Dr. Cynthia D. Shapira is the chairwoman of Pennsylvania’s State System of Higher Education’s Board of Governors and vice-chair of the Brandeis University board of trustees and a former trustee of Point Park University. Cindy is a member of AGB’s board of directors. She is a member of the Wellesley College President’s Advisory Council.  

Dr. Shapira serves on the board of the Allegheny County Airport Authority, chaired the Advisory Board of the Pennsylvania Center for Women In Politics at Chatham University, and served on the boards of the Pittsburgh Promise, United Way of Southwestern Pennsylvania, and WQED Pittsburgh. She was the founder and chairwoman of the Southwestern PA United Way’s 21 & Able Initiative to address the needs of youth with varying abilities aging out of special education and to promote a right and entrée to work agenda. She was Honorary Chair of Allegheny County 365, a project to dramatically increase inclusion and access for individuals of varying abilities in Allegheny County. 

Dr. Shapira participated in PA Governor-Elect Josh Shapiro’s Higher Education Transition Committee. She was a vice-chair of PA Governor Tom Wolf's transition team and worked on the Governor's Advisory Board on Education and Workforce Development. Past Governor Tom Corbett appointed her to the Pennsylvania Commission on Women. She was a management consultant in the education and non-profit sectors independently and with KPMG and Pappas Consulting Group, Inc.  

Dr. Shapira holds an Ed.D from the University of Pennsylvania, a Master’s in Public Administration from the Harvard Kennedy School of Government, and a B.A. from Wellesley College.