At-Large Commissioner
Dick was raised in the Washington Terrace neighborhood of USC and, after finishing law school in 1972 returned, residing on McMurray Rd. and raising his own family. Dick’s seven children attended St. Louise de Marillac grade school and USC high school, all thereafter graduating from college, with some going on to earn masters and law degrees.
Prior to transitioning his practice in 2018 to being primarily an arbitrator and mediator, Dick was a busy trial lawyer and counselor for more than 46 years, specializing in labor and employment. In all law firms where Dick has been a partner he has been selected as a leader, including practice chair, executive member and, for 14 years, managing partner in a firm having more than 500 lawyers and over 1500 employees. Dick has been qualified in Federal Court to testify and has testified as an “expert” in labor-management relations. When selected for “Super Lawyers” in 2006, he was described as “Top Rated Employment & Labor Attorney in Pittsburgh, PA.” He was also honored when appointed by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court to be Member and Chairperson of the Interest on Lawyers Trust Accounts Board. In these roles, he and his Board oversaw the distribution of many millions of dollars to provide civil legal aid to low-income Pennsylvanians in non-criminal matters. At Duquesne University, Dick taught Labor Law and Litigation in the Graduate School of Business Administration and he was also elected by his alma mater, West Virginia Wesleyan College, as Trustee.
In USC, Dick has been a youth football and soccer coach. For a number of years he was a volunteer firefighter. He has been a Board Member for USC Veterans Park and was particularly instrumental in facilitating a grant from Allegheny County to complete the project. Dick had the honor of being elected 2017 Upper St. Clair Outstanding Citizen of the Year, the first resident of USC to be so honored.
"I look forward to the opportunity as Commissioner At-Large to utilize my background and experience to maintain responsible fiscal management in our community and keep USC a great and safe place to live and raise our families."
Richard I. Thomas
At-Large Commissioner
Daniel Paoly is seeking re-election for an At-Large Commissioner seat. As a member of the current Board of Commissioners, Paoly serves as the Board Vice President. He has served as chairman of the Public Safety Committee, the Parks and Recreation Committee and the Budget and Finance Committee. Prior to being elected to the Board of Commissioners, Paoly served on the Upper St. Clair Parks and Recreation Board, a position he was appointed to in spring 2008.
Paoly is a graduate of the University of Akron where he earned a BA in Geography with a minor in Cartography. Additionally, he earned his MBA from Point Park University. Paoly is a veteran of the United States Army Reserve, honorably discharged in 2004.
Paoly grew up in a family that owned their own businesses. Working side by side with his family, he learned the importance of hard work and fiscal responsibility.
Paoly is employed as a Data Management Professional by RareMed Solutions, located in Pittsburgh.
Paoly along with his wife and their four children are proud to call Upper St. Clair home. He looks forward to helping to ensure that Upper St. Clair remains a community people are proud to call home as well as a community that maintains a balanced budget.
"I look forward to continuing to work hard to ensure Upper St. Clair remains the best place to live and raise a family."
Daniel Paoly
Commissioner, Ward 2
Pamela L. Enck is a wife, mother, and lawyer who lives in Upper St. Clair and is currently serving the Township as Ward 2 Commissioner. When she moved to the community 20 years ago, Enck brought with her the values of working hard, living within one’s means, and building a strong community that she learned growing up in rural southwestern Pennsylvania. Together with her husband, Phil, Enck has instilled the importance of these values in their five children through commitment to service both professionally and in the community.
Enck graduated from Penn State University with a B.A. in journalism and worked in print and broadcast journalism in Virginia and West Virginia prior to earning both her law degree and a Master of Public Administration at West Virginia University.
Immediately immersing herself in public service, Enck worked as an assistant prosecuting attorney where she discovered her passion for working with the most vulnerable community members, at-risk children and youth, which continues to be a major part of her legal practice today. She has held other positions of public trust such as a fiduciary commissioner, grievance hearing officer and she also served as the Municipal Court Judge in Bethany, West Virginia for 15 years.
Enck has been actively involved in community activities including serving on several non-profit boards and was a member of Rotary. She also served on several Upper St. Clair youth and high school athletic boards. Enck trained as an elections poll watcher, a service she has performed in every general and many primary elections since 2004. She has been elected to the Upper St. Clair Republican Committee four times and is currently serving her first term as a Pennsylvania State Republican Committee Member.
