About

Eric is currently the President and CEO with The First Tee of Pittsburgh.  He joined The First Tee of Pittsburgh Staff in 2008, prior to starting with TFTP Eric received his second Master’s degree in Sports Management from California State University in Long Beach while teaching in East Los Angeles.  Eric has a Bachelor’s in History and a Master’s Degree in Education from The University of Notre Dame. He is a The First Tee Coach and a Recognized Program Director from The First Tee Headquarters. He is married with two children and lives in Canonsburg, PA.  Eric loves college football, especially Notre Dame, playing all types of board/card games with family and friends, and is always up for a round of golf.

Director of Operations

Email:   pcoultas@firstteepittsburgh.org

Paul was born in Quantico, Virginia but has spent his life in Pittsburgh, PA.  He graduated from Sto-Rox High School in McKees Rocks in 1989.  He attended the University of Pittsburgh, Robert Morris University, and graduated from Geneva College with a B.S. in Human Resource Management.  He has been part First Tee – Pittsburgh since 2010 and currently serves as the Director of Operations.  Paul is a recognized Coach with First Tee.

After a 15-year courtship, he married his high-school sweetheart Lisa in 2003 and in 2011 they had twin girls named Julia and Serena.  Paul loves to play golf and has been organizing local leagues and trips to Myrtle Beach for the past 25+ years.  Paul’s actual full name is George Paul Coultas III.

Eric Kulinna joined The First Tee of Pittsburgh in March 2019 as the Director of Golf and Player Development at the Bob O’Connor Golf Course in Schenley Park.  He is a member of the PGA of America, and also a recognized Coach with The First Tee. A native of Pittsburgh, Eric graduated from Baldwin High School, and played on the Men’s Golf team at Penn State University.  His passion for coaching was ignited when he taught golf classes at the University of Illinois, while completing his Master’s degree in Kinesiology. Eric has worked at both private and public golf facilities in Illinois, Michigan and Arizona, and won the 2015 Southwest PGA Section Player Development award for the instructional programs he created and lead at Lone Tree Golf Club in Chandler, AZ.  He has also been selected by The First Tee to coach at the national Life Skills & Leadership Academy on three occasions. 

A native Pittsburgher, Leslie is married to Jim, they raised three sons together and enjoy their Jack Russell Terrier.

After being active with Junior Golf for nearly 30 years, Leslie began coaching with The First Tee of Pittsburgh in 2007. She brought experiences from her work with Junior Golf Programs, coaching a WPIAL section winning golf team and being a twenty-year member of the Women’s Golf Association of Western PA. She was captain of her Western Team for many years, worked as handicap chairman, chairman of the Women’s Association and was a five-time Club Champion. 

Leslie was very fortunate to have a few very special golf mentors along the way. One of her mentors made a big impact on her when she said, “Always give back to the sport that has given you so much.” That message runs through her every day when working with our young golfers.

Leslie has developed and run programs for the blind and amputees. She has worked at most of the First Tee of Pittsburgh sites including the Summer Dreamers program in the city of Pittsburgh. Under her direction, Leslie developed and ran the First Tee of Pittsburgh league for eleven years and began a successful Girls Golf program. 

As “The First Tee Coach”, Leslie can now be found in the North Hills of Pittsburgh as the Northern Regional Director and Coach. She is expanding her Junior League to the north this spring. Leslie continues to work with Nazareth Prep introducing golf to students in PE and is Head Coach of the Golf Team.

Leslie can be found at Dicks Sporting Goods in the Robinson golf department on Sundays where she has been a certified club fitter and sales associate for ten years.

Jeff started his First Tee experience in 2013 as a volunteer at South Park.  He was brought on full time in 2017 as the Facility and Pro Shop Manager of the Bob O’Connor Golf Course.  Jeff is a Level 2 Golf and Life Skills Coach who has been promoted to the Southern Regional Manager, teaching and overseeing First Tee of Pittsburgh clinic sites at South Park, Victory Hills, Cool Springs, and Pleasant Ridge.  Jeff is a graduate of the University of Pittsburgh with a B.A. in Communications. In his spare time, Jeff enjoys watching Penguins hockey, summertime gardening and taking care of his backyard birds.

Rio is an Alumni of The First Tee of Pittsburgh. She is currently a full-time coach with the title of City of Regional Manager and Outreach Coordinator for The First Tee Pittsburgh Chapter. She was very fortunate to be accepted and attend the very first Life and Leadership Academy at K-State in 2000, putting her with the program for 19 years.

