Esther L. Bush - President & CEO Esther L. Bush is President and CEO of the Urban League of Greater Pittsburgh with a $6.5 million budget. The League’s 67-member staff implements more than 29 programs serving 36,000 people. Since moving back to her hometown in 1994, Ms. Bush’s leadership and drive have been responsible for bringing the affiliate into the black. Ms. Bush is the first woman to have held directorships in the Staten Island and Manhattan branches of the New York Urban League. She was the first woman to hold the presidency of the Greater Hartford and Pittsburgh affiliates. During her  tenure with the Urban League of Greater Pittsburgh, Ms. Bush has initiated programs for home ownership, youth development, and adult professional development. She has published three books, two African American Directories, and a series of research papers on issues facing the African American community beginning with the Black Papers on Health. She initiated the first Charter School in Pittsburgh, which operates with an additional two million dollar budget. The Charter School has a staff of 29 who have energized 187 elementary students to realize that achievement does matter. She serves on more than a dozen boards in Pittsburgh, was appointed to four State commissions by three governors, and was named a “Distinguished Daughter of Pennsylvania” in 2002. Ms. Bush has spoken nationally, and internationally on Black issues in forums where a difference can be made. During the creation of a new county government, she represented African American interests in both Democratic and Republican committees. In these positions as well as hosting her own bi-monthly radio show (Urban Reality on WAMO AM 860), Ms. Bush became a respected voice advocating diversity, equal opportunity, and justice. In 1997, the University of Hartford presented Ms. Bush with an honorary Doctorate in Law degree. She received her bachelor’s degree at Morgan State College and her Master’s at The Johns Hopkins University. She believes that one person can make a difference.