Esther Bush

Since 1994, under Esther L. Bush’s leadership as President & CEO, the Urban League of Greater Pittsburgh has ranked as a top performing affiliate three times in succession. In February 2013, Ms. Bush was among ten Americans recognized at the White House as a Champion of Change in educational excellence for African Americans.  She was appointed by Governors to serve on the: Pennsylvania State Board of Education, PA Commission for Crime and Delinquency, Law Enforcement and Community Relations Task Force, the Commission on Academic Standards, and the Voting Modernization Task Force.  She is the founder of the Urban League of Greater Pittsburgh Charter School.

Ms. Bush graduated from Morgan State (BS) and Johns Hopkins (MS) Universities.  She received Honorary Doctorates from the University of Hartford, Carlow College, and Allegheny College.  Her career includes working as a high school teacher, college administrator and corporate consultant.  She has progressed in leadership since joining the Urban League movement in 1980, from Assistant Director, Labor Education Advancement Program for the National Urban League, to Borough Director of both the Staten Island and Manhattan Branches of the New York Urban League, to President of the Urban League of Greater Hartford before returning to her hometown.  She is the first female to serve in each of her last four positions.