Meet our Building Bridges Team

Building Bridges for Business is fortunate to work with advisors and wonderful team members.

Building Bridges Advisors

Christopher R. Evans
Chief Marketing Officer and Host – Coffee with…

Christopher R. Evans

Leveraging two decades of award-winning brand building, strategic business development, and executive leadership in the technology and media industries, Christopher is Director of Business Development, Video & Film Production Services for PMI, a leader in full-service commercial broadcast, web video, film production, motion design/animation, and sound.

PMI’s Clients include leading brands Dollar Bank, Fairmont Hotels, GNC, PPG, PNC, MedExpress, NFL Films, Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership, Pittsburgh Pirates, Straub Brewing, and Salvation Army, VisitPittsburgh, UPMC, The United Way, and many major creative firms. Feature films include Unsinkable (2020), The Great One (2021).

Chairman of the Board at HealthIT Pittsburgh, founding member of the Pittsburgh Entrepreneurs Forum, TV host of the popular broadcast show “Coffee With…™ ” on CBS® affiliates, and a Venture Partner at the Pittsburgh Life Sciences Greenhouse.

Previous roles include senior leadership roles at major technology and media companies in the region.

Christopher helped lead a $1.5M initial angel and $2M follow-on round while building CRM services start-up Blue Hammock into a recognized leader in the space as co-founder, and held a key role in leading the firm into a successful liquidity event via acquisition.

For eight years of growth, Christopher was Chair of Sponsorship/Membership for BlueTree Allied Angels, the region’s largest angel investment group, and co-founder of award-winning Mastech spinoff startup, RPOWorldwide. Christopher later helped lead the spin-out of Mastech from iGATE.

Christopher and his wife and daughter make their home in Fox Chapel, PA.

Rocco Cozza
Business Advisor, Attorney

As a strategic business advisor and attorney, I help entrepreneurs and start-up organizations achieve rapid business success by providing expertise in utilizing multiple avenues to increase revenue, encourage high performance from employees and leverage the power of a brand’s story to drive growth.

I partner with aspiring entrepreneurs, celebrities and start-up organizations under $1M in revenue including:
-technology start-ups
-marketing and digital media agencies
-celebrity entertainers and athletes
-real estate agents and investors
-financial service professionals

When we work together, you will receive targeted advice and guidance to solve your business problems quickly, efficiently, and in a cost-effective manner. You will find that my process is unique in that I invest my time in understanding your pain points and provide various solutions in a fixed-cost manner. I have worked with many types of organizations in a multitude of industries, thereby bringing a wealth of knowledge to the table. But most importantly, I pride myself on building a bond of trust with my partners and investing in our relationship.

Alexander Nichols,  Award-Winning – UcanB Educator

Nick is a recipient of several awards and recognitions including Teacher of the Year award, 2018, The German American Chamber, Talk Magazine 2016 Black History Maker Award, the Omega Psi Phi Outstanding Award in the area of Business, 2015 EMSDC President’s Award, New Pittsburgh Courier Men of Excellence Award, KDKA Lift-Up Award, 2011 Omega Psi Phi Service Award, Pittsburgh Pirates African American Heritage Day Award, Black Trailblazer Award, SBA Small Business Person of the Year and a 2011 Hall of Fame Inductee by MWBE Governmental Committee.

During his career, Nick worked for General Electric Company, Rockwell International, and ALCOA. He also started his own firm, Computer Friend, an IT Firm located on the Northside of Pittsburgh.

Nick holds a BS Degree in Mathematics from SC State University (SCSU) and a MA from Webster University. He attended the University of Louisville, Carnegie Mellon Entrepreneurial Program, and Amos Tuck School of Business Executive Program. Nick also completed an Executive Course at GE’s Crotonville facility and is a graduate of the General Electric Manufacturing Management Program (MMP).

Nick is originally from Spartanburg, SC and has resided in Cleveland, OH and Louisville, KY. He and his wife of 45 years, moved to Allison Park, PA in 1979. They have two children, three grandchildren and soon will have a fourth!

Nick pledged Omega Psi Phi at SCSU on April 14, 1966 and will celebrate 50 years this April. He is a Life Member of both the Omega Psi Phi Fraternity and the NAACP. He served as President of the Junior Class, President of the Senior Class and VP of the Student Government Association at SC State University. He was also President of the Marching 101 Band and Trombone section leader.

