Latest News from Technical.ly
Technical.ly
7 hours ago
- Business
- Technical.ly
Still doing the work: How DEI leaders are adapting to political pushback
As national pressure mounts against DEI programs, some organizations are removing terminology, rewriting job descriptions or folding initiatives altogether. But others are adapting, embedding DEI principles throughout their work and refusing to walk away. Experts addressed these themes during 'What Happens to DEI Strategies Now?,' a panel at the 2025 Builders Conference. Sylvie Gallier Howard, founder of Equitable Cities Collaborative, said she's seen organizations across sectors retreat from public-facing DEI branding. Some, particularly those reliant on federal funding, have even received direct warnings: Don't list DEI as a line item, or risk losing support. 'It's this weaponization of DEI,' Howard said. 'A lot of people I know are saying they're scrubbing those words from their websites, from their literature, because they're afraid of losing funding or becoming a target. They consistently tell me, 'We're still doing the work, we're just not using the words publicly.'' That rebranding might mean swapping language on websites or external communications, explained Alyssa Vasquez from the professional training firm Cultured Enuf. Just because the wording changes doesn't mean the mission is different, she said. These moves are made out of necessity and fear of losing funding from the federal government. Vasquez emphasized that these shifts don't have to signal a retreat — but leaders must be intentional in how they implement work policies. 'My hope is that [companies] shift from 'token' to real strategies integrated into talent management. We help them integrate real questions in interviews about experiences: 'Have you been led by a woman of color? Have you had a Black woman as a supervisor?'' Vasquez said. 'Because if [the answer is] never, that may cause issues. Focusing on day-to-day, making it about competencies, not token hires — that's the direction I'd like to see.' Embedding DEI across operations Vasquez and Howard shared how they're navigating this moment with their own businesses. Howard, whose firm includes 'equitable' in the name, said she's had potential clients question whether she'll rebrand. Even if she won't, she admits that not everyone can make such a firm choice. 'What's the opposite of 'diversity, equity, inclusion?' 'Homogeneity, inequity, exclusion?'' she said. 'Is that what we want? I think we who can stand up, must. But some can't. We have to acknowledge that.' Vasquez, who works nationally across sectors, said she chooses her clients carefully. In early conversations, she's upfront about the kind of work she does — and if an organization can't integrate with it, she walks away. But she acknowledged not everyone has that ability. 'If we're not aligned, that's a red flag,' Vasquez said. 'If you have the privilege, you can do that. Not everyone does.' Howard noted that in her economic development experience, strategies like supplier diversity or equitable small business funding are being reframed around geography, income or disinvestment — still equity, just with a different lens, she said. There are organizations that are doubling down. Vasquez praised the School District of Lancaster as an example of leadership in DEI. 'Maybe they shift job titles, but they're not retreating from the actual pillar of equity. That's real leadership,' she said. If DEI is seen as a standalone program — or a quick post-2020 fix — it will always be vulnerable to political shifts. But when it's baked into operations, it becomes part of how an organization functions and survives. Vasquez cited the interview process and retention strategy as examples of where this integration matters. It's also important organizations and companies work together toward these goals. 'A big part of this is forming coalitions for advocacy,' Howard said, 'to do it carefully but not give up.'
Technical.ly
16 hours ago
- Business
- Technical.ly
TEDCO's 2025 Entrepreneur Expo
Event Description TEDCO's 11th Entrepreneur Expo will be held Tuesday, October 21, 2025, at The Hotel at the University of Maryland. The Expo is a premier event in Maryland showcasing various resources from across the State and is jam-packed full of workshops, roundtable discussions, exhibiting companies and pitches, opening up great opportunities for entrepreneurs to network, learn, and be inspired. Join us for a day of celebration where you can expect to see 1000+ of the region's top entrepreneurs, business owners, angel and venture capital investors, legislators, and influencers. 2024 Entrepreneur Expo Highlights: - 1,000+ Attendees - 111 Inspiring speakers - 91 Exhibitors - 26 Startup Exhibitors - 24 Sessions - Countless opportunities to network and meet the leaders and influencers of Maryland's entrepreneurial community
Technical.ly
20 hours ago
- Business
- Technical.ly
Pittsburgh weekly roundup: Shapiro proposes $50M for innovation; Can the electric grid handle the heat?; A pause on student visas
