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Meet the Western Pennsylvania Board of Directors

March 3, 2025 – 4 min read

There is power in sharing your story
Robyn Travers

Robyn Travers, Board Chair

Robyn spends her days working as the office administrator for the Unitarian Universalist Church of the North Hills. She has been a youth group advisor in her church and in the region since 2017 and it is her passion. It was the loss of 2 of those youths to suicide that brought her to AFSP 2 years ago.

When not at church or working on AFSP stuff, Robyn loves to keep busy traveling and trying new adventures with her husband Bruce.  She lives with Bruce, her adult son James, her 2 dogs and 2 cats.

She has a passion for volunteers and making them feel needed while moving them through the onboarding process as efficiently as possible to that they can do the important work that is needed to stop this epidemic of suicide. 

WPA Treasurer
WPA Treasurer

Doug Bishop, Treasurer

Doug is a Certified Public Accountant who started his career as an employee of a medium-sized local CPA firm and worked his way up to become a shareholder with that same firm. He has applied his background to support our chapter by overseeing our finances. From fundraising efforts to managing our spending, he has helped us grow successfully since his efforts began in 2015. His involvement started soon after he lost his son to suicide in January 2014. He is very passionate about the cause, and committed to reducing the stigma that surrounds mental health. In addition to his volunteer work, he also is an avid hockey fan, amateur photographer and you may find him attending concerts throughout the year. 

Donna Pandullo, Secretary 

Loss & Healing
Sarah Lamb Waddle, Loss & Healing Chair

Sarah Lamb Waddell, Loss & Healing Chair 

Sarah is a Pittsburgh native and resident, currently living in the city with her husband, daughter, and menagerie of rescued cats. She has been involved with AFSP since 2018, when she lost her mother to suicide; that year, she signed up for her first Out of the Darkness walk. After the loss of her big brother to suicide in 2020, she felt a drive to increase her involvement with AFSP and signed on as a volunteer - first receiving training to table events, followed by providing 1:1 support through Healing Conversations and facilitating suicide loss support groups.

Through AFSP, Sarah discovered the personal fulfillment she received from connecting with people by helping to bring a light of a hope into their lives. This discovery led her to work in the peer support sector of mental health, holding certifications from the PA board as both a Peer Specialist and a Family Recovery Specialist.

Sarah is a living witness to the power of peer support, especially when dealing with a traumatic loss and trying to navigate complex grief. Finding a community of people who “get it” was essential to her healing process and, as the Loss and Healing Chair for the Western PA chapter, Sarah’s goal is to help other survivors of suicide loss navigate their own journey. Sarah is driven by her love for those she has lost, and an aspiration to help others in their memory. Turning her pain into her purpose has become Sarah’s passion; in helping others find healing, she has found healing herself. 

Marci Zsamboky, Programs Chair 

Education Chair
Education Chair

Jamie Zelazny, Education Committee Chair 

Jamie is an Assistant Professor of Nursing and Psychiatry at the University of Pittsburgh.  She holds a Bachelor of Science in Nursing, Master of Public Health in Psychiatric Epidemiology and a PhD in Nursing, all from the University of Pittsburgh.  When she was 12 years old, she lost a beloved family member to suicide.  That loss shaped the trajectory of her nursing career.  She has over 35 years of experience in pediatric psychiatric mental health nursing and youth suicide prevention research.  Along with her students at Pitt, she organized the first Out of the Darkness Campus Walk at the University of Pittsburgh, which will be an annual event.  She is passionate about mental health awareness and is dedicated to providing suicide prevention education to the community.  Jamie is very excited about her role as education chair where she will continue to present and will train volunteers to present AFSP’s educational programming to the community.  In her free time, she enjoys hiking, backpacking, camping and spending time with her family. 

Alexander Gray
Alexander Advocacy Chair

Alexander N. Gray, Advocacy Chair 

Alexander N. Gray is a Pittsburgh native and committed advocate for mental health equity and LGBTQIA+ inclusion, with meaningful ties to both his hometown and San Francisco. He currently serves as Outreach Coordinator and Administrative Assistant for the University of Pittsburgh School of Law Legal Clinics, and as a Commissioner on the City of Pittsburgh LGBTQIA Commission, where he helps guide policy and engagement efforts to support LGBTQIA residents across the city.

Alexander brings a cross-cultural and digital perspective to suicide prevention, informed by his experience as a Japanese-language content moderator at Twitter, where he helped connect users to mental health resources during moments of crisis. This experience reinforced his belief in the power of thoughtful communication, culturally competent care, and systems that meet people where they are.

Having experienced profound personal loss to suicide, and recognizing its disproportionate impact on LGBTQIA+ communities, Alexander is deeply committed to advancing AFSP’s mission. As the Western Pennsylvania Chapter’s Advocacy/Public Policy Chair, he will work to engage policy makers and promote human-centered approaches to suicide prevention