Michelle Naccarati-Chapkis was born and raised in Allegheny County. As executive director of a regional nonprofit, Michelle has spent the last 12 years providing educational programming and technical assistance that focuses on environmental health and addresses the myriad of social determinants of health. Her emphasis is working with and in environmental justice communities. Michelle has used this expertise to work closely with several Allegheny County departments. Prior to that role, she worked for 14 years for a regional land trust acquiring properties for the protection of the environment and the public’s benefit, including additions to North Park and South Park. Michelle is married to David Chapkis and they have three children: Sofia, Dominic and Julia. She was part of the first graduating class at Woodland Hills High School and received her bachelor’s degree from the University of Pittsburgh, as well as attended Leadership Pittsburgh. Michelle has lived in Plum Borough since 1999 and participated on the borough’s comprehensive planning and zoning ordinance committees. She currently gives back to her community by serving on the Plum Zoning Hearing Board.

Theresa has lived in Pittsburgh nearly her entire life and raised her three children here. As her children grew, so did her civic engagements. Theresa became involved with and worked at a host of nonprofit organizations such as the Pittsburgh Public Schools, The Neighborhood Learning Alliance, and many local athletic associations and community groups. She has nearly three decades of experience in volunteerism. Through her extensive volunteering, Theresa gained a vast amount of knowledge of the neighborhoods in the City of Pittsburgh and its residents. She is currently a board member of the Pittsburgh Land Bank and Bishop Canevin High School as well as a member of the Allegheny County Democratic Committee.

As a member of Council, Theresa is dedicated to everyday quality of life issues. Since being elected in 2009, she continuously worked on the social service, development, and environmental needs of District 2.

Theresa comes from a very large family and currently resides in the Westwood section of District 2. She raised three wonderful children and enjoys spending quality time with her seven grandchildren.

Erika started her career as an environmental advocate, fighting for clean water and healthy air. Working in environmental advocacy for nine years, Erika organized and empowered communities to stand up to big corporations and demand clean air, clean water, clean energy, and climate justice. For the past seven years, she has proudly served East End residents, first as District 8 Chief of Staff, and now as a Council Member. She is running for re-election to ensure that what she has accomplished thus far is only the beginning.

Since being sworn in on City Council in 2018, Erika passed legislation to guard against employment discrimination for pregnant workers and their partners throughout Pittsburgh; led the charge to overhaul and modernize Pittsburgh’s waste and recycling code; passed policies to prevent against discrimination based on gender identity and expression, as well as citizenship status and language spoken. As the Council Member representing part of Squirrel Hill, Erika was immediately impacted by the October 27, 2018 synagogue shooting. In response, she helped lead the way on a package of gun sense ordinances and an increase in funding for the City’s violence prevention initiatives. She has been an outspoken advocate for environmental justice, gender equity, communities that welcome and work for everyone, safe, complete streets, and an open, transparent, and responsive government, and is passionate about offering new ways for all city residents to be informed & involved in city government.

Erika also serves as Vice-Chair of the Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority and sits on the boards of the Carnegie Libraries of Pittsburgh, the Carnegie Museums, PennEnvironment Research & Policy Center, and the Advisory Committee of the National Council of Jewish Women’s Center for Women. She is also a member of NewDEAL Leaders, a national organization of local and state leaders. She lives in Squirrel Hill with her husband, Jordan and their son, Evan.

Kevin M. Kraus was appointed to Chief Deputy of the Allegheny County Sheriff’s Office on June 5, 2014 by Sheriff William P. Mullen where he continues to serve today.

As Chief Deputy, Kevin is second in command at the Sheriff’s Office and tirelessly oversees and manages the daily operations of 169 sworn and 34 civilian personnel within the Civil, Courts and Investigations divisions.

Back in March of 1993, Kevin became a police officer with the respected Pittsburgh Bureau of Police. He served the City of Pittsburgh for 21 esteemed years and worked through the ranks of Detective, Sergeant and Lieutenant. For 12 years, he served as Lieutenant of Major Crimes, Investigations Branch, responding to and overseeing the criminal and administrative investigations of all police-involved incidents entailing serious injury or death to any party, responding to homicide and major crime scenes and managing those investigations while commanding a staff of 9 supervisors and 100 detectives within the 12 divisions of Major Crimes. He was also entrusted to serve as the Interim Commander of the Zone 5 station, which is the city’s most active police district.

He may be recognized by most for his 11 years serving as the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police media spokesperson and the coordinator of the Allegheny County Crime Stoppers of Pennsylvania television program.