Marty SchiffMarty Schiff
Production

Point Park University, Advisor and VP of Production.  To say “Show biz is Marty Schiff’s life” would be a grave understatement. His passion for production began in community and regional theaters in Pittsburgh. He would have over 25 credits on his resume by his 21st birthday. Since those early days, Marty has spent over 35 years in every aspect of the entertainment industry and has over 300 credits to his name.

His film career started by killing zombies in a mall in George A. Romero’s DAWN OF THE DEAD. This project would foster a friendship and professional relationship with George that has lasted over four decades.

Moving to Hollywood, Marty began working in television with the CBS series, THE BOOK OF LISTS with Bill Bixby. Although the series was short lived, it got Marty the attention needed to put him on the path for a lucrative television career. Marty would work on shows with every major network and studio including DALLAS, KNIGHTRIDER and NEWHART.
As cable television was emerging as viable viewing competitor, Marty would pioneer the Nickelodeon network with the ground breaking series OUT OF CONTROL. It was the very first series produced by Nick for Nick and would set the stage for the networks style and success.

Once again Marty would find himself on the cutting edge of the entertainment industry by working with The Gold Company as the Director of Development. Their project, IN LIVING COLOR, would change television forever and would launch the careers of some of todays most prominent talent. Other projects that were developed at that time were ACE VENTURA, BLANKMAN and more.

After returning to Pennsylvania, Marty would continue his work in the broadcast and content arena. He found a home in the growing independent television market by launching The National Shopping network, Be Well Tv and The Golden Sports network. He also achieved worldwide distribution for his project GEORGE A. ROMERO PRESENTS DEADTIME STORIES.

Currently, as President of Jeffrey Martin Global Media, Marty continues to develop and find broadcast outlets for indy television content. He is working on children’s, horror and sports related programming.

Renee Horner
Graphic Design

Renee is the Owner and Creative Director of Three E Graphic Design, established in 2002. After receiving her Bachelor of Fine Arts with an Emphasis in Graphic Design from Western Michigan University, she began working at several of Pittsburgh, PA’s design firms.

Since starting Three E, Renee has created a variety of award-winning projects for her clients, ranging from branding/identity design campaigns, web site design, brochures and catalogs to trade show booth designs and materials. She has also contributed pro bono work for the OTA, Sisters of St. Francis of the Providence of God, Virtuous Academy and more.

michaelwillphotography.comAshley Moss
Director of Events

Ashley has been in the marketing and events industry in Pittsburgh, PA for five years. She recently opened a second office in Raleigh, NC to expand the company into the south. Her experience ranges from planning beautiful weddings and social events of all sizes to coordinating marketing strategies and events for the advertising and public relations industry, the bar and restaurant industry, and the contracting industry, among others.

Ashley is active in numerous networking groups and industry associations and offers her time to help plan events for charities, including the American Diabetes Association and Girls on the Run, among others.A native resident of Meadville, PA, Ashley currently resides in Raleigh, NC, although she frequently travels to the Pittsburgh office. She is recently engaged and living with her fiancé, Justin. She has found that planning a wedding of your own is not necessarily easier as a planner! Ashley enjoys all aspects of health and fitness, including running and yoga, as well as theatre, dance, boating, and of course, planning events!

Pam HowerPam Hower
Administration –

Owner of Admin Etcetera, provides professional administrative support to small businesses and entrepreneurs across the country.  With 25+ years of Corporate Executive/Administrative Assistance experience, Pam provides her clients with the organizational skills needed to keep a small business running smoothly.

Pam’s experience includes business courses at the University of Arizona, a background in the telecommunications and public relations fields, and two start-ups.  Her emphasis is now on helping new business owners, as is evidenced in her blog, Etcetera, where she writes articles relevant to the small business community.

Cameron McKinley
Director of Brand Awareness

By day, Cam is a project manager at Orange Astronaut, where he helps build out their technology and internal operations and delivers success to their clients. His wheelhouse includes digital marketing, project management, and business intelligence analysis and strategy. Cam is powered by equal parts coffee, Google Analytics, Trello, and Tableau. By night, he can be found studying media literacy, dancing, meal prepping, or listening to the Philosophize This podcast.

Chad Sarnowski
Web Designer/Developer

Chad is the owner of Respire Digital and Lead Developer at Zeo Technologies.  He is an accomplished web designer and developer based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Chad has been working in the industry for well over a decade, providing state-of-the-art website design services with creative, result-driven online marketing. He provides a diverse range of services including custom theme/application/plugin development, SEO/SEM, project management and branding to an array of clients from a variety of industries.  Chad is an enthusiastic web professional, motivated by challenging projects and deadlines.   Chad graduated from LaRoche College with a B.S. in graphic and communication design.