The FBI’s Community Outreach Program supports the Bureau’s investigative mission by working to address multiple interrelated societal problems—including crime, drugs, gangs, terrorism, and violence. Linking community service, prevention, and law enforcement is a national trend spurred by grass roots efforts around the country, and FBI employees have joined this movement, volunteering in a wide variety of community-related efforts.
Outreach Specialists
Whitney Barnhart (West Virginia)
(304) 346-2300
wnbarnhart@fbi.gov
Felicia Trovato (Pittsburgh and Western Pennsylvania)
(412) 432-4000
fatrovato@fbi.govSocial Media Outreach
X: @FBIPittsburgh
Facebook: FBI Pittrsburgh
Instagram: @FBI Pittsburgh
The internet connects your children to endless possibilities—and to anyone, anywhere in the world. It also means anyone across the planet can potentially get access to your children.
At FBI Pittsburgh, we encourage parents, caretakers, and families to take the time to talk about online activity. You are the front line of defense in keeping children safe from online predators. Ask yourself: Do you know who your kids are talking to online? What devices do they have access to? Are you making it clear what appropriate online behavior and internet safety looks like?
Child predators often target victims openly communicating online or on mobile apps, grooming children to engage in increasingly inappropriate behavior. They may even act as a young child or peer to gain the trust of victims. Remember: The predator is to blame, not you or your child.
Join the FBI in building a safer internet experience for everyone. Together, we can all keep our children safe online.
Additional Resources
The Citizens Academy is an engaging six-to-eight-week program that gives business, religious, civic, and community leaders an inside look at the FBI. Classes meet in the evening at the FBI field office. The mission of the FBI Citizens Academy is to foster a greater understanding of the role of federal law enforcement in the community through frank discussion and education.
Candidates are nominated by FBI employees, former Citizens Academy graduates, and community leaders. Participants are selected by the special agent in charge of the local FBI field office.
To Apply
Charleston Citizens Academy:
The next FBI Charleston Resident Agency Citizens Academy class will be held on Tuesday evenings from 6 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., beginning Tuesday, March 4 through Tuesday, April 29, 2025.
The deadline for nomination form submissions is Friday, December 13, 2024, at 5 p.m. Forms should be sent to wnbarnhart@fbi.gov.
Pittsburgh Citizens Academy:
The next FBI Pittsburgh Citizens Academy class will be held on Wednesday evenings from 6 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., beginning Wednesday, March 5 through Wednesday, April 9, 2025. One session will occur on a Saturday during this timeframe.
The deadline for nomination form submissions is Friday, December 13, 2024, at 5 p.m. Forms should be sent to fatrovato@fbi.gov.
The Pittsburgh FBI offers public speakers on a limited basis on a variety of topics pertaining to the Bureau’s investigative mission. All requests for speakers must be submitted online a minimum of one month prior to your presentation date. Requests are subject to availability.
Since 1990, the Director’s Community Leadership Awards has been the principal means for the FBI to publicly recognize achievements of individuals and organizations that make extraordinary contributions to education and the prevention of crime and violence in their communities. Each field office nominates an individual or organization for the award, and, once selected, the recipients are invited to a ceremony and reception at FBI Headquarters.
The FBI’s Teen Academy program in Pittsburgh and West Virginia allows a diverse group of high school students the opportunity to develop leadership skills and to investigate the world of law enforcement. Active explorations of fitness and forensic science grow students’ minds and bodies while age-appropriate lessons on topics such as violence prevention, sextortion, and hoax threats teach them how to stay safe. FBI staff, including special agents, intelligence analysts, and professional staff, lead discussions and interactive sessions focused on the work we do, how we do it, and, most importantly, why we choose this work in service of all Americans.
To Apply
FBI Pittsburgh is not currently accepting Teen Academy applications.
The Child ID app—the first mobile application created by the FBI—provides a convenient place to electronically store photos and vital information about your children on your smartphone (note: no information is stored or collected by the FBI). In the event your child goes missing, users can show the pictures and provide physical identifiers such as height and weight to security or police officers on the spot. Using a special tab on the app, users can also quickly and easily e-mail the information to authorities.
The app also includes tips on keeping children safe, as well as specific guidance on what to do in those first few crucial hours after a child goes missing.
The FBI, in partnership with the DEA, created a short documentary focusing on the crisis of prescription drug and opioid abuse. The film, Chasing the Dragon: The Life of an Opiate Addict, outlines the dangerous cycle of opioid and prescription drug abuse—how the problem starts, how the addiction takes hold, and how that addiction damages one’s life and body. High school students and all ages above are the target audience for this video and the curriculum/facilitated discussion that accompanies it.
Attention Educators and Parents: FBI Pittsburgh Division’s H.O.P.E. (Heroin Outreach Prevention and Education) Initiative has created this product in collaboration with the DEA, Everfi and the Pittsburgh Penguins Foundation, to educate teens on the dangers of prescription drug misuse and substance abuse. Above is a quick sneak peek to the discussion. View the full panel discussion on the FBI’s YouTube channel.
FBI-SOS is a free, fun, and informative program that promotes cyber citizenship by educating students in third to eighth grades on the essentials of online security. For teachers, the site provides a ready-made curriculum that meets state and federal Internet safety mandates, complete with online testing and a national competition to encourage learning and participation. A secure online system enables teachers to register their schools, manage their classes, automatically grade their students’ exams, and request the test scores.
Anyone—young or old, in the U.S. or worldwide—can complete the activities on the FBI-SOS website. The testing and competition, however, are only open to students in grades 3-8 at public, private, or home schools in the U.S. or its territories.
