Meet the Team!

Erin Gabriel: Chair

Erin Gabriel is the chair of the Beaver County Democratic Committee. A committeewoman from Hanover Twp, Erin moved to the Pittsburgh area about 25 years ago to study biology at Carnegie Mellon University and fell in love with Western PA. She worked in marine biology at Duke University and in Cape Cod but couldn’t stay away from the area for long.

Erin first knocked on doors in 2000 for the Gore presidential campaign. Her love for biology quickly gave way to a necessary passion for policy and politics when her children were born. All three of her children have disabilities, including her youngest, who is medically complex and multiply disabled. So she knows how impactful the policy decisions made at the federal, state, and local levels were for kids like hers- in every area: health care, education, infrastructure. 

In 2018, she worked with multiple candidates to educate them about disability issues. In addition, she ran large grassroots postcarding campaigns and was featured in a New York Times article by Michelle Goldberg,” Women Might Save America Yet,” on July 2, 2018, for her efforts. Since then, she has continued to knock doors, make calls, and fundraise for many of our local campaigns. 

Erin also worked as the National Director of Advocacy for a family-led organization advocating for the health care, education, and community inclusion that kids with complex medical needs and disabilities need to survive and thrive. In that position, she worked directly on legislation and advocacy with many Members of Congress and Senators and with large coalitions that included labor unions, the ACLU, and the Leadership Conference. In addition, she worked to educate the Biden transition team on how the administration’s policies would impact disability issues. 

Erin says, “I’ve long believed that as parents, it’s not our job to change our children to fit into the world. It’s our job to build a world that is worthy of, welcoming ,and accessible to ALL of our children.”

Robert Steffes: Co-Vice-Chair

Robert Steffes is a graduate of Moon Area High School and has an Associate Degree in professional piloting from CCBC. He is a retired jet charter pilot and 19-year resident of Aliquippa where he served on the city Zoning Hearing Board and as a director of the Municipal Water Authority. In addition to 50 years of social and political activism, Robert was a past president of the Crescent/Shousetown Area Historical Society and the Beaver Valley Area Beekeepers Association.

Erin Kelley: Co-Vice-Chair

Erin has been a human rights activist for over half her life and first engaged in political activism when interning for the 2008 Barack Obama Campaign in Butler County. After working for the Beaver County Housing Authority for over five years, she learned that the people of Beaver County need legislators who do the work and fight for all of us. Now, Erin advises new candidates to ensure all communities have their seat at the table. She is eager to tackle having an official title with the Democratic Party! 

Mary Beth Eastman: Secretary

Mary Beth Eastman has been a Beaver resident since 2008 when she relocated with her husband, who teaches in the Blackhawk School District. Mary Beth has a degree in Journalism from Bowling Green State University in Bowling Green, Ohio, and formerly worked for the Beaver County Times. Currently, she works as a freelance writer and editor. Mary Beth has three children in the Beaver Area School District and has been a volunteer with the Beaver County Democratic Committee since 2018. She is the designer of our logos and branding including our postcards, bookmarks, sweatshirt, etc.

Theresa Omogrosso: Treasurer

Theresa is a Beaver Falls native. She began volunteering for Democratic candidates in the days of Union Hall phone banks and paper phone books. She is a tireless volunteer, serving on multiple standing committees, using her professional skills to chair both the Bylaws and Finance Committees, and co-chairing the Voter Registration Committee. She has been instrumental in the resurgence of the Beaver Falls Democratic Committee.