OUR TEAM
Graduate and Undergraduate Students from
Mary Pappert School of Music at Duquesne University
In Partnership with
the Historic Hill institute
Community Partners
Dr. Kimberly Ellis
Kimberly C. Ellis, Ph.D. is a Scholar of American and Africana Studies, an artist, activist and entrepreneur, as well as a playwright, world traveler and international thought leader on culture, gender and social technology. She is an expert on playwright August Wilson’s works, as well as his maternal niece. Dr. Ellis taught the first seminar courses on his works at the University of Pittsburgh as well as at Carnegie Mellon University. She also has expertise on the community known as “Black Twitter.” Dr. Ellis is the Founding Executive Director of the Historic Hill Institute, the historic preservation organization of the neighborhood. She served on the committee that designed Frankie Mae Pace Park, named after late community activist, and authored the permanent exhibit in the park. Dr. Ellis' work also includes serving on the committee that edited and created the historic landmark for the August Wilson House, leading historical tours, and co-creating the Greater Hill District Master Plan. She is presently working on the Charles and Frankie Pace Oral History Project and the Freedom House Citywide Celebration.
Terri Baltimore
Terri Baltimore is currently the Activities Coordinator at Macedonia FACE Active for Life Center in the Hill District where she coordinates events, speakers and trips for the center. Prior to that, she served as the Director of Community Engagement for the Hill House Association, working with the agency for over 20 years. She was responsible for environmental programs, volunteer activities and strategic partnerships. At Hill House, Ms. Baltimore developed the Hill District Community Collaborative which brought together 35 neighborhood organizations and community institutions to plan, coordinate and provide services for women and children. Along with four community partners, she co-founded the “Dot Talley Center,” which provided supportive housing in the Hill District for women and children. She also co-founded “Find The Rivers,” an organization that promoted the neighborhood’s greenspaces as an opportunity to build the local economy, to take advantage of the community’s proximity to the three rivers and to encourage health and wellness. She was part of a team that created “ The Greenprint,” the green plan for the Hill District neighborhood. Ms. Baltimore earned a BA in Journalism from Duquesne University and was a member of the Leadership Pittsburgh Class XXII.
Exhibit Design and Management
Dr. Nicole Vilkner
Director of Exhibit Design And management
Dr. Nicole Vilkner is an Assistant Professor of Music at Duquesne University who studies the ways that architecture and the built environment affect music-making. Her recent and forthcoming research is published in the Journal of the American Musicological Society, Journal of Musicology, Journal of the Royal Musical Association, and Cambridge Opera Journal. Her research has received awards and funding from the American Musicological Society and the Society for American Music. In 2023, Nicole led a group of students to create the award-winning Soundwalk at the Frick, comprising 17 exhibits installed at the Frick Pittsburgh. The Soundwalk Projects she designed were awarded the Creative Teaching Prize and the John G. Rangos Prize from Duquesne University.
Lizzie Averell
Assistant Design and technical Mangement
Lizzie is a senior majoring in music technology with a focus on sound recording and a performance concentration on classical guitar. She began playing guitar at a young age, eventually joining the North Hills Guitar Ensemble in high school. She graduated from Community College of Allegheny County in 2021, earning her associate degree in music technology, and was inducted into Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society. She is currently a member of the Duquesne Classical Guitar Ensemble and The National Society of Leadership and Success. Lizzie served as the teaching assistant for the 2024 Hill Soundwalk, helping with website design and exhibit planning.