1. 2015
The Women Who Make
a Difference Award
MAURITA BRYANT
ASSISTANT CHIEF AT PITTSBURGH BUREAU OF POLICE
& Zonta’s 81 st
Birthday
The Rivers Club
One Oxford Center
Pittsburgh, PA
Presented by

2. Welcome
The Zonta Club of Pittsburgh would like to welcome you and say thank
you for joining us in honoring
Assistant Chief Maurita J. Bryant,
a 34 year veteran of the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police
and our 2015 Women Who Make A Difference Awardee.
Zonta International envisions a world in which women’s rights are
recognized as human rights and every woman is able to achieve her full
potential. In such a world, women have access to all resources and are
represented in decision making positions on an equal basis with men. In
such a world, no woman lives in fear of violence.
What better way for the Zonta Club of Pittsburgh to foster this initiative
than to honor an individual whose life long mission has been to better
the lives of women in Pittsburgh. Chief Bryant has been a facilitator
of the domestic violence program MOMS and COPS since 2000. For
ten years, Chief Bryant was the Executive Director of Save Our (little)
Sisters, SOS, a teenage intervention program. She serves on the Executive
Board for Youth Enrichment Services, YES, Adelphi Village, Gwen’s
Girls, Pittsburgh Child Guidance Foundation and the Birmingham
Foundation. Chief Bryant also serves on the Advisory Board of Women
Against Abusive Relations, WARR, and is an Honorary Board Member
of Sojourner House and Sojourner MOMS. She is a life member of
the NAACP and the past Grand Grayback (president) for the Grand
Cootiette Clubs of Pennsylvania, a volunteer club servicing hospitalized
veterans.
And, just as importantly, she oversees the Investigations Branch of the
Pittsburgh Bureau of Police!
Our community is richer for the advocacy and services provided by this
amazing woman. It is an honor and a privilege to recognize Assistant
Chief Maurita J. Bryant as our 2015 Woman Who Makes a Difference.
Thank you for coming and enjoy the evening.
Camella Wehrle
President
Zonta Club of Pittsburgh

3. Program Schedule
Cocktails
Welcome
Lorene Vinski
Zonta District IV Area 6 Director
Dinner
Presentation of Award
Lee Fogarty
Advocacy Co-Chair for District 4
Remarks
Previous Awardees
2009 - Mary Burke
2010 - Jeanne Clark
2011 - Christine Haas
2012 - Women on Boards Initiative of the Executive
Women’s Council of Greater Pittsburgh
2013 - Women’s Center and Shelter
2014 - Men and Women of Alcoa

4. Assistant Chief Maurita J. Bryant
Assistant Chief Maurita J. Bryant is a 34-year
veteran of the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police
and has served in a supervisory capacity
for over sixteen years. After serving in
various capacities from patrol to criminal
investigations and rising through the
supervisory ranks, Chief Bryant currently
oversees the Investigations Branch of the
Pittsburgh Bureau of Police.
Chief Bryant is a 1970 graduate of George
Westinghouse High School. She received
her Bachelor of Science Degree and Master’s
Degree in Criminal Justice at Point Park
University. Chief Bryant is a 2004 graduate of the 218th session of the
FBI National Academy in Quantico, Virginia, and a 2005 graduate from
the Police Executive Research Forum’s Senior Management Institute for
Police in Boston, Massachusetts. She is a 2010 graduate of the XXVI class
of Leadership Pittsburgh and an instructor for the Penn State Justice and
Safety Institute. Chief Bryant has taught criminal investigations and
terrorism courses internationally, in the Republic of Botswana and in
Nouakchott, Mauritania.
Cleaning offices in the U.S. Steel building in Downtown Pittsburgh in
1975 to support her two small children, Chief Bryant did not foresee a
34-year career cleaning up the streets of Pittsburgh. That career has led
her to Assistant Chief of the City of Pittsburgh Bureau of Police. Chief
Bryant has stated in the past that she struggled with the physical portion
of academy training and course work. However, her hard work paid off.
Chief Bryant now has her bachelor and master’s degrees in criminal justice
from Point Park University and oversees the police operations branch,
with six commanders and 579 officers under her charge, including the
SWAT unit.
In addition to advancing on the police force, Chief Bryant also serves on
nonprofit boards. Those include the National Organization of Black Law
Enforcement Executives. Chief Bryant founded the Pittsburgh chapter
and served as national president in 2012.

5. About Zonta International
Founded in 1919, Zonta International is a leading global organization
of professionals empowering women worldwide through service and
advocacy. With more than 30,000 members belonging to more than 1,200
Zonta Clubs in 67 countries and geographic areas, Zontians all over the
world volunteer their time, talents and support to local and international
service projects, as well as scholarship programs aimed at fulfilling Zonta’s
mission and objects
Zonta International, its districts and its clubs are nonsectarian and
nonpartisan.

6. Zonta Club of Pittsburgh
The Zonta Club of Pittsburgh unites women leaders from business,
academia, healthcare, government, social services and the arts through a
commitment to service. Chartered in 1934, the Zonta Club of Pittsburgh
provides awards to women pursuing higher education in our region and
financial assistance for local human services initiatives.
For the past 15 years, the Zonta Club of Pittsburgh’s signature event has
been the Amelia Earhart award. This program recognizes ten young
women from the Pittsburgh Public School System for their achievements
as well as overcoming obstacles and their perseverance in graduating from
high school to become contributing members of their communities and
society.
Recognizing that more than half a million babies around the world die
each year at birth, Zonta Club of Pittsburgh rallied support for a hospital
in the Kisumu District of Western Kenya to assemble and provide more
the 4,000 packages of supplies each year. These packages are known as
birthing kits and have ensured sanitary deliveries to pregnant women who
otherwise would have been subjected to substandard conditions.
In addition to service projects, speakers at our monthly meetings both
enlighten and entertain us. Meetings are held on the second Thursday
of each month at the Rivers Club. Membership in the Zonta Club of
Pittsburgh provides an opportunity to meet women professionals, develop
new friendships, and learn about issues affecting women in our region and
work toward advancing the status of women around the world.
Membership information is available by contacting Carolyn Savikas at
savikas @gmail.com.

7. Would you like to meet women from all over the
world and welcome to Pittsburgh?
Bring the world to your doorstep by becoming of member of IWAP.
Learn about different cultures and share your own with international
women residing in our city.
Interesting programs, field trips, cooking classes,
and volunteer activities throughout the year.
For more information:
www.IWAP.tk
IWAP.Pittsburgh@gmail.com

8. Best Wishes Maurita
Congratulations On Your Achievements
from
BILL MULLEN
ALLEGHENY COUNTY SHERIFF
*Paid for by the Committee to Elect Bill Mullen Sheriff