WELCOME PASTOR SALLY JO SNYDER!

Pastor Sally Jo joined the Hot Metal community as Interim Pastor on Holy Week of 2025. She is a United Methodist pastor who has spent most of her career in advocacy. Pastor Sally Jo is a YINZER by birth and wisdom, a loyal Pittsburgh Pirates fan, a lifelong member of Steelers Nation, and believes Mister Rogers is a saint in a cardigan and that community is all of us.

MORE ABOUT PASTOR SALLY JO

Pastor Sally Jo Snyder answers and lives her calling through a social justice lens. A community organizer for over 28 years, she has directed campaigns on local, state, regional, and national efforts on issues including economic justice, public education reform, children, race, the inclusion and rights of the LGBTQIA+ community, and the health, wellness, and inclusion of persons with disabilities. She is a published writer, a gifted communicator, and a frequent speaker at rallies, public forums, and a guest lecturer.

AWARDS

2024 Fellow in the National Preaching Justice Cohort

2022 Certificate in Spiritual Literacy

2018 Pennsylvania Occupational Therapy Association Community Healthcare Advocate and Educator of Future Occupational Therapists

2017 Washington County ARC Advantage Community Supporter Award

2017 Staunton Farm Albert B. Craig Jr. Award for Innovation in Behavioral Health

EDUCATION

Point Park College
B.A. in English and Secondary Education

Pittsburgh Theological Seminary
Master’s in Divinity

EXPERIENCE

ACHIEVA
Project Coordinator: Health Disparities Among People with Disabilities and the Impoverished

  • Built an active base including self-advocates, health professionals, educators, faith leaders, community leaders, and involvement of members of the Latino community

  • Created a story library of the lived experiences of poverty and inequities

Consumer Health Coalition
Director of Advocacy and Consumer Engagement

  • Began and oversaw the advocacy wing which educated, advocated, and engaged over 3000 persons annually.

Children’s Defense Fund
National Coordinator for the Children’s Sabbath Program

  • Mobilized civic organizations and faith communities

  • Co-writer of the Children’s Sabbath Manual around children’s advocacy

Good Schools Pennsylvania
Northwestern PA Regional Director

  • Organized several hundred local community advocates, six university chapters, and thousands of faith groups around public education reform

United Methodist Clergy

  • Founded the conference chapter of the Methodist Federation for Social Action

  • Chair of the Conference Church and Society Committee and Board Member of the General Board of Church and Society