Cynthia D. Shapira is an independent management consultant to non-profit organizations and an active community volunteer. Her most recent clients include LEAD Pittsburgh (leading education and advocacy on depression), KidsVoice, and the San Francisco Museum and Historical Society.

Community leadership roles include co-chair of the Pittsburgh Promise Corporate Campaign, UJF of Greater Pittsburgh Foundation, and UJF Foundation Fund for a Jewish Future capital campaign. She also sits on the JAFI Assembly and the boards of trustees of the Jewish Federations of North America, the Harvard Kennedy School Alumni Council, the United Way of Allegheny County, the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust, The Children’s Institute, A+ Schools, the UJF of Greater Pittsburgh (board and executive committee), the Jewish Community Center, and the Jewish Women’s Foundation.  She currently is co-chair of Women for Onorato, Democrat candidate for governor of Pennsylvania.

Ms. Shapira previously served as executive director of the National Council of Jewish Women, Pittsburgh Section. Before joining NCJW, Ms. Shapira was executive director of Chatham University’s Pennsylvania Center for Women, Politics, and Public Policy. She also served as a legislative aide to Pittsburgh city councilman Dan Cohen.

Ms. Shapira’s prior experience included over twenty years as in non-profit and K-12 management consulting, including ten as executive vice president of Pappas Consulting Group, Inc., providing strategic planning, enrollment management, and operations redesign services. She joined Pappas Consulting Group after serving as a senior consultant with KPMG Peat Marwick in Washington, DC. A sampling of her clients includes UNICEF USA; National Council of Churches in Christ; Hadassah, the Women’s Zionist Organization of American; University of North Carolina System and its Historic Black Colleges and Universities; University of Massachusetts and each of the System universities; University System of Georgia; Sonoma State University (CA); University of Kansas president’s office; Miami-Dade Community College; Western Carolina University; Adelphi University; Hofstra University; St. Paul’s School; Massapequa Public Schools; Orange County and Broward County Public Schools (FL); Bellflower (CA) Public Schools; and numerous other non-profit and higher education institutions. 

Ms. Shapira has an M.A. in public administration from the Harvard Kennedy School of Government and a B.A. summa cum laude in political science from Wellesley College.

She served a committee member from June 2010. Since June 2011 she is a Board Member.