
Rivers of Steel Welcomes Emily Balawejder as Director of Marketing & Communications
Advancing steel heritage storytelling and community engagement across the eight-county National Heritage Area
Homestead, PA (August 25, 2025)—Rivers of Steel is pleased to announce the selection of Emily Balawejder as director of marketing and communications. Balawejder brings more than 20 years of experience shaping how Pittsburghers and visitors connect with the region’s cultural, natural, and industrial heritage.
“Emily brings a deep understanding of our culture of curiosity, our rich heritage of natural and industrial resources, and our sense of civic pride,” said Mary W. Murrin, president & CEO of Rivers of Steel. “We are thrilled to have her advance a deeper understanding of Rivers of Steel’s economic impact through heritage tourism, education, workforce development, metal arts, creative placemaking, and outdoor experiences.”
Most recently, Balawejder led communications and engagement strategies with Riverlife, a Pittsburgh nonprofit working to create, activate, and celebrate the city’s riverfronts. She played a key role in the branding, communication, and program design of Shore Thing, a floating modular platform now deployed on the North Shore that brings people together through art, play, food, and community.
Previously, Balawejder spent more than 15 years at the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust, serving as art director. She built an in-house creative team, leading branding, placemaking, events, and festival designs that continue to shape the 16-block Cultural District, which welcomes more than two million visitors annually.
At Rivers of Steel, Balawejder will guide marketing and communications for the organization’s four historic attractions: the Bost Building in Homestead and the Pump House at the Waterfront development which were pivotal in the Battle of Homestead; the W.A. Young Forge at Rice’s Landing in Greene County; and the Carrie Blast Furnaces, a National Historic Landmark located in the Rankin and Swissvale neighborhoods. Over the last decade, Carrie has become a hub for steel heritage tourism, traditional trades workshops, and metal arts. The site is also a stage for major events such as Rivers of Steel’s signature event, the Festival of Combustion on October 4 this year, Beers of the Burgh, and the Pittsburgh Irish Festival, and as a post-industrial filming destination for television and movies including American Rust, Out of the Furnace, and Hemlock Grove.
Balawejder is a graduate of Point Park University with a degree in journalism and mass communications, and is a practicing artist whose creative work informs her approach to nonprofit storytelling. Throughout her career, she has cultivated brand voices and visual identities for multidisciplinary arts programs, festivals, and community initiatives, always with a focus on connecting people to place and culture.
“Rivers of Steel has such a rich history of programs that tell the story of who we are as a region: our ingenuity, grit, artistry, and resilience,” Balawejder said. “As a Pittsburgh native with roots going back to great-grandfathers on both sides of my family who worked in the mills, I’m especially looking forward to exploring these connections and sharing them with others. I have dedicated my career to Pittsburgh’s nonprofits, and it is an honor to join Rivers of Steel to help share these stories in ways that inspire pride, curiosity, and connection across our communities.”
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About Rivers of Steel
Since it was established as a National Heritage Area more than 35 years ago, Rivers of Steel has contributed to the revitalization of Pittsburgh by championing the region’s steel heritage, natural and shared resources, and culture of innovation and hard work. Founded on the principles of heritage development and community partnership, Rivers of Steel supports economic revitalization through tourism, education, workforce development in traditional trades, metal arts, and outdoor experiences in former iron, steel, and coal communities in the Monongahela River Valley and across eight counties in western Pennsylvania.
Contact Emily Balawejder at 412.464.4020 x243 or ebalawejder@riversofsteel.com.
Rivers of Steel | The Bost Building, 623 East Eighth Avenue, Homestead, PA 15120
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