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Below is a listing of the dedicated staff at NEED, followed by a listing of our Board of Trustees.
Sylvester Pace, President and CEO
With academic excellence as the foundation for his services, Sylvester Pace continues to pursue educational
opportunities and options for African-American students. His passion for education and the need to help reform the processes for all students
seeking financial assistance - to alleviate exorbitant college expenses - is the cornerstone of his dedication. As a former NEED recipient, Sylvester
recognized first-hand that academic achievement was the fundamental criterion for students to reach their potential.
Sylvester joined NEED in 2000 and has been instrumental in transforming NEED into a
nationally recognized program. For eight years, he has spearheaded its annual operations and, simultaneously, has undertaken the Endowment Campaign,
raising over $12 million dollars. He has broadened and expanded NEED’s innovative programs to include mentoring, college advisement and community
advocacy as well as the hallmark Unmet Need Scholarship program.
Sylvester is committed to the spirit of a learning environment with his service on educational and community boards. His board and advisory
committee involvement includes: A+ Schools; the Pennsylvania ACT State Advisory Council; The Center for Family Excellence; California University of
Pennsylvania’s President’s Advisory Board; Program to Aid Citizen Enterprise Advisory Board; Spiritan Division of Academic Programs at Duquesne University;
Technology Leadership Institute; Diversity Advisory Board for the School of Engineering at the University of Pittsburgh; and West Penn Minority Junior Golf
Association. For the past twenty years, he has coordinated and conducted annual HBCU tours, such as the Mary Lou Stone Black College Spring Tour,
Omega Psi Phi Fraternity and NEED’s annual tour for prospective students. He attributes the success of the Omega and NEED’s annual HCBU tours to the
late Dr. Mary Lou Stone, founder of the Black College Spring Tour.
He received his undergraduate degree from Cheyney University and earned a Master’s in Counselor Education and a Certificate in Marketing from
the University of Pittsburgh. He is a graduate of Leadership Pittsburgh Class VIII and an educational advocate for public policy through the
Institute for Community Leadership in Education. He currently is a candidate for the Interdisciplinary Doctoral Program for Educational Leaders
at Duquesne University.
Virginia Montanez, Director of Marketing and Communications
Virginia joined NEED in 2003 in the new position of Director of Marketing and Communications. Her role at NEED is to ensure the organization's rich history and worthy mission are adequately and accurately dispersed throughout the region to the communities, foundations, media, supporters, and other stakeholders. Prior to joining NEED, she served as the communications director for another local nonprofit, the Minority Enterprise Corporation, for three years. In addition, she was employed by PNC Bank for three years as a market development analyst. Virginia holds a Bachelor's Degree in Business Administration.
Arlene Tyler Holland, Information Systems Manager
Arlene's face and name have been associated with NEED for over 30 years now. She was a NEED recipient in 1973 and joined the staff of NEED as a student employee. She became a full time employee in 1975. Thirty years and many duties later, she is still dedicated to the students that apply to NEED for assistance in furthering their education. As the student services coordinator, Arlene's duties are many, including counseling students in matters of application and financial aid paperwork, visiting various schools in the region to discuss college and how NEED can help, maintaining the NEED student database, tracking all grants and their recipients, assisting in providing financial aid workshops, and generally being the contact person at NEED for the almost 1,700 students that contact the organization each year. She has an Associate's in Science from Community College of Allegheny County. Arlene is Secretary/Treasurer for FAMS (Financial And Moral Supporters), a charitable organization providing support and encouragement to the youth of Allegheny County. Arlene resides in Homewood, where she grew up, the oldest of eight children.
Gloria Brown, Controller
Gloria Brown is an independent consultant providing services to NEED in the area of fiscal management. In addition to servicing NEED almost 20 hours per week, she has a wide client base that counts on her skills in accounting and fiscal management to ensure smooth operations. She has a Master's Degree in Public Policy and Management from the University of Pittsburgh and makes her home in Monroeville with husband Archie. They are the parents of two grown daughters.
Terri Snoe, Workforce Diversity Coordinator
Terri joined NEED in 2007 as event coordinator for the 44th Annual NEED Benefit Dinner and remained with NEED to manage the Workforce Diversity Internship Program. Her role at NEED is to form strategic partnerships with local companies in order to ensure internship opportunities for students. Prior to joining NEED, she ran her own special events company (by utilizing interns from local Universities) and specialized in non-profit fundraising and product promotional events. In addition she served as program administrator for the University of Pittsburgh Institute for Entrepreneurial Excellence. She also served as Human Resources Generalist at WQED Multimedia, where she also managed an internship program. A single mother of two, Terri holds a Certificate in Business Management, an Associates Degree in Marketing, and is currently pursuing further education.
NEED Board of Directors
Following are the board members that make up the NEED organization. We would like to thank all of these individuals for their hard work and dedication in making the NEED scholarships and grants possible.

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