Ed Holden

President

Ed Holden started playing rugby with the Harlequins in 1990 at the age of 30 with no experience. His memories with the organization include a tour to England, Ireland and Wales and countless rugby trips all over the Eastern half of the US. Holden served as club President for three years and then Vice President after that for another two. After the construction and creation of the Founder’s Field facility, Holden became actively involved in the maintenance of the turf and facility operations.

Holden is a graduate of Shaler Area High School and Grove City College with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Business Administration. Holden has worked in the manufacturing industry for 45 years as both skilled labor and management. Currently, Holden is the Chairman and Vice President of C E Holden Inc., a family-owned business.

Dave D. Kuhn

Vice President

Dave Kuhn is a Pittsburgh native who has lived throughout the city, as well as the American mid-west. After graduating from Washington and Jefferson College in 1993, Kuhn returned to Pittsburgh and started his rugby career joining the Pittsburgh Harlequins. While playing, Kuhn also served as a coach for Bishop Canevin High School and later Fox Chapel High School. He also served several years as an officer with the Pittsburgh Harlequins. Today, Kuhn acts as a referee with USA Rugby and has volunteered with the Harlequin youth programs.

Kuhn is a technical supervisor with PPG where he volunteers with the United Way Day of Caring and the PPG GIVE program. Kuhn currently lives in Aspinwall with his wife, Lori, and has two sons.

Alfred T. Russo, Jr.

Treasurer

Al Russo is an integral part of the Pittsburgh Harlequins Rugby Football Association, holding many offices in his almost 3 decades with the organization. His time with Harlequins includes serving as Club President from 1999-2004 and RFA President from 2009-2014. He currently assists the Pittsburgh Harlequins in managing the Founders Field Facility. Russo is also an integral leader in the Banner Sponsorship committee, using his decade of sales knowledge to organize and implement one of the organizations most effective fundraising initiatives.

Russo is a graduate of The California University of Pennsylvania.  His rugby career has introduced him to people from around the world, and his dedication to youth has led him to volunteer as a mentor in the sport of rugby. His love for the sport and dedication to the community has led Russo to volunteer countless hours to both the Programs and Club even now that he is retired from competitive participation in the sport.

Russo has worked as a Senior Sales Consultant with Heeter Printing since 1996.

Sebastian Murati

Secretary

Sebastian Murati is Co-Director of the Youth Committee and secretary of the Pittsburgh Harlequins RFA. He assists with youth program development and project organization. Originally from Miami, he has been involved with the organization since 2017, including playing with the Pittsburgh Harlequins Rugby Football Club and serving in multiple officer roles.

In the fall of 2019, Sebastian also played for the University of Pittsburgh Men’s Rugby Club before playing a season with the Miami Tridents. He was integral in bringing the club back from the COVID-19 pandemic and reestablishing the club’s U19 program.

Outside of rugby, Sebastian enjoys cooking and training athletes in strength and conditioning.

Gloria Russo

Director

Gloria Russo is a three-decade supporter of the Pittsburgh Harlequins. She brings her experience running national tournaments and volunteering on the cut crew to help drive the Harlequins forward. Russo currently serves as the organization’s event coordinator for the Clubhouse rentals and manages the organization’s calendar. Russo leads the organization’s website efforts and is also the only female member of Club 73. 

Outside of her time with the Harlequins, Russo works as a Senior Customer Service Specialist at Heeter Printing and is a PA licensed real estate salesperson. She brings her love of events to produce Heeter’s annual Chili Cook-Off and March Madness events. 

Russo attended California University of Pennsylvania where she met her future husband Al, also a member of the Harlequin board. They have two daughters that are part of the Harlequin Rugby family.

Steve M. Friedberg

Director

Steve Friedberg has participated in Rugby for three decades, both locally and internationally. He joined the Board of Directors in the Spring of 2006 with the expressed interest in development. Through his genuine love for the sport, the youth of our region, and his extensive expertise in the corporate world, Friedberg has advanced the organizations fundraising efforts.

Friedberg is a graduate of St. Vincent College and is currently president and owner of Research Underwriters – one of the largest specialty insurers to the transportation industry in the country. He is also co-owner of Freedom Advantage Insurance Company (FAIC) and a Bermuda-based reinsurance company. In 1997 he founded the Eleanor Friedberg Art Scholarship Foundation, raising over $150,000 in Scholarship Funds through a juried Art Competition to benefit Pennsylvania inner-city high school seniors.

Marty M. Marra

Director

Marty Marra has been a member of the Pittsburgh Harlequins since 1977 and an active Board Member since 1996. He is always ready to assist the RFA in the fulfillment of its mission.

Marra began playing rugby in 1973 at Valley Forge Military Academy and was on the initial founding team at Bucknell University, eventually becoming President of the Bucknell RFC.  In 1977 he joined the Pittsburgh Harlequins and played over 10 years, as well as with the Michigan Rugby Club in 1987 – 1989.

Marra has a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering from Bucknell University and an MBA from Carnegie Mellon University.  Marra has worked in commercial construction for over 44 years and is the owner of MM Marra Construction, Inc.  Marra built Founders Field and the Clubhouse.  Marty brings his construction, business and contracting experiences to the board and is helpful in the maintenance of the facilities.