He also received numerous acclamations and was the recipient of the prestigious Pittsburgh Bureau of Police Officer of the Year award for leadership performance, as well as the agency’s Meritorious Service Award for his effective implementation of crime suppression strategies. He also received the Law Enforcement Agency Directors award for outstanding leadership performance.

Chief Kraus is an alumnus of La Roche College, where he graduated summa cum laude with a bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice and a degree in Administration and Management. He is also a graduate of the F.B.I. National Academy and completed police executive training at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, both of which are only offered to selected top law enforcement officials.

Chief Kraus is a member of the FBI National Academy Associates, Inc. (FBINAA), Greater Pittsburgh Police Emerald Society, North Hills Boroughs & Townships Police Association, Middle Atlantic-Great Lakes Organized Crime Law Enforcement Network (MAGLOCLEN), Western PA Chiefs’ of Police Association, International Association of Chiefs’ of Police (IACP), Pennsylvania Sheriffs’ Association (PSA) and has been a 23-year resident of the Northside. He and his significant other live just north of the City of Pittsburgh in Ohio Township with their two dogs, Bagel & Karley.

Key Accomplishments include:

Spearheaded drive-thru mobile Firearms License to Carry events and launched the reopening of the Firearms Division with online appointment scheduling and dedicated Deputy Sheriff’s to safeguard health and safety procedures during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Coordinated with local communities throughout Allegheny County to promote the Sheriff’s Office Project D.U.M.P initiative to help curb the local drug overdose crisis and combat the opioid epidemic.
Strengthened the public’s awareness of Sheriff’s Office crime prevention initiatives and programs using our website, social media platforms and television interviews to expand our law enforcement mission and keep citizens apprised especially when wide scale health and economic futures hung in the balance.

Directed with the Sheriff’s Office Policy Review Committee to implement progressive policies and procedures to maintain Pennsylvania Law Enforcement Accreditation Program (PLEAC).

Endorsed leading-edge technology to align with the Sheriff’s Office commitment to provide the highest degree of public service expressly in response to recent events and the demand of transparency while protecting our law enforcement officers who put their lives on the line every day.

Partnered with federal enforcement agencies and participated in Federal Task Force enterprises on fugitive apprehension, terrorism, human trafficking, narcotic trafficking and other violent progressions.

Served Allegheny County residents by working with community partners and mobilizing resources through food, school supplies, clothing and toy donation and distribution as well as coronavirus prevention and safety literature for over 10,000 senior citizens.

Meet President of County Council, Pat Catena –

Council President Catena has strong academic and work experience along with the the results to show it. His professionalism,creative vision, persistence and self-motivation show in his strong leadership skills. Being recognized by his peers to lead County Council in his 1st term and one of the youngest members to serve as President. President Catena has served many years working his way up through his career in Finance. In his professional advancement, he has created a foundation in analytics and Revenue Cycle Management to improve operations and all facets of the business from sales, regulatory compliance audits, and finance to meeting or exceeding operating results and income. His business experience is an asset to the community of Carnegie and across Allegheny County in District 4.

Memberships/Affiliations

Member Jail Oversight Board
Former Member Allegheny County Conservation District
Board Member Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh
Former Carnegie Borough President
Former Member of Carnegie Borough Finance/Budget Committee Chair
Former Chair of Carnegie Democratic Committee
Former Secretary and Former Vice President of Char West Council of Governments
Member of Sts. Simon and Jude Parish, Scott Township
Former Board Member of Andrew Carnegie Free Library and Music Hall
Supporter of the Steel City Vets, Knights of Columbus and the Light of Life Mission
Former Member of the Carnegie Historical Society, Board Member
Former Treasurer/Organizer for the Carnegie Arts and Heritage Festival

I am in my second term as a Ross Township commissioner. My tenure on the Board of Commissioners has given me a fuller understanding of the issues facing our local communities, and what it will take to address them. As a member of the Board, I serve on the Public Safety and the Finance Committees. Also, I serve as the Ross Township representative on CONNECT and the North Hills Council of Governments (NHCOG). In addition, I am a Director for the Allegheny County and Western Pennsylvania Association of Township Commissioners (AC&WPATC). Prior to being elected commissioner, I served as a member of the Zoning Hearing Board.

I am currently retired, after a 34-year career, from the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland. In my professional life, I was trained as a project manager and worked extensively in payments processing. I received my MBA and my BSBA with a concentration in Computer Information Systems from Robert Morris University.