Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission
Faith Collins serves as the Community Capacity Coordinator at Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission since October 2020, providing technical assistance for ARC and EDA grants across nine counties. Previously, as Manager of Government Contract Technical Assistance at APEX Accelerator, Faith assisted over 270 businesses with government contracting, leading to substantial funding awards. Additional experience includes program development management at The Challenge Program, Inc., oversight of ride-hailing initiatives at Travelers Aid of Pittsburgh, and casework at Three Rivers Adoption Council. Faith's background also includes roles with AmeriCorps, the Allegheny County Democratic Committee, and various community service initiatives. Academic credentials include a BA in Anthropology and Social Work from the University of Pittsburgh, complemented by an exchange program at the University of Sussex.
Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission
The Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission (SPC) is the cooperative forum for regional collaboration, planning, and public decision-making. The Commission develops plans and programs for public investments; fulfills federal and state requirements for transportation, economic development, and local government assistance programs. As the Metropolitan Planning Organization for transportation planning, SPC works closely with its transportation planning partners and PennDOT to produce and implement the region's transportation vision, long range plan and ongoing transportation improvement programs. SPC is designated by Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) as the region's Local Development District and by the U.S. Department of Commerce, Economic Development Administration (EDA) as the region's Economic Development District. SPC also works with partner organizations throughout the counties of Southwestern Pennsylvania to deliver coordinated economic development services including loan programs, government procurement assistance and export assistance for companies looking to expand their business.