ECAT’s tenants will expand the offerings to the neighborhood beyond education. The United Way of Erie County by Aug. 11 is scheduled to move its offices from West Sixth Street into condominium space it purchased in the ECAT building. “I love that this school is going to be used for something similar — education, a place where people can learn and grow,” Devlin said during a recent tour of the refurbished building. Listen to Lisa Thompson’s Q & A with Daria Devlin, executive director of the living rooms with light wood floors.
Is the Executive Director of the Erie Center for Arts & Technology . A life-long resident of the City of Erie, Ms. Devlin is a graduate of the former Central High School. She holds a Bachelor’s degree from Colgate University and an M.Ed. Ms. Devlin has over 15 years of experience in the nonprofit sector. Prior to taking the position with ECAT in 2019, Ms. Devlin served as the Coordinator of Grants and Community Relations for Erie’s Public Schools.
ECAT is a community based educational arts and career training organization that inspires, educates and empowers people of all ages with adult jobs training and creative youth programs. Recently in the headlines, ECAT is a nonprofit organization that functions as a community-based educational arts and career training facility. ECAT inspires, educates, and empowers individuals through adult job training and creative programs for at-risk youth.
While in person, Antonio educated himself through instructional books on the concepts and processes of visual art. Released in 2018, Antonio is now 45-years-old and lives as a valued member of the Erie community, committed to serving others and creating connection points through art that sparks meaningful dialogue and relationships. Antonio created his first exterior mural in 2019, and since then has both led and assisted various mural projects in Erie County.
As she prepares to welcome students into the building, she dreams of plans for what is left of the unused space in the former Wayne School. She wonders, for example, if the former boiler room, with its big windows and flood of natural light, would make a good art gallery. Gymnasium — ShanPull Sports LLC, a sports program whose head is Shannon Pullium, the former basketball coach at Strong Vincent High School and Mercyhurst North East. Pullium has said he will run basketball and volleyball leagues and provide personal trainers and literacy programs out of the gym. Overall, as many as 200 people a day will use the ECAT building, Devlin said, bringing potential foot traffic to area of East Avenue south of East Sixth Street. ECAT joins the Barber National Institute, to the north of East Sixth Street, as an asset to the East Avenue area.