himes joins JDRF as a Development Coordinator for the Western and Central PA Chapter, working remotely in the Harrisburg area. Paul will support, organize, coordinate, and implement a variety of programs and development activities in the Central PA Market.

Paul and his partner Lawrence are recent transplants to the Pennsylvania area from northern California. Along with their two Formosan Mountain Dogs, Molly and Cooper, and their cat, Starlord, they look forward to building a wonderful home and life here.

Most recently, Paul was with the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, DC. Focused mainly on donor prospect management and major donor recognition, he also became a subject-matter expert on the CRM. His time with the museum solidified his desire to continue working in the non-profit world and promoting causes dear to him. He is excited to join a vibrant team and bring this experience and enthusiasm to JDRF.

Megan Carcioppolo

Development Assistant

Megan is located in the Pittsburgh area, and supports chapter operations, development administration, and volunteer management.

Megan began her journey into non-profit organizations during an internship with University Hospital’s Institutional Relations and Development Department. She assisted in event execution and stewardship, donor relations, and department operations. This ignited her passion for helping others, and she is delighted to be a part of such a wonderful team and mission here at JDRF!

Prior to working at JDRF, Megan was a professional ballet dancer in Cleveland, OH. She continues to share her love of ballet by educating and empowering young dancers. In her free time, she enjoys spending time with her family and friends, testing out new baking recipes, and reading!