Saleem Ghubril
Director, The Pittsburgh Promise
2021, 2022, Current
Saleem Ghubril is the Executive Director of The Pittsburgh Promise and a passionate advocate for the City of Pittsburgh. An ordained Presbyterian minister, he has devoted his life to serving the people of his community through outreach and education programs. From 1985 – 2008, Saleem founded and led The Pittsburgh Project, a community development organization that provides free home renovations to hundreds of vulnerable seniors each year, and also mentors, educates, and deploys thousands of youth in meaningful volunteer community service. In 2008, Ghubril assumed the leadership of The Pittsburgh Promise, which works for a future where all urban youth are equipped to reach post-secondary success, all public schools serve all children excellently, Pittsburgh is flourishing in all its neighborhoods, and our workforce is widely diverse and highly skilled to advance a region that is good and just for all. In the last 10 years, The Pittsburgh Promise has sent more than 8,800 urban youth to college and provided them with over $134 million in scholarships.
Ghubril is the volunteer pastor of Mosaic Community Church in Pittsburgh. He also serves on the boards of The Buhl Foundation, Vibrant Pittsburgh, and the World Affairs Council of Pittsburgh.
The Summit was more than empty words – it made clear that a solution-driven approach is the only way to fight hate. That’s why the working group activities, which are results driven are going to be critical in defeating violent extremism. The Summit brought together the best minds in government, private sector, academia, and civil society. Being surrounded by these experts sparked new ideas – some of which I’ve already implemented or have written about.
