Bell Acres attorney, Pitt alum honored by university's Varsity Letter Club

Beth Tarasi has always been one to hold her own on — and in — the court.

The attorney is always willing to do what she needs to do to earn a win, whether making a good pass to a teammate on the basketball court or representing a client in a courtroom.

“I like being in the courtroom where I can help people get results,” said Tarasi, who has been practicing law since 1991. “You are so prepared when you are in court so you can help your client. I used to feel nervous in the courtroom but I am now comfortable and I realized this is the American system of justice and everyone in there takes their jobs seriously. They are trying to do everything right.”

Tarasi, who will turn 65 in March, handles litigation and trial work for civil cases from personal injury to real estate and is also a certified mediator

The Bell Acres resident’s other court presence began at Quaker Valley High School. She attended the University of Pittsburgh on a women’s basketball scholarship and graduated with a dual degree in business and speech rhetoric in 1982.

Tarasi is being honored as one of the 2025 Pitt Varsity Letter Club Awardees of Distinction. The award honors former Pitt varsity letter winners 25 or more years after graduation or completion of their playing days for their community and professional achievements. She and the other awardees were invited to the Varsity Letter Club Dinner at the Courtyard Marriott in Oakland on Jan. 10. She also was recognized at the Pitt men’s basketball game against Louisville at the Petersen Events Center the following day.

“I look back on my teammates and in hindsight appreciate what I gained from being on a team with them,” said Tarasi, who played a swing guard position. “Debbie Lewis was incredible to play alongside and such a strong person who inspired me. She became a dentist. Her work ethic was unbelievable. Jennifer Bruce was also so easy to be on the floor with and she was another hard worker who became a nurse. Her loyalty to Pitt and her teammates was unmatched. Rebecca Maziarz has always been a great friend and a hard worker. She is an attorney and partner at a large law firm.”

Tarasi said support came from Donna Sanft, a former University of Pittsburgh athletics administrator who was the head Pitt women’s gymnastics coach when she played basketball there, and Alfreeda Goff, who was the head coach for Pitt women’s track and field program at the time.

Sanft said she often would watch the women’s basketball games.

“All of us women’s coaches and players understood the challenges female athletes faced and still face,” said Sanft. “Beth was a guard and guards are leaders of their team. She was definitely a leader on the court. She was smart, strategic and confident, which are the same qualities you look for when you want someone to represent you.”

One of six children, Tarasi said she and her siblings were inspired to follow their dreams by their 93-year-old mother Patricia and their late father, Louis Tarasi Jr.

Father and daughter practiced law together for 34 years in Downtown Pittsburgh at Tarasi & Tarasi PC.

Her dad was her mentor and a nationally known attorney for his work on cases such as the Exxon Valdez oil spill case in 1989, where 11 million gallons of crude oil spilled into Alaska’s Prince William Sound.

The two were lead counsel for the accident at the Three Mile Island nuclear power station near Harrisburg in 1979.

Newspaper stories about her dad are displayed on the office walls.

Up until a few years ago, her dad would assist with cases virtually. He passed away in December 2023 at the age of 92. She was there by his side holding his hand. Tarasi is now her mom’s caregiver.

“I was so blessed to be able to practice law with my dad,” said Tarasi, who now sits at his desk.

Tarasi has been named one of the best lawyers in America and a Pennsylvania super lawyer. She is AV Preeminent Rated — the highest rating an attorney can achieve — and a member of the Million Dollar Advocates forum. She was recognized with Beth Tarasi Day in the City of Pittsburgh on June 10, 2022, for volunteer legal service for a non-profit to get property.

Being a female lawyer wasn’t always easy, Tarasi said. In the early days, she was required to wear suits with skirts, stockings and heels. She said she was called “honey” and “ma’am” and sometimes male attorneys would talk over her.She learned to keep moving forward from her parents and from playing basketball.

Tarasi said she also was inspired by judges Carol Los Mansmann, Nora Barry Fischer and Christine A. Ward.

“I quietly watched these women,” Tarasi said. “They made their mark and were positive leaders.”

Tarasi attended law school in the evenings at Duquesne University, while also raising her oldest son Ted Stevenson, currently a producer for KDKA’s ”PTL,” as a single mom (she held him in her arms when she graduated from law school). Her second son, Ben Stevenson, was born in 1992. He works as a senior associate with G2 Capital Advisors in Boston.

Her children are her greatest accomplishments, Tarasi said.

“Every time I think of them, I fall in love with them all over again,” she said.

Tarasi never told her boys about playing college basketball, but when Ben said his grade school team needed a coach, Tarasi’s mom told them about her time playing at Pitt. Tarasi coached the St. James Elementary boys basketball team for 13 years, leading the school to two Diocesan championships and multiple section titles.

As a way to help raise money for the grade school team, Tarasi would auction off a chef’s dinner for 10-12 people. She raised $6,000 and for the team and began volunteering her time and resources to cook for other causes around town. After marrying her second husband, Tony Sinatra in 2004 — a distant relative of Frank Sinatra — the dinners would include background music by Frank Sinatra.

When Ben was in high school at Quaker Valley, he gave his mom a ball with messages on it that said “I love you mom and you’ve given me all the support I need” for Mother’s Day.

Tarasi graduated from Quaker Valley in 1978 and is in the Quaker Valley Athletic Hall of Fame.

Sanft said she is impressed but not surprised that Tarasi has also been successful in life.

“She does really important work,” Sanft said. “This award is about those who have lettered in a sport and what they’ve accomplished in their lives after college. She supports the university. She is an active alum. She is a role model.”