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Advisory Board Formation

Regional Partnerships Driving Responsible Innovation

The Responsible Data Science (RDS@Pitt) Advisory Board brings together leaders from across sectors to ensure that data science education and practice stay grounded in real-world needs and ethical responsibility. Established through support from the Richard King Mellon Foundation, the Advisory Board represents a cross-section of Southwestern Pennsylvania’s most influential employers and innovators, all committed to building a more responsible digital future.

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Advisory Board Members and Industry Partners

Our Advisory Board includes representatives from major organizations across finance, healthcare, technology, manufacturing, logistics, and retail, including:

  • BNY Mellon – advancing responsible data use and governance in financial services.
  • PNC Bank and First National Bank (FNB) – shaping responsible analytics practices in regulated industries.
  • Accenture – offering insight into ethical AI, digital transformation, and data strategy.
  • FedEx – integrating responsible automation, logistics analytics, and data-driven decision systems.
  • DICK’S Sporting Goods – connecting consumer analytics with privacy, ethics, and community engagement.
  • PPG Industries – applying responsible innovation in manufacturing, sustainability, and materials science.
  • UPMC and Highmark Health – ensuring responsible health data practices, patient privacy, and data-driven care.
  • Sheetz – emphasizing transparency and customer trust in data-driven retail innovation.
  • City of Pittsburgh and Hillman Foundation– using civic data responsibly to improve public services, equity, and urban innovation.

Together, these partners form the foundation of a regional ecosystem where education, research, and practice intersect to promote responsible, equitable, and future-ready data science.

Skills and Workforce Readiness Subcommittee

To ensure that our programs prepare learners for success in today’s evolving data economy, the Advisory Board created a Skills and Workforce Readiness Subcommittee.
This subcommittee works to:

  • Identify and validate the technical and people competencies that define a “future-ready” data scientist.
  • Map those skills to industry-relevant learning opportunities in Pitt’s C+DS Library and RDSO framework.
  • Support a biannual curriculum review process that ensures Pitt’s Responsible Data Science training aligns with real workforce needs and emerging technologies.

Through this collaboration, industry partners help shape the competencies, context, and values that distinguish RDS@Pitt graduates — ensuring they are competitive, compassionate, and regionally grounded.

A Shared Vision for Regional Impact

By connecting academia, industry, and community partners, RDS@Pitt and the RK Mellon Foundation are helping build a sustainable talent pipeline that supports both economic mobility and responsible innovation in Southwestern Pennsylvania.

“Our Advisory Board isn’t just guiding curriculum — it’s defining what it means to practice data science responsibly in the real world.”
— Kendra Oliver, Managing Director, RDS@Pitt