About

Mission statement
“The mission of Pittsburgh Community Services, Inc. is to address the causes of poverty and to diminish its effects through the development, implementation, sponsorship, and support of programs and activities designed to enable and empower low-income residents of the City of Pittsburgh to make measurable progress on the continuum from impoverishment to self-sufficiency.”

PCSI’s Executive Director

Cecelia Jenkins has served as the Executive Director of Pittsburgh Community Services, Inc. since September, 2002.  Prior to her present post, Ms. Jenkins served as the Assistant Dean of Educational Services for the Community College of Allegheny County, Allegheny Campus, where she created the Allegheny Campus Learning Center, and developed a 'model' Act 101 Program, designed to assist at-risk and underprepared college students.  She retired from the college to assume a principal role as owner and operator of the Georgia P. Carroll Moving Company, before assuming the leadership role with PCSI.

Ms. Jenkins has received numerous awards and recognitions during her professional career and has served in numerous consulting capacities.  Her awards and citation have included Outstanding Young Woman of America; Pittsburgh Black Achiever; Minority Public Administrator for Educational Excellence; the Act 101 Distinguished Service Award; the 2006 KDKA Lift Up Award; the Community Empowerment Award from the Henry Highland Garnet Society; and a Community Leadership Award bestowed by Talk Magazine in 2008.

Ms. Jenkins presently serves on the board of the Community Action Association of Pennsylvania and is also a member of the Hill District's First Source Advisory Board.  She is a member of the Diversity Committee of the Community College of Allegheny County.

Jenkins earned a master of Public Administration Degree from the University of Pittsburgh's Graduate School of Public and International Affairs (GSPIA) along with certifications from Carnegie Mellon University and Florida Atlantic University in college management and long-range planning, respectively.  She graduated from Tennessee State University with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Administration with a minor in Accounting.

Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to the union of Perzealia Holmes Byrd and the late Reverend William T. Byrd, Jr., Cecelia was a pioneer recipient of the first polio vaccines administered to students in Louisville, Kentucky. She was among the first groups of students to integrate the Louisville public schools and at an early age joined the civil rights movement to desegregate lunch counters, where she demonstrated and marched with the renowned Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr.

Cecelia Jenkins is definitely no stranger to diligence, determination, and hard work and continues to assume the responsibilities of a true role model and leader of the Pittsburgh Community.