Penn Hills man heads Hill House
Evan Frazier already has taken on a full workload, and he won't even start his new job for another two weeks.
Frazier, 33, of Penn Hills, said it has been his lifelong ambition to be the chief executive of a business or a nonprofit agency, and soon he will have the chance as the new executive director of the Hill House.
Now everyone is watching how a man with an extensive business background, but scant experience in the social service sector, will lead the Hill House, a leading private, nonprofit agency in the Hill District.
Under the stewardship of Jim Henry, Frazier's predecessor, Hill House emerged as a catalyst to bring in more social service programs for low-income families in the Hill District.
Henry, who was revered by residents throughout the Hill, died in July. The agency was renamed on Sunday as the James F. Henry Hill House Center.
"I hope (Frazier) is true to his commitment and helps revitalize the Hill District," said Carolyn Howard, executive director of Churches and Clergy United, a service collaborative that works with the Hill House. "It's some shoes to step in. He better get his boots laced up."
So far, Frazier has been treading lightly. Two framed mottos, extolling the virtues of teamwork, will remain on the wall just where Henry had left them.
Said Frazier: "You need a strong governing philosophy to allow an organization to prevail and be successful."
Sandra Phillips, chairwoman of the Hill House board, said Frazier distinguishes himself as a leader by paying attention to details while not losing sight of the big picture.
Ernie Dettore has served with Frazier on the board of Shady Lane School in Point Breeze for four years.
Dettore, chairman of the private school's board, said Frazier asked board members to scrutinize every line item of the school's budget. Frazier, a Shady Lane graduate who also sent two of his children there, played a key role in shaping the school's mission and ensuring that it was strongly marketed in an increasingly competitive climate, Dettore said.
After graduating from Cornell University's School of Hotel Administration with a bachelor's degree in organizational management in 1992, Frazier held various management posts during six years with Eat'n Park. He also earned a master's degree in marketing and planning from Carnegie Mellon University's Heinz School of Public Policy.
After completing a Henry Luce Foundation fellowship in Southeast Asia in 1999, Frazier took his first job with a nonprofit -- Manchester Bidwell Corp., a major job-training organization on the North Side. In 2001, he joined PNC Bank as a vice president and worked there until early November.
Frazier said he always has the community at heart. He has served on the boards of various medical and educational institutions.
Frazier recalled an upbringing steeped in civic duty. His mother, Brenda, now an Allegheny County councilwoman, often brought along young Frazier to local activists' meetings and rallies in Washington, D.C.
Leaving the business world for Hill House, Frazier said, was a move that "didn't stray from my professional vision."
When asked about his greatest success, Frazier cited his role in establishing a professional society for minority students aspiring to careers in the hospitality industry. Together with three other Cornell classmates, he built the National Society of Minorities in Hospitality, which now has more than 50 chapters worldwide.
One disappointment came at Manchester Bidwell. One top official there remembers that Frazier was hired on his restaurant experience to turn around Manchester Bidwell's 10-year-old food service training operation. His job was to get trainees into more restaurant outlets. Frazier couldn't make the expansion profitable, but he said he learned from the experience.
"He came in, got with us, and learned how a nonprofit works and how to keep it growing," said Jesse Fife, chief operating officer of Manchester Bidwell. "It's more a learning curve to send him to the future."
Taking the helm of Hill House gives Frazier a chance to give back to the neighborhood where his father was raised. Andrew Frazier Sr., 72, lived in the Hill until the 1950s and remains active there. This summer, Evan Frazier, raised in the East End, said he retraced his father's footsteps to learn the Hill's history through his eyes.
Henry had promised to help guide the transition of his successor. But he died three weeks before his retirement party.
"(My) role is evermore important right now," said Frazier. "There is a greater sense of responsibility."
Additional Information:
The Frazier file
Name: Evan Frazier
Age: 33
Family: Wife, Holly Hatcher-Frazier; three children, Evan Jr., Nia and William
Residence: Penn Hills
Employment: To become Hill House's executive director on Dec. 10
Education: Bachelor's degree from Cornell University, 1992; master's degree from Carnegie Mellon University's Heinz School of Public Policy, 1997