Dave Plum

Director

Dave Plum was born and raised in western Pennsylvania and began playing rugby with the Pittsburgh Harlequins in 1982. During his 15-year playing career with the Harlequins, Plum held several leadership positions with the club. He spent 12 years coaching rugby at several local high schools in the Pittsburgh area. Plum also served as a coach/mentor for the Harlequin’s Inner City Youth Rugby programs.

Plum received a degree in Business Administration from Westminster College and also completed course work for a Teaching Certificate in Secondary Education from the University of Pittsburgh. He has extensive work experience as a teacher, in banking, and in the home inspection industry. His hobbies include hiking and reading.

Christian Bononi

Director

Christian Bononi began his rugby career at New England College where he served as captain of his team junior and senior year. During his time with New England College, the team was ranked Division 1 leader in the NE Rugby College Union. Bononi also played abroad with Bogner RFC for one semester. After college, he went on to play with the Boston RFC and the Pittsburgh Harlequins.

Honored to be a board member for the Harlequin, Bononi looks forward to introducing rugby to inner city youth and the discipline and comradery the sport brings.

Bononi is an area manager for Employed for 25 years as an Area Manager for LafargeHolcim Ltd, a company focused on innovative cement, aggregates, asphalt, concrete products and construction services. Bononi also serves on various industry and community boards including

American Concrete Paving Association, Pennsylvania Aggregate and Concrete Association, Maryland Ready Mix Concrete Association, the Westmoreland Heritage Trail and the Turtle Creek Watershed Association.

Michael Appaneal

Director

Appaneal’s rugby experience spans three decades, beginning his career at Bowdoin College, where he was a member of the 1991 NERFU Collegiate Championship team. After college, Appaneal went on to play for and serve as Captain for both the Pittsburgh Harlequins RFC and Washington Irish RFC. He was named “Most Valuable Forward” for the Irish in 2001 and led them to a Potomac RFU Championship in 2002.

For the past 30 years, Appaneal has been an insurance executive with experiences in sales, management, and executive levels.

Roger D. Rees

Director

As past President of the Pittsburgh Harlequins Rugby Football Association, Roger Rees utilized his leadership experience to assure that the Board of Directors was working as a team to achieve the goals of our Mission Statement and provide professional benchmarks for success to guide us along the way.

Rees has worked in executive and senior management level positions in the security industry since 1989. In addition to the Pittsburgh Harlequins Rugby Football Association, Rees is a member of many professional organizations including BOMA and ASIS International where he also served as Treasurer of the Pittsburgh Chapter. Rees is also employed by Our Lady of the Sacred Heart High School where he coaches student athletes in Track and Cross Country.

Rees is a 1988 graduate of Slippery Rock University where he received his B.S. in Secondary Education. It is also where he was introduced to the game of rugby. Roger joined the Pittsburgh Harlequins in the Spring of 1990 and continued to play until 2002 when his first child was born. While an active player with the Pittsburgh Harlequins, he was elected to leadership positions and was one of the first Level III rugby coaches in Western Pennsylvania where he assisted with the Rugby Football Associations goals by volunteering to head coach at Sto-Rox Senior High School.

Providing opportunities for success at all levels of need is his primary motivation and he is grateful to be able to lead an organization that has been able to contribute to the youth and charitable organizations of Western Pennsylvania including The Greater Pittsburgh Food Bank, Meals on Wheels, Woodland Hills School District, West Pittsburgh Youth Rugby and North Pittsburgh Youth Rugby.

Mark K. Connolly

Director

Mark Connolly began his rugby career in the early 1970s, shortly after attending the University of Dayton. He joined the Harlequins in 1975 and has remained an integral part of the organization ever since. Connolly organized tours, and has traveled extensively overseas, representing the Harlequins from Bermuda and Mexico, to Europe and Australia. In the 1990s, Connolly transitioned from an active player to an even more active administrator with the Harlequins. As a member of both the Allegheny Rugby Union Referee’s Society and Midwest’s Referee’s Society, Connolly plays a pivotal role in game development throughout the Northern United States. For the past 10 years Connolly has organized programs and mentored teenagers in the Harlequin’s High School Programs. As Director of these programs, Connolly has seen hundreds of teenagers go on to play in college, and even return as mentors in their communities.

David L. Boyles

Director

David Boyles has served as the PRRFA secretary since 2019 and has been active in rewriting the updated mission statement, goals, and lines of effort while focusing on communications programs and policies for the club and all stakeholders. He has been an essential leader in the new initiative to rent Founders Hall and the continued building remodeling projects.  He has been the lead in the Dicks Sporting Goods liaison and the continued work to assist the youth with donations of both food and sports equipment.

Throughout his 15-year rugby career, Boyles has played with the All-Army Team in 2010, the ARU select side, the MARFU select side team, as well as global teams including a full season in Canberra, Australia for the Canberra Uni North Owls.

Boyles is a graduate of Edinboro University of Pennsylvania and Point Park University.  He is married to Sarah Boyles and has two children. Boyles graduated from Edinboro University in 2003 and began his playing career for the Harlequins at that point.

Boyles is a teacher in the Shaler Area School District and has serves as a major in the Pennsylvania Army National Guard. Boyles’ dedication to service both to the Harlequins and to the nation as an officer in the Army has been a great addition to the RFA Board.