Connecting Road resident Anne Swager Wilson has been appointed to fill the unexpired term of Ward 3 Commissioner Leeann Foster, who resigned after moving out of the ward. She will serve until January 3, 2024, or until the installation of the person elected at the next available election.

Wilson has served on the Historic Preservation Board and the Planning Board, and was the first executive director of Uptown Mt. Lebanon, an economic development corporation that was the precursor to the Mt. Lebanon Partnership. 

Wilson’s professional experience includes 27 years as executive director of AIA Pittsburgh, a chapter of the American Institute of Architects. She has been involved with a number of citywide initiatives, including Riverlife, the Pittsburgh Civic Design Coalition, the Mayor’s Task Force on Gaming, the New Idea Factory, and the revitalization efforts for the South Side through the Southside Local Development Corporation.  

Uptown Mt. Lebanon came out of the Washington Road Revitalization Project, which started in 1985. Some of the Mt. Lebanon traditions that Uptown Mt. Lebanon started include the Pumpkin Patch Parade,  Light Up Night, and the farmers market,  formerly located where the public safety building is now. 

After a few years, Wilson turned the leadership over to John Brown, now president of the Mt. Lebanon Lions Club and market manager of their Wednesday afternoon farmers market at Mt. Lebanon United Lutheran Church on Washington Road. 

She retired from AIA Pittsburgh with the intention of traveling with her husband, Bill, a career Army officer who was then stationed in Japan. The COVID pandemic grounded her travel plans, and the two remained apart for two years. 

When contacted about taking a seat on the Commission, Wilson was on the fence, but eventually decided to accept the challenge.