Enck was appointed Upper St. Clair Ward 2 Commissioner in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, in the summer of 2020. Since then she has served as the Chair of the Budget and Finance Committee and a member of both the Human Resources and Parks and Recreation Committees. She is committed to ensuring that Upper St. Clair residents continue to receive the highest level of township services and that the character of the community is maintained, all within the framework of the Township budget.
Enck looks forward to continuing to serve all people of Upper St. Clair Township as the Ward 2 Commissioner of the Board of Commissioners.
I am committed to ensuring that Upper St. Clair residents continue to receive the highest level of township services and that the character of the community is maintained, all within the framework of the Township budget.
Pamela Enck
Commissioner, Ward 4
Todd Burlingame is running for Ward 4 Commissioner and is currently serving as At-Large Commissioner, appointed when Rex Waller resigned in 2021. A lifelong Republican, he was born and raised outside of Buffalo NY. After college, he moved to metro Washington DC, then Nashville TN, Charlotte, NC and now resides in Deerfield Manor in Upper St. Clair.
Burlingame earned his B.S. in Business Management from Grove City College in 1995. He has been employed by NVR - Ryan Home and Heartland Homes since 1995 and is their Area Construction Cost Manager for the North and Midwest Operations.
Burlingame feels it is critical to be highly involved in this community to ensure that the qualities of Upper St. Clair remain and improve as well. This is done by facilitating smart growth of businesses and residential development, safer neighborhoods and 24/7 protection against fire and emergency. We also must maintain a long range vision for our fine parks and amenities. This is done by limited and efficient local government that is in constant alignment with its citizen’s needs.
Burlingame feels that Upper St. Clair is a very special community. He has the perspective of living in several different states and regions and can’t imagine a better place to raise his children. He has been married for 26 years to Liza Callaro Burlingame and has three children. Ava – 20, Maya -17 and Joshua 13. He enjoys traveling, youth coaching and serving our extraordinary community.
I feel it is critical to remain highly involved in this community to ensure that the qualities of Upper St. Clair remain and improve as well.
Todd Burlingame
School Board
Dr. Gans is currently serving her first term as School Board Director of Upper St. Clair School District with a proven record of successful student-centric governance in a fiscally responsible manner. Some of her notable achievements on the board include a decision to hire a new and extremely effective Superintendent, a decision to hire and arm a school police force, three consecutive years of controlling tax increases, securing external funds to support the District, and voting for a safe re-opening plan for our schools. Our opening plan is utilized as a model around the country and our district recently earned the WELL HealthSafety Rating for each of our six schools – marking the first district to reach this achievement worldwide. Additionally, Gans serves as the Board liaison to the Pennsylvania School Board Association (PSBA) Legislative Committee, and is involved in advocacy at the state level. In her professional world, Gans is a researcher at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA with an expertise in program evaluation, research, and advocacy. Dr. Gans brings three unique contributions to the board: (1) experience in securing diversified funding and building partnerships to enhance educational programming while containing costs; (2) unparalleled expertise in education and curriculum development; and, (3) a global and multilingual outlook. Gans is a long-time leader in the USC School District and Community beyond her service on the School Board. Among other roles, she was the President of USC District-wide Parent Teacher Council (PTC), a member of the District Curriculum Input Committee, a Trustee and Vice President on the Board of the Community Foundation of USC, and the President of Fort Couch Parent Teacher Student Organization (PTSO). A leader in Pittsburgh, Gans serves as Board Director and chairs the quality committee of one of Western Pennsylvania’s leading service provider of long term care, memory care, rehabilitation and hospice. Gans is a published author and sought-after speaker in the areas of healthcare, children with special health care needs and disabilities, and elder-care. She is married to George Gans, and a proud parent to two children, Jonathan, graduate of Duke University Pratt School of Engineering, and Ella, recent graduate of USC High School and incoming student at Kenyon College. Her household members also include Asriel, a sweet and loving Goldendoodle, Churchill, a beautiful cat, and Gordon the Gecko.
“As educators, it is our duty to transform the school environment to meet the needs of every student. All children have the right to learn and grow at school.”
