Heidie Ganjineh Hutchinson, MSIS

Pittsburgh Folk Festival Inc. is a non-profit, 501(c)(3) organization that began in 1956 with seventeen nationalities whose purpose was to promote" "Unity in Diversity" by presenting an annual festival of cultures.

Over 50 years, the Pittsburgh Folk Festival (PFF) has been a member-based consortium of ethnic community cultural organizations that now celebrates the diversity of more than 30 countries and cultures around the Pittsburgh area. Each year, over 7,000 people attend the Annual International Festival organized by PFF.

The PFF website is here.

I joined PFF in year 2000, and my role in this organization has been multifaceted:
 

• Chair of Iranian/Persian Group:

  As the Chair of Iranian/Persian Group, I have been responsible for gathering Iranian/Persian professionals and university students in Pittsburgh to work together to present Iranian/Persian culture (crafts, dance, music, and food) at the Annual International Festival of PFF in Pittsburgh since year 2000.
  
  The "Member Organizations" page for PFF is available here.

​

• Web Master/System Administrator:

  As the Web Master and System Administrator of PFF, I have been responsible for creating and maintaining user accounts, members listservs, web design and development, software development such as online registration application, ticket sales application, etc. since year 2012.
   

• Member of Board of Directors:

  I was elected by the representatives of the member cultural organizations to be on the Board of Directors of PFF, during the years 2005-2008. I was again elected to serve on this organization's BOD for years 2012-2015.
  
  As a Board member I participate in planning and organizing for the annual festivals, writing grant proposals, fund raising events, financial decisions, and promoting the mission of this organization.
   

• Chair of Multicultural Education Program (MCEP):

  Every year, PFF in conjunction with its non-profit sister organization, The World Cultures Education Consortium of Western PA, offers the multicultural educational program "Around the World in One Day� (AWOD) to elementary school, middle school, and high school students(grades 2-12).
  
  This educational program meets curriculum guidelines for multicultural education by offering students participation in folk crafts, performances of traditional ethnic dances, songs and music, and cultural exhibits where students can learn about a people's history, geography and customs.
  
  Every year over 1,000 students and their teachers from public schools, private schools, and homeschoolers attend this educational program.
  
  As the Chair of Educational Programs I am responsible for overseeing activities of the Education Committee which is responsible for contacting teachers and parents (homeschoolers), and informing them of MCEP and AWOD programs.
  
  The committee is also responsible for working with the ethnic member groups to plan and arrange multicultural educational activities such as crafts, dance, etc. for the students attending this multicultural education program.
   

• Chair of Cultural Exhibits:

  Each year there is an Educational Theme for the Multicultural Education Program. Each culture/nationality is supposed to decorate its Cultural Exhibit to match the Educational Theme for that given year. This provides the visitors to the festival with the opportunity to see how different cultures present a given concept decorations and illustrations unique to them.
  
  As the chair of Cultural Exhibits, I am responsible for assisting the participating cultural/ethnic groups to decorate their Cultural Booths based on the given Educational Theme and following the organizational policies and guidelines.
  
  The "Cultural Exhibits" page for PFF is here.