From childhood volunteer to full-time team member, Kyalie Mizerak’s journey with Family House comes full circle as she steps into her new role as Clinical Marketing Coordinator
2 min read
Following her graduation from Grove City College in May 2025, Family House hired Kyalie Mizerak for the role of Clinical Marketing Coordinator. In this position, she acts as the liaison between Family House and its healthcare partners.
Kyalie’s Family House journey began in 2012 at just nine years old when she began to accompany her grandmother, seasoned volunteer Karen Gallarno, on her regular shifts. Kyalie spent the next decade serving all four of Family House’s former locations with Karen, who made sure her four grandchildren got a chance to experience the joy of volunteering at Family House.
As the end of Kyalie’s sophomore year of college approached, and halfway to a degree in Communications, Kyalie returned to intern with Family House. The following summer, Kyalie renewed her commitment to Family House as the Marketing and Events intern, assisting with Family House marketing and fundraisers.
Just a month before her graduation, Family House offered Kyalie the role of Clinical Marketing Coordinator. “It seemed like the next right step since this place is so much a part of me. Even physically – I still have a scar on the back of my ankle from a linen cart my cousin hit me with at the former Shadyside location,” Kyalie recalled with a smile.
While her internships primarily surrounded Family House’s Annual Polo Match, the Clinical Marketing Coordinator position allows Kyalie to serve Family House’s guests in a new way. Pittsburgh’s world-renowned healthcare industry is personal for her as well; both her grandmother and her mother received kidney transplants from Allegheny General Hospital in 2003 and 2020, respectively. Her other grandmother is a melanoma survivor who was treated at UPMC Hillman Cancer Center and UPMC Shadyside.
“I wouldn’t have the same perspective if I hadn’t grown up around Family House and interacted so often with the guests. We knocked on their doors to deliver towels and rode the elevator with them. Those are fond memories,” Kyalie shared. “But I know what it’s like to be in their shoes. It’s such a privilege to be able to care for our guests in partnership with those who make Pittsburgh an incredible place to travel to for medical care.”
Healthcare professionals can contact Kyalie at kmizerak@familyhouse.org directly for information or questions on how to inform your patients about Family House.
