The New Pittsburgh Courier has learned that Olga George, longtime KDKA-TV assignment desk editor and producer, and longtime influential member of the Pittsburgh Black Media Federation, was named press secretary for Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey. The announcement was made, May 18.
“I’m pleased to have Olga as part of my growing communications team to provide us with more opportunities to respond to residents,” said Mayor Gainey. “She brings a wealth of professional experience to the role, and I am certain that she will help us make Pittsburgh a city for all of us.”
George will serve as the primary media liaison and spokeswoman for Mayor Gainey. She has more than 30 years of media experience.
George was born and raised on the island of St. Croix in the U.S. Virgin Islands and is a graduate of Point Park University where she studied Journalism and Communications. She is currently the Vice President of the Pittsburgh Black Media Federation, Vice President of the Western Pennsylvania Press Club, and a member of the National Association of Black Journalists. She also serves on the Board of Directors for the Historic Fairview Park and is a volunteer with the New Horizon Theater.
“I hope my addition to the mayor’s communications team has a positive impact on the community and the people I work with and serve,” George said in a statement. “I look forward to getting to work and help making Pittsburgh the safest, most welcoming city in America.”
George is the daughter of Charles (deceased) and Sylvia George of Rattan, St. Croix. She has a sister and two brothers. George currently lives in Squirrel Hill.
OLGA GEORGE
“On behalf of the Executive Board of the Dr. Edna B. McKenzie Branch, Association for the Study of African American Life and History, I extend to you my deepest, most sincere congratulations on your appointment as press secretary to the City of Pittsburgh’s first African American Mayor, Ed Gainey,” said Ronald Saunders, president of the Dr. Edna B. McKenzie Branch of ASALH, in a statement provided to the Courier. “I am quite confident that Mayor Gainey will find you to be a most valuable asset and confidant as he navigates the rigors of the demanding job as Mayor of Pennsylvania’s second largest city.”
Saunders added: “You have been an outstanding role model for our young people volunteering in many diverse venues and giving back to your community in so many positive ways.”
Chris Moore, longtime media personality in Pittsburgh with KDKA Radio, Pittsburgh Cable News Channel and formerly with WQED-TV, worked with George as co-directors of the Pittsburgh Black Media Federation’s Frank Bolden Urban Journalism Workshop. “I’m very proud of her and I’ve seen her grow over the years,” Moore told the Courier. “She deserves it, and I think she will do well.”
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