In 2001, Deborah Moses became the first executive director of PowerLink, a Pittsburgh-based and founded organization devoted to advancing and growing established women-owned businesses through the use of voluntary advisory councils.
PowerLink, a nonprofit group founded in 1991, was operated exclusively with volunteer resources for 10 years until Moses became the first full-time executive director.
“We were founded from the ground up by an all-volunteer corps of local business people who ran PowerLink for 10 years with no funds, but with a lot of heart and talent,” says Moses.
The organization matches a voluntary advisory panel of expert businesspeople to each woman-owned business that it seeks to help. During a series of meetings, these panels troubleshoot and seek to find ways to help women grow their businesses and solve various business problems.
Moses oversees 90 active volunteers and draws upon a corps of 400 business volunteers who are trained PowerLink advisers.
She continues to be a tireless, hands-on director who is constantly trying to improve the advisory process. She has increased the number of business owners served from six to 18 a year, tripled the number of advisers and broadened the service area beyond Allegheny County to Beaver, Lawrence, and Butler counties.
