The power of community: Case studies from Erie and Pittsburgh

Charles “Boo” Hagerty is the President of the Hamot Health Foundation which is the philanthropic organization that supports UPMC Hamot and many community health initiatives. He first joined UPMC Hamot in 2001 as the senior vice president of marketing and corporate communications and transitioned to senior vice president of strategic resources in 2009. He was named the vice president of northern tier markets for UPMC Health Plan in 2012 and served in that role for four years. In 2016, Boo rejoined the Hamot Health Foundation and along with a highly engaged board and team, HHF has driven many vital projects in the region including the launch of the Magee Women’s Research Institute, the Wayne School redevelopment project, the UPMC Jameson School of Nursing at UPMC Hamot, the RecoveryisBeautful program and most recently he serves as the project lead for the Housing First initiative in Erie County. He also led the launch of the Erie Center Arts and Technology serving as the inaugural chair of the board working closely with the Manchester Bidwell Corporation.

As a lifelong member of our community, he has served as a volunteer and board member of many non-profits and organizations. He currently serves on the board of directors for several organizations including ACES, Erie Bank, Safe Harbor Behavioral Health, Erie Center for Arts and Technology, Infinite Erie, and Build Community Development Corporation.

Boo received a bachelor's degree in advertising from West Virginia University and was the founding partner and owner of Fishtank Creative from 1989 – 2001. He is the proud husband of Aimee who has serves as a full-time health care and business executive as well as an adjunct faculty member at many local and national universities. They split their time between work and chasing their five children and their growing families as they most enjoy their newfound joy as grandparents.

Dan Lavalee is Associate Vice President of Community Engagement at UPMC Health Plan. In this role he drives scalable, high-impact initiatives that align people, programs, and partnerships to improve health outcomes and overall community well-being. Mr. Lavalee created and continues to spearhead UPMC Health Plan’s Pathways to Work program, which helped hire over 10,000 Medicaid members since 2021—reshaping UPMC’s recruitment strategy for those with barriers to work and bringing more than $5 million in federal and state funding to western Pennsylvania. He also led the creation of UPMC Health Plan’s first Neighborhood Center in Pittsburgh’s East End.

Mr. Lavalee serves on the Pennsylvania Workforce Development Board, the Slippery Rock University Council of Trustees, and  the United Way of Southwestern Pennsylvania Executive Committee.

A Carnegie Mellon University graduate, Mr. Lavallee holds a B.S. in Public Policy & Management and an MS in Health Care Policy & Management. He resides in Pittsburgh, PA, with his wife and daughters.