A community leader, author, artist and educator, William Strickland is the President and CEO of the Manchester Bidwell Corporation, which runs the Manchester Craftsmen’s Guild and Bidwell Training Center in Pittsburgh’s North Side. Bill is a lifelong resident of the North Side’s Manchester neighborhood, and founded the Manchester Craftsmen’s Guild as an undergraduate at the University of Pittsburgh as an after-school program to teach children in his old neighborhood pottery skills. With a mission to work with disadvantaged and at-risk youth and adults, Bill has dedicated his life to the betterment of Pittsburgh, and the North Side in particular. He has been honored by the White House and received a MacArthur Genius Award in 1996 and a Goi Peace Award in 2011 in recognition of his work.

Bill is a member of the Remake Learning Council.