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Louise Cavanaugh Sciannameo

  • Associate Provost for Strategic Communications

Key Areas

Executive communications • crisis communications • marketing • multimedia initiatives • digital strategies • community outreach • institutional communications • public art • University of Pittsburgh Press

Professional Biography

As Associate Provost for Strategic Communications, Louise Cavanaugh Sciannameo leads and advises on communication strategies and initiatives for the Office of the Provost and affiliated areas. She serves as co-chair of the University's Public Art Committee and as the Provost's liaison to the University of Pittsburgh Press.

With more than 25 years of professional experience leading communications/marketing and creative teams in both for-profit and non-profit organizations, she served the University of Pittsburgh in several communications roles from 1998 through 2004. From 2012 to 2017, she served as Vice President of Public Affairs at the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra. Prior to that appointment, she led Carlow University’s Communications, Community Relations, Government Relations, and Campus Safety efforts for nearly a decade. As well, she served as Executive Director of Executive Communications, in addition to other communication leadership roles at the University of Pittsburgh.

An award-winning communicator, Sciannameo's work has received top recognition from the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education (CASE), the International Association of Business Communicators, the Telly Awards, MarCom, the Public Relations Society of America, and the Association for Women in Communications.

A 2011 graduate of the Harvard Kennedy School’s ‘Crisis Leadership in Higher Education’ program, she also holds the Advanced Certificate in Strategic HR Management from Cornell University’s School of Industrial and Labor Relations and the Executive Certification in Negotiation from the University of Notre Dame's Mendoza College of Business.

Sciannameo serves as a member of the board of directors of the Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy (Marketing and Communications Committee) and as a board member of Familylinks (Governance Committee, Outreach and Development Committee) as well as the Oakland Transportation Management Association. She is also a member of the Oakland Business Improvement District's Innovation Oakland Committee, as well as the Association of Fundraising Professionals - Pittsburgh Chapter.

Recent Presentations

  • League of American Orchestras, Marketing Roundtable, New York, NY, 2016
  • International Association of Business Communicators: “What the C-Suite Needs and Expects from Communicators,” Pittsburgh, PA, 2015
  • Public Media Development and Marketing Conference: “Keeping Up with the Customers,” Pittsburgh, PA, 2011

Education & Training

  • MA, Chatham University
  • BA in English, magna cum laude, John Carroll University
  • Executive Certificate in Negotiation, University of Notre Dame - Mendoza College of Business
  • Advanced Certificate in Strategic HR Management, Cornell University
  • Certificate, Crisis Leadership in Higher Education, Harvard University Kennedy School of Government
  • Social Media in Emergency Management, Emergency Management Institute
  • NIMS Communications and Information Management, Emergency Management Institute
  • Managing Critical Incidents for Higher Education Institutions: A Multi-Disciplinary, Community Approach, The U.S. Department of Homeland Security and International Association of Campus Law Enforcement Administrators
  • Introduction to Incident Command System for Higher Education, Emergency Management Institute
  • The Active Shooter: Keeping Our Campuses Safe, Federal Bureau of Investigation (Pittsburgh Division) and Robert Morris University
  • National Incident Management System (NIMS): An Introduction, Emergency Management Institute
  • National Incident Management System: Public Information System, Emergency Management Institute

Representative Publications

  • The Viola Hub, Performative Musicology Papers, 2020
  • "Camilla Wicks: a virtuoso speaks about ambition, expectations, sacrifice, and balance," The Strad, Dec. 1, 2020
  • State of the Symphony Report, Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, 2014
  • "A Conversation with Franco Gulli," The Violexchange, Vol. 2, No. 1
  • "An Uncompromising Commitment: Iona Brown," The Violexchange, Vol. 2, No. 1
  • "Chamber Music Inspired by the Poetry of Wallace Stevens," The Violexchange, Vol. 3, No. 4
  • "Heinrich Schiff: A European Cellist on an American Tour," The Violexchange, Vol, 1, No. 4
  • "Dmitry Sitkovetsky: Violinist," The Violexchange, Vol. 2, No. 3
  • "Eugene Ysaye and the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra," The Violexchange, Vol. 1, No. 1
  • "Four of a Kind: The Kronos Quartet," The Violexchange, Vol. 2, No. 4
  • "Franco Petracchi in Cremona: On Doublebass Repertoire and How He Teaches It," The Violexchange, Vol. 2, No. 3
  • "Great Violin Dealers of the World: Jacques Francais," The Violexchange, Vol. 1, No. 3
  • "Kim Kashkashian: Violist," The Violexchange, Vol. 3, No. 1
  • "Profound Simplicity," The Violexchange, Vol. 4, No. 1
  • "Salvatore Accardo: An Exclusive Interview," The Violexchange, Vol. 1, No. 3
  • "The Manhattan String Quartet: Speaking of Twentieth-Century Repertoire," The Violexchange, Vol. 3, No. 3

Awards

  • Community Leadership Award for Outstanding Service, Community Human Services, 2011
  • 3 Telly Awards, 2006
  • 31 IABC Awards, International Association of Business Communicators
  • 3 APEX Awards for Publication Excellence
  • 8 MarCom Awards, Association of Marketing and Communication Professionals