Inspired by a Loss to Support the Future

Dr. Felicia Snead, a radiation oncologist at UPMC, established the #StillSaaling: The Miles E. Saal Memorial Fund at The Pittsburgh Foundation in 2018 in memory of her son Miles, a gifted artist and musician who died in 2017 at age 21. The fund supports young artists in Pittsburgh through grants focused on mental health outreach, education and treatment as well as creative productivity.

When Dr. Felicia Snead moved to Pittsburgh in 2013, she brought with her a lifetime of love for the arts, two children and a career as a radiation oncologist. What she could not have anticipated was that this city would become the place where her eldest son, Miles, would quietly build an influential creative legacy in Pittsburgh's underground music scene.

The Invisible Thread

Miles, known professionally as Yung Mulatto, was a classically trained bassist, musician and visual artist. He was, according to singer-songwriter Clara Kent who worked with Miles, "an invisible thread that connected" an entire creative ecosystem in Pittsburgh.  

Miles graduated from CAPA High School before studying music and film at IUP, but he found a sense of belonging in Pittsburgh’s underground hip-hop community.  

He produced beats, designed album covers, created zines and drew portraits of friends on coffee cup sleeves. He tagged national artists on social media and called publications to advocate for the talent working and performing in Pittsburgh. Miles’ enthusiasm was contagious. He made people believe in a burgeoning artistic community when they otherwise would have barely batted an eyelash.

Miles also suffered from depression. In November 2017, he lost the battle to the disease. He was 21 years old.

"After he was gone, we found out how influential he was as an artist," Felicia Snead, Miles' mother, told the Pittsburgh Current in 2019. "He produced quite a few songs for local artists, he created album covers, he did graphic design work. He tried to uplift and shine a light on other people. I'm definitely a proud mom of who he had become."

Snead established the #StillSaaling: The Miles E. Saal Memorial Fund with two things in mind: honoring Miles and ensuring that other young artists do not face the same struggles in silence.

Supporting the Future, Inspired by a Memory

"My idea was a way to memorialize him and keep his memory alive, but at the same time support some of the young artists in Pittsburgh with their endeavors," she said.

The fund distributes grants each year to nonprofit organizations that align with its core criteria: a focus on young people, mental health support and creative production. Most grants are around $1,000, but Snead is clear about their value.

"Even though mine are small grants, a $1,000 grant could go a long way for artists like Miles finding their path," she said. "I know that and appreciate that, and I know Miles would have, too."

The fund provided grants in 2026 to Alumni Theater Company, Boom Concepts, Kelly Strayhorn Theater, The Legacy Arts Project, the Persad Center and The Trevor Project.

"The point is to support the arts in any way you can, because a lot of the formal funding structures are going away," Snead said. "But that doesn't mean artists are not still out there, and it's up to all of us to support them as they produce work and try to live."

Learn more about the #StillSaaling and The Miles E. Saal Memorial Fund.