Aaron has been involved with The First Tee of Pittsburgh since 2012.  He started out as a volunteer, progressed into seasonal summer work, and has since become an integral part of the golf course operations and a nationally trained Level 1 Lead Coach.  He serves as the Social Media Director and is an all around great guy. Aaron grew up in Michigan where he graduated from Western Michigan University with a degree in Accounting. Aaron has many years of golf industry experience in both the public and private sectors.  Aaron is a self proclaimed expert on local cuisine so don’t hesitate to ask for a recommendation.

Marc was President and CEO of The First Tee of Pittsburgh and General Manager of the Bob O’Connor Golf Course in Schenley Park when he retired at the end of 2019.  Marc has now transitioned into the role of Consultant for the current Capital Campaign to build the Arnold Palmer Learning Center at the Bob O’Connor Golf Course in Schenley Park.

Marc started at The First Tee of Pittsburgh in 2008 and has been a member of The First Tee Chapter Advisory Council. Previously he was Board President of Jeremiah’s Place, a crisis nursery in Pittsburgh, Co-President of the Mt. Lebanon Children and Youth Consortium, on the boards of the Mt. Lebanon Foundation for Education, Pittsburgh AFTRA, the steering committee of PA*USA (Partnership Against Underage Substance Abuse), the South Hills YMCA Indian Princess program, a member of the South Hills Business Leadership Network.  He is a recognized Master Executive with The First Tee and received the 2013 Chairman’s Award.

Marc holds a B.A. from Carnegie Mellon and M.F.A. from Penn State University.    He is married to Donna, a nurse practitioner at Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh and has two children, Josh and Chloe and a grandson, Leo.

Bill joined The First Tee of Pittsburgh as a volunteer in 2014 and soon moved on to become a part time Second Level  Life Skill and Golf Coach at the Bob O’Connor Golf Course in Schenley Park. At the present time he’s a Lead Life Skill and Golf Coach for TFTP at their 3 Lakes location in Penn Hills, PA. Bill graduated Schenley High School class of 1971 then went on to trade school and later became the CEO of Balm General Construction Inc.in 1985, now retired for four years. Bill attended Greater Works School of Ministry, graduated 2018 as an ordained Reverend and Teacher of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Bill is also an owner of the Bed and Breakfast named Le Maison du Paix, here in Pittsburgh since 2011. Bill’s favorite pastime is leading a men’s group at church, serving at homeless camps and shelters, making a difference in the youth and playing golf.

David began volunteering with the First Tee of Pittsburgh in January 2015 and became part of the staff in 2016.  He is a Level 1 certified coach and conducts clinics primarily at the Victory Hills location. David is a graduate of Penn State University and of Western New England School of Law and currently works as a patent attorney.  He has a background in the sciences, specifically physics and math, and is developing a STEM program for the chapter. In addition, he volunteers as a physics judge for the International and Pittsburgh Regional Science and Engineering Fairs.  He lives in Bethel Park and is an avid fan of all sports, though his passion for golf tends to place other sports and activities in second tier status.

Janice Roberts joined the First Tee of Pittsburgh in June of 2015 as a volunteer in the South Hills and soon after began working with the mentor program based in Oakland. In April 2016, she was hired on as a Part Time employee and teaches in the South Hills as a Level 2 First Tee Coach. She played both high school golf at Upper St. Clair High School in Southwest PA and college golf at Winthrop University in South Carolina, where she won four tournaments and is in the Athletic Hall of Fame class of 2014. She also acquired her undergraduate degree in Business Management and MBA in Business Administration while at Winthrop University.

D. Irene Ridenour is currently the Site Facilitator for the The First Tee of Pittsburgh’s Beaver Falls location. She joined The First Tee of Beaver Falls in 1999 as a Board Member, evolving into the Executive Director position in 2003 to 2018. Prior to joining The First Tee organization her education consisted of New Brighton School District and Penn State Insurance Program. She was the General Manager and Corporate Officer of The Blackwood Agencies for 35 years while also being a Corporate Officer of Black Hawk Golf Course to present.

Bryce Egger is an alumnus of The First Tee of Beaver Falls. After graduating from the program, Bryce went back to volunteer and then eventually act as the Program Director of the chapter for the past 5 years. He is excited to join The First Tee of Pittsburgh as a lead coach. Bryce is a graduate of Washington and Jefferson where he played golf collegiately for 4 years. Currently, Bryce is a 6th grade Science and Social Studies teacher at Blackhawk School District while also working as an employee of Blackhawk Golf Course.  Bryce is excited to bring his love and experiences with The First Tee program to the Pittsburgh Chapter.