My name is Savanna Russell. I am 5'3, 28 years of age and work two jobs as an Administrative Assistant and a Call Center Supervisor. I am one of the 100 beautiful brown bold women of the Pittsburgh region because in the many years of facing the adversities due to my skin color, I have succeeded in completing my accomplishments and proving the spectators wrong. Growing up in the Bloomfield area, I was blessed with a very well upbringing and wasn’t deprived of anything throughout life. I was always a high honors student, was a member of the National Honor Society, obtained both an Associate’s and Bachelor’s Degree and worked for a prestigious law firm for 7 years until moving to social services. My biggest problem that I’ve faced in this city was always my skin color. That may sound like a cliché for most African-Americans; however, it’s a double-sided sword for me from my own race who only look at my beauty and light skin tone along with Caucasians who judge based off of my skin color alone. I was able to overcome this challenge with my articulate conversations, expressed leadership skills and being able to guide my employees to being better, productive workers. My goal is to continue serving as a leader in both my work and personal life. Giving self-esteem advice to those who don’t really know how to love oneself is also a life-long goal. I plan to become a Human Resource Director of a law firm, start a family and pass down my knowledge from life experiences. With everything that I had, and still, endure in this city I am proud to come out more successful each year and call myself a Pittsburgh resident.
