Our Staff

Raina Rippel

Executive Director

Raina joined Communitopia as the Executive Director in May 2022. She started her career as an Executive Director in 1999 for Physicians for Social/Responsibility Maine Chapter, and has since served as the senior Director for multiple organizations and is well-versed in start-up activities. From 2011 - 2020 she served as the founding Director of the Southwest Pennsylvania Environmental Health Project. During her tenure she was the recipient of the 2016 Jean and Leslie Douglas Pearl Award, and the 2020 PennFuture Woman of Environmental Justice Award.

When the COVID pandemic started, she spent a year working on the front lines of public health as a Case Investigator, contracted with the PA Department of Health. She then consulted as a Senior Fellow for the Halt the Harm Network, a nationwide network of grassroots leaders working to solve the myriad problems coming from the oil & gas industry and fracking.

She is a proud mom of a girl and boy, and lives south of Pittsburgh in Venetia, PA. Thanks to her son she has rediscovered her love for soccer and long bike rides (which she never forgot to love). Thanks to her daughter, she gets to see more online dance moves and memes than she ever thought she would.

As a military daughter and avid traveler, she has lived in or visited nearly every state in the country, as well as living for six months in Australia, so she looks forward to sharing her myriad stories with a new audience of committed climate activists.

Mark Reardon

Director of Education

Mark joined the Communitopia team in March 2022. As the Director of Education, Mark oversees all of Communitopia’s educational initiatives. He brings to the position more than two decades of experience advocating for positive environmental change through the development and facilitation of STEM programs. While previously serving as the Assistant Curator of Conservation Education at the Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium, Mark was responsible for managing school programs, outreaches, family programs, teacher workshops, and summer camps.

Mark holds a B.S. in Recreation, Park, & Tourism Management and an A.S. Wildlife Technology from Penn State University. When away from work, he can usually be found outdoors. His favorite pastimes include hiking, camping, kayaking, and running. He believes that personal growth occurs best when he challenges himself to get outside of his comfort level, while staying well within his abilities.

Young Grguras

Director of School Programs

Young grew up in the suburbs north of Pittsburgh and has lived in the Greater Pittsburgh Region their whole life, now residing in Swissvale. They received a Bachelor of Arts in Environmental studies and a Bachelor of Science in Ecology and Evolution at the University of Pittsburgh. During their time at Pitt, they worked with the Student Office of Sustainability, organizing on issues related to climate and environmental justice, including compost drop off stations, reusable menstrual products and the Fossil Fuel Divestment Campaign. After college, they applied their knowledge of higher ed by working with the Post-landfill Action Network as the Plastics Campaign Director at a national level for five years, securing more than 15 Institutional commitments to eliminating plastic, mentoring dozens of students, and helping the organization shift to a worker-self directed non-profit organization. They are excited to return to a more local role with Communitopia. In their free time, they like to play in the garden, cuddle with their partner or cats, or cook up a tasty vegan meal. They serve on the board of the Swissvale Farmers Market and help organize the annual Swissvale Edible Garden Tour.