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On Thursday, April 11, Allies for Health + Wellbeing, formerly the Pittsburgh AIDS Task Force, is marking 40 years of service in 2025 with a birthday bash, celebrating the 2025 Bright Young People.
Mary Beth Wyko, Marketing and Communications Manager, said, “We started honoring Bright Young People at our 2022 gala. We had a Roaring 20s theme [Allies Ball and the Free for All] and wanted to honor young people who were doing work in their community.”
Bright Young People or Bright Young Things is a term the tabloids gave to a group of young Bohemian aristocrats and socialites in London during the Roaring 20s. Allies for Health + Wellbeing brought the title back, added a positive spin, and continued to honor Bright Young People in subsequent years following the 2022 gala.
Wyko added, “We wanted to use our platform to bring attention to the good work that goes unseen and bring attention to the work our Bright Young People are doing.”
The organization will honor people who are making a real and tangible difference in our community and working toward a bright future, particularly in the realm of diversity, equity, and inclusion. The Bright Young People honorees are making their mark through their art, their careers, and their activism.
- Morgan Lee Egnot (they/them/theirs), MD/PhD student at the University of Pittsburgh
- Curtis Hanner Jr. (he/him/his), community health manager, Allies for Health + Wellbeing
- Ambrielle Hill-Vietmeier (she/her/hers), operations manager, The QMNTY Center
- Lauren Leiggi (she/her/hers), attorney, Allegheny County Public Defender
- Sherry Libertucci (she/her/hers), musician / community organizer
- Julian McClain (he/him/his), outreach and partnerships director / True T EDU: program manager, True T Pittsburgh
- Aisling McIntyre, LCSW (they/theirs), UPMC Center for Social Impact
- Luca Routh (he/him/his), physician assistant
- Kaylin Troiano (she/her/hers/they/them/theirs), digital organizer, Queer Pittsburgh
- Andrea Yarkony (she/her/hers), medical student, University of Pittsburgh
“It is a pleasure and an honor to recognize the Bright Young People each year, and we are impressed by the scope of work these young people are doing to make our community a better place,” said Mary Bockovich, CEO of Allies for Health + Wellbeing.
Bockovich added, “We’re also looking forward to many more years of service, and the Bright Young People are examples of what the future can be. The continued support of our partners allows us to serve those who are living with or at risk of HIV, hepatitis C and other sexually transmitted infections, and it gives us the opportunity to use our platform to amplify the voices and the work of the Bright Young cohort People,”
Bockovich said. “We are grateful for their generosity.”
Allies for Health + Wellbeing began as a volunteer organization, Pittsburgh AIDS Taskforce with Kerry Stoner and a small group of volunteers in 1985 to provide critical support services for people living with AIDS. In 2017, the organization opened their medical clinic and rebranded as Allies for Health + Wellbeing to reflect their expanded mission of serving all those in need of inclusive care, not just people living with HIV
Bright Young People honoree Julian McClain wears many hats. He is on City of Pittsburgh’s LGBTQIA Commission, and the Mayor’s Gender Equity Commission, and the President of the Open Door and the president of the Urban League Young Professionals. He is also the True T Pgh’s Program Manager. McClain said, “Receiving the Bright Young People Award from Allies for Health + Wellbeing is a truly humbling experience. I am inspired by the remarkable individuals who have come before me, and I am committed to continuing the legacy of excellence and dedication.”
McClain thanked the organization for the incredible honor. He added, “My long-standing commitment to HIV prevention has shaped my career and my passion for making a difference in the lives of others.”
Public Defender Lauren Leiggi, another honoree, said, “I am honored to be an honoree as a Bright Young People! Allies for Health + Wellbeing is an outstanding organization that helps – what I considered to be – some of the most marginalized and stigmatized clients in the criminal legal system. My LGBTQ+ clients are often forgotten and not seen by the legal system until they become a statistic. I feel privileged every day to be able to defend my client’s rights. Also, if you told sixteen-year-old, just out of the closet, me that one day I would be honored as a Bright Young People in the city I’m living in, I wouldn’t believe it! Being the out and proud adult that I needed to see as a child brings me joy and is one of the many driving factors that keeps my passion for community advocacy going.”
The Bright Young People will be recognized at the 40th Birthday Party on Friday, April 11 at the Roxian Theatre.
Wyko said, “We are known for throwing over-the-top parties, and we are marking this important milestone of forty years of service.”
Sherry Libertucci, another Bright Young People honoree, will be performing at the event with her Pittsburgh transgender band, Sherry CD-ROM.
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