Pam Weber: For ‘relentlessly caring’ PNC exec, giving goes both ways

VOLUNTEER OF THE YEAR

Pam Weber’s story – true to form for a National Philanthropy Day Volunteer of the Year – is largely about giving. Beyond her paid work as senior vice president and senior relationship manager for PNC Real Estate, Weber gives a lot.

She’s a longtime board member and rock-star fundraiser for Easterseals Redwood and YWCA Greater Cincinnati, and she has mentored scores of students at the University of Cincinnati Real Estate Center, earning the Distinguished Service Award from the University of Cincinnati’s Carl H. Lindner College of Business in 2020. She has led efforts to help make the region’s corporate community more inclusive of disability and neurodiversity. Colleagues describe her with words like “dedicated,” “always engaged and supportive” and “a truly wonderful friend.”

“Pam is someone who knows the power of hard work, collaboration and care – and putting those three things together makes a remarkable difference in terms of the impact of what she’s able to do,” said Marianne W. Lewis, dean of UC’s Lindner College. “She truly does give things her all, but she also brings so many others into the effort, and then has a multiplier effect – and I think that is a very powerful gift.”

Even Weber’s two young adult children, who grew up amidst the whirlwind of busy working parents (husband Warren is PNC’s regional president for Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky), stressed her giving nature above all: “My mom will drop everything she’s doing to help me,” said daughter Kendall, while son Jason called her “a relentlessly caring woman. … If she’s in a position to help someone in need, she sees it as her duty to do so.”

A hand-up, not a handout

But Pam Weber’s story is also about receiving – the good that can happen when a giver stops giving, sets ego aside and accepts help from others. She saw it all the time growing up, in a small town north of Dayton where neighbors naturally relied on each other: “I come from modest means, but my family taught me that if you’re lucky enough to have, there are a lot of folks who don’t.” 

Decades later, Pam and Warren Weber saw reciprocity in action at Easterseals Redwood, an organization that strives for “equity, access, and inclusion for people with disabilities, military veterans and people facing economic disadvantages.” The Webers got involved as volunteers, and then as leaders. “We liked the idea of workforce development – that it’s a hand-up and not a handout,” Pam Weber recalled. “Never did Warren and I dream that one day we would be the direct beneficiaries – you could say, the life-saving beneficiaries – of the service Easterseals provides people.” 

The unexpected gift came in the form of a work opportunity for their son, Jason. Like a lot of smart kids with neuro challenges (in his case, severe ADHD), Jason struggled in the transition from high school to college. He soon withdrew from his engineering degree program at the University of Dayton and came home “a little lost,” Pam Weber remembered. She asked her friends at Easterseals if they might take Jason on as a volunteer; he started off assembling medical test kits, regaining his confidence and finding new purpose as an essential worker during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Now, at age 24, Jason is thriving in a full-time position at Easterseals Redwood, as an inventory specialist – and Pam Weber has a whole new reason for giving that organization her best. Among other projects, she recently co-chaired the Easterseals’ Power of Work/Power of Purpose capital campaign, raising $30 million to improve the organization’s Walnut Hills campus, while also improving sustainability through increasing their endowment and adding to resources dedicated to innovative programming. 

“Pam is a cheerleader, a decision-maker and a dot connector,” said Danielle Gentry-Barth, executive vice president of advancement and veteran services for Easterseals Redwood. “She takes the time to know our clients and employees. It is no exaggeration when I say that when Pam Weber walks through the doors [here], people come running to hug her.”

That’s a kind of mom energy Jason can appreciate, now. He didn’t always.

“Admittedly, I for sure remember times growing up, being peeved about being dragged along to do volunteer work on a weekend. But I also remember a bunch of awesome events and experiences I got to be a part of as well,” Jason said. “She’s taught me the value of giving back and helping those that need it – something I truly might not have realized without her insistence. I’m certain that I will live a more fulfilling life because of her … She’s set the bar pretty darn high.”

A legacy of striving and caring

Both Weber siblings have carried the family volunteering habit into adulthood. Jason, for instance, recently participated in the Easterseals Redwood Honor Ride, raising funds for disabled veterans while racking up bicycle miles. 

“That’s when I know they’re watching and listening,” Weber said. “That makes me happy.”

“Each day I strive to work as hard, care as much, try as hard (and even talk as much) as my mom,” said Kendall, now in her first year studying business at Indiana University. “I will look up to her no matter how old I am, because she knows how to work, love, support and spread her skills and values to others.”

Raising a couple of Gen Zs, and mentoring dozens of others (along with countless Millennials before them) through her volunteer work with UC, has given Weber a hopeful perspective on the future.

“They’re going to have a lot to clean up,” she said of tomorrow’s leaders. “They’re going to have a lot to deal with, sure. But they’re more resilient than we think. They problem-solve in a different way. We just have to give them some time and independence.” 

As for her own future, Weber can predict a couple of things: It will involve a lot of giving and a lot of receiving. 

“I hope I can take a whole different level of energy into that second chapter,” said Weber, referring to a retirement that’s still some years off. For now, she said, “Warren and I have been blessed to build the careers and the lives that we have, and to have financial security. We can share our time. We can share our resources.

“I learned very early on that when I volunteer, I get to use all these other skills that I don’t get to use every day. I get to flex all these other muscles,” Weber added, pointing to one of the many gifts that come with giving: “By doing this, I’m fueling myself along with others, and that’s pretty special.”