Mission

The mission of the Southwest Professional Development Center (SWPDC) is to provide professional development opportunities to adult basic education practitioners that result in the enhancement of adult basic skills and competencies.

Professional development activities include workshops, focus/sharing groups, learning from practice projects, teleconferences, and statewide training modules.  These activities are sponsored by the Center in response to the field's needs, the state's initiatives, and the statewide indicators of program quality.  Over three hundred adult basic educators and volunteers participate in the SWPDC activities each year.  To contact the SWPDC directly, please call 412-661-0811, or email Sue Snider at

Since 1992, Greater Pittsburgh Literacy Council (GPLC) has housed the SWPDC which serves the following counties:  Allegheny, Cambria, Fayette, Greene, Somerset, Washington, and Westmoreland.  SWPDC provides training and technical assistance services to thirty-five adult basic education programs in the seven-county area.