Alaina Gilchrist

A Valley native and graduate of Niles McKinley High School, Alaina Gilchrist attended Eastern University in St. Davids, Pennsylvania where she majored in Communications and Political Science. Upon graduating in May 2009, Alaina returned to the Valley and began interning for the Mahoning Valley Organizing Collaborative where she eventually obtained a fellowship.

Alaina is currently working on building a coalition to pass the Community Regeneration, Sustainability, and Innovation Act of 2009 (CRSI), a piece of legislation that would create a competitive grant program within the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development that would provide older industrial cities with resources to reclaim their vacant properties. One of the overarching goals of this effort is to push for a national older industrial cities policy agenda that would ensure areas such as the Mahoning Valley become part of the national dialogue so that the federal government understands our unique circumstances.  In addition, she is coordinating the Regional Network, a joint effort between the cities of Pittsburgh, Cleveland and Youngstown to exchange best practices that can be used to combat the cities’ shared challenges.