Daphna Gans, PhD
School Board
Dr. Danielle Zawodny Wetzel is running for USC School Board to serve her community with unique knowledge stemming from parenting four girls and working as a college professor. Wetzel directs the Writing and Communication Program at Carnegie Mellon, which provides foundational writing instruction to 2000+ linguistically diverse undergraduates per year, with 20-25% who are multilingual. From this experience at an R1 university, Wetzel brings knowledge for managing sustainable and excellent educational programs. She directs teacher education for new writing faculty, including graduate student instructors, and with her colleagues provides mentoring and development opportunities for ongoing faculty development in teaching writing. She has published on writing assessment and curriculum design and has secured research grants for educational projects on curricular innovation and technology-enhanced learning tools. At Carnegie Mellon, she has held the role of Co-Chair for a Middle States Assessment Standards Committee and is a long-standing member of the University Education Council. She served as Co-Chair for the College Board’s AP Language and Composition Test Development Committee, which shaped materials for 400,000 students globally per academic year during her tenure.
While she looks forward to supporting the district from her perspective of administering educational programs and teaching in higher education, Wetzel's primary motivation for serving the district comes from her own children and her interactions with their teachers. Over the past several years, she has enjoyed her daughters' involvement in the variety of programs that USC offers our students, in academics, athletics, and the arts. With children at various levels in our schools, ranging from high school to first grade, Wetzel truly has skin in the game--for her children and for yours. She would be honored to serve USC families by winning a seat on the USCSD School Board.
"Our world is changing. But our students still need the same things from us: love, security, involved parents, and caring teachers."
Danielle Zawodny Wetzel, PhD
School Board
Michael Mascaro brings to our community a perspective that combines unique business and leadership skills, personal history with Upper St. Clair School District and Community, and knowledge from parenting two daughters currently enrolled in our Upper St. Clair schools. In business, Mascaro’s expertise runs deep. Along with his two older brothers, John and Jeffrey, he is responsible for the development of Mascaro Construction Company’s long- and short-term strategic goals. The business was started in 1988 by Mascaro’s father, John C. (Jack) while he was a resident in USC, with the simple premise of doing things right, the first time. In 2007, the Mascaro brothers took over ownership of the company and continued the life-lessons they were taught by their mother and father. The organization has grown to one of the top contractors in the region and have accomplished many awards under the Mascaro brother’s leadership, including National Awards for Business Ethics and Top Places to Work. As executive vice president, he leads and manages the human resources, wellness, marketing, and business development departments. With a 25-plus year career in the construction industry, he brings a thorough understanding of all aspects of the construction industry. Alongside this position, Mascaro’s impact in the business community has been significant. He is currently treasurer of the Master Builders’ Association of Western Pennsylvania and has served as former chair and is a current board of directors member for the National Aviary. His past board memberships include the Upper St. Clair Veterans Park, Rebuilding Together Pittsburgh, and the ACE (Architecture / Construction / Engineering) Mentoring Program. He was the recipient of the 2015 Guy Buzzelli, Jr., Champion of Spirit Award presented by the Pittsburgh Muscle Team benefiting the Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA). In 2013, he received the Top 20 Under 40 Award from Engineering News-Record magazine, recognizing top construction professionals in the Mid-Atlantic Region. Mascaro serves in a variety of roles within the community, as a soccer coach for the Upper St. Clair travel girls’ team and currently as a junior wrestling coach. Mascaro is married to Libby, and they have two daughters, Mary and Abby. Both Michael and Libby are involved in the ALS Association of Western Pennsylvania and active supporters of the Miracle League of South Hills, National Alliance of Mental Illness (NAMI), and the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. Along with these roles, Mascaro also serves on the Capital Gifts Trust as a member of the St. Clair Country Club. Mascaro’s record demonstrates a commitment to service to his community. Due to Michael and Libby’s “Student’s First” passion towards building a better community, Libby was instrumental in establishing Upper St. Clair’s first wellness committee that focuses on making mental and physical health of the students within our school district a high priority. With this passion for striving to put the students first, he will apply that same commitment to his work as a USC School Board member.
“Be wherever your feet are, and while you’re there, be great.”
Michael Robert Mascaro