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Scott A. Baker
Scott Baker is President and founder of 5 Generation Bakers. Since early 2010, he oversees a talented group of bakers that manufacture gourmet cinnamon swirl breads and other quality goods for retailers, restaurants, and other food service outlets. Locally the bread is marketed under the Jenny Lee brand name. As the name of the new bakery implies, Scott is the 5th generation of the Baker family in the baking business.
Scott’s work history includes working for Jenny Lee Bakery as a full time production employee while he was enrolled as a full time student in the University of Pittsburgh’s College of General Studies. During his Pitt career, he took a semester off to attend the American Institute of Baking and received his degree in the Science and Technology of Baking. After receiving his CBT, Scott accepted a position with City Pride Bakery in Pittsburgh, PA. Scott graduated from Pitt in 1994 with a business degree and rejoined the family business the following year.
When Jenny Lee Bakery closed a few months shy of its 70th anniversary in 2008, Scott’s first move was to secure the trademark rights to the Jenny Lee brand name and soon began creating a business plan for his new bakery. Nearly 2 years later, in February of 2010, he fired the ovens up once again. In the time since then, 5 Generation Bakers has reached customers in over 5000 supermarkets, retailers, restaurants and food service operators from Chicago to the East Coast, France, Japan and Trinidad. 5 Generation Bakers was named one of the fastest growing private companies in Pittsburgh by the Pittsburgh Business Times for four years in a row as well as three consecutive years on Inc. Magazine’s “Inc. 5000” list of the fastest growing private companies in America.
In 2004, Scott was a founding board member of the McKees Rocks Community Development Corporation. During more than a decade of service, he served as vice president, board president, multiple committee chairs, and many other volunteer roles. His leadership within the MRCDC successfully oversaw the board through an aggressive strategic and governance plan implementation. Working towards the shared vision of community revitalization, Scott founded the Run Your Rox Off 5K in 2009 raising over fifty thousand dollars in the first 5 years. This popular community event attracted hundreds of runners and spectators to McKees Rocks annually.
Throughout Scott’s business career, he has been very involved with the community. His past community and board involvement includes elected president three times for the McKees Rocks Rotary Club (member since 1995), serving as board member and eventually president of the University of Pittsburgh CGS Alumni Society, serving on the University of Pittsburgh Alumni Association board of directors, serving on the board of directors for Focus On Renewal, participating with an F.O. R. steering committee that oversaw the addition of the first public library in McKees Rocks, serving as board member and president of the Western Area Bakers Association and serving on the board of directors for the national Retailers Bakery Association.
Scott has been recognized and awarded for his volunteer efforts by Rotary as well as being presented with the University of Pittsburgh Volunteer Excellence Award in 2006 and awarded the Father Don Fisher Community Advocate Award in 2019 by Focus on Renewal.
In 2016, Scott was nominated for the Pittsburgh Smart 50 Award hosted by Smart Business Magazine and was awarded the top prize for his impact on Sustainability. Scott was a finalist for the EY 2017 Entrepreneur of the Year in the Western Pennsylvania region. Food Quality and Safety Magazine named 5 Generation Bakers the winner of their 16th annual Food Quality & Safety Award in the small business category in 2017. Scott was the winner of the 2019 Pittsburgh Business Ethics Excellence Award hosted by the Pittsburgh Rotary Club and the University of Pittsburgh’s David Berg Center for Ethics and Leadership.
Scott completed the University of Pittsburgh Institute for Entrepreneurial Excellence Entrepreneurial Fellows Class (EFC) in 2019 and joined a growing network of western PA business leaders. In spring of 2021, Scott was nominated to join Leadership Pittsburgh and was accepted into the program. With a desire to learn more and have a lasting impact on the Pittsburgh community, the nomination was accepted. Scott completed the rigorous 9 month program in June 2022.
Scott is a lifelong resident of the Pittsburgh region. He was raised in Moon Township, graduating from Moon Area High School in 1989. Today, together with his wife Joella and son Zachary, he resides in Harmony Township, 30 miles north of Pittsburgh.