This week in Pittsburgh, developers at PyCon give their take on AI software, an update on the Nippon-US Steel merger and more. • Governor Josh Shapiro visited Pittsburgh on Tuesday to announce his proposed budget would create a new $50 million PA Innovation program. It would include a one-time $30 million initiative to spur life sciences job growth and $20 million to provide annual funding to support large-scale innovation. [PA DCED] • Just one year of federal funding in Pennsylvania generates $5.2 billion in economic activity. Federal cuts to the National Science Foundation and National Institutes of Health are estimated to cause a $259 million loss for Allegheny County. [ • With scorching temperatures forecasted for the mid-Atlantic this summer and an increasing demand to power data centers for AI, Pennsylvania's grid operator said it will have an adequate supply of electricity, but that may fall short in an 'extreme planning scenario.' [WESA] • The Trump administration revoked $210 million in EDA Tech Hubs funding from six regions, including Philly. New funding rounds will open this summer with a national security focus. Pittsburgh has previously applied but wasn't selected. [ • The US Department of State's recent pause on international student visa interviews could affect thousands of students who attend Pittsburgh universities each year. The University of Pittsburgh and other local schools say it's too early to tell what the impact will be. [AP News/Pittsburgh Biz Times] • Pittsburgh workers' rights were in the spotlight this week. Union reps and local advocates spoke in strong support of a bill to expand paid sick leave at a City Council hearing Wednesday. Meanwhile, nurses at UPMC Magee-Womens Hospital announced plans to unionize. [WESA] 🗓️ On the Calendar • Join Pittsburgh's chapter of Pitch and Run on May 31 in the Strip District. Run (or walk) at this weekly meetup while connecting with other builders in the local ecosystem. [ Details here ] • Are you passionate about clean technology? Don't miss the Clean Tech Symposium at Chatham University's Eden Hall Campus on June 2. [ Attend ] • Learn about one of the most game-changing features coming to C++26 (reflection) with Pittsburgh C++ Meetup Group on June 4 in the Strip District. [ More info ] • What does the Pittsburgh of tomorrow look like? Share your thoughts and hear from local leaders, like the Democratic nominee for Mayor Corey O'Conner, at a June 4 event hosted by Pittsburgh Tomorrow. [ Register ] • The Pittsburgh Technology Council and PA CareerLink are teaming up to help displaced government workers find new jobs in PA. A virtual hiring event is happening June 5. [ Sign up ]
Technical.ly
a day ago
- Business
- Technical.ly
How Lithero is using AI to speed up pharma marketing compliance
Startup profile: Lithero Founded by: Nyron Burke Year founded: 2015 Headquarters: Philadelphia, PA Sector: Life sciences, AI Funding and valuation: $0.68 million raised as of May 2022, according to PitchBook Key ecosystem partners: Ben Franklin Technology Partners, Morgan Lewis, Drexel University, University City Science Center, Broad Street Angels, Ic@3401 In life sciences, everything takes longer. Nyron Burke, cofounder and CEO of the Philadelphia-based AI for life sciences company Lithero, learned that through years of working as a consultant with pharmaceutical companies that were always looking for ways to speed up the process of creating marketing materials. What may seem relatively simple, like a pharmaceutical pamphlet for a doctor's office, can take months to finalize due to compliance issues. The final draft, with its medical language and side effects disclosures, has to be just right, requiring multiple reviews by medical lawyers before it goes to print. It's a stark contrast to consumer marketing, where a marketing professional might be able to create a one-pager in a day. 'With life sciences, that just wasn't possible,' Burke told noting that the extra time it takes to make biotech marketing materials compliant also increases the cost tenfold. Burke founded Lithero in 2015, years before AI became a common part of everyday life. He knew that machine learning could make the process considerably faster by screening for compliance issues before a medical lawyer reviews it, cutting down on the number of reviews — and, crucially, time. 'Divine intervention' led to the development of the engine Before Lithero, Burke spent eight years working for the global professional services company Accenture, with a focus on pharma and biotech companies. 'The three things I spent my consulting career on were speed, cost and compliance in pharma marketing specifically,' he said. 'But with the aspirations that my clients had, I had to not just do a good job, but to fundamentally do something that was transformative.' The speed he wanted for his clients was impossible in the 2010s — each human review for compliance was necessary, but time-consuming. AI, Burke said, had no hype around it in 2015 when he had the idea to use it to help achieve the speed he was looking for. The one thing holding him back was that he didn't know enough about AI to build an engine that could do what he needed to do. Then he met Brandon Morton, an AI researcher at Drexel who was working on his doctorate at the time. 'We met at church randomly,' Burke said. 'It was like divine intervention … His research is really what powered our ability to actually do what we're doing.' Morton effectively became a cofounder of Lithero. Even with his leadership, Burke said, it was a challenge. 'AI is very, very difficult,' Burke said. 'People don't appreciate the beauty and the power of the human mind and how hard it is to get machines to simulate what we do.' An AI assistant that doesn't hallucinate The technology Lithero created is called LARA, Lithero Artificial Review Assistant. 'You could think of it sort of like an artificial lawyer,' Burke said. Once LARA has all of a client's necessary information, it essentially pre-screens the content. It's not meant to replace the client's human lawyer, just to make it so that the lawyer has less to do on each individual piece of marketing. Then, he said, LARA will understand the client-specific content well enough that the client can use the tool for other things as well, such as creating annotations and comparing content to customer behavioral data. While today people tend to think of large language model generative AI like ChatGPT when they think of AI, LARA still isn't generative — it doesn't generate content based on prompts, it is a screening and correlation tool that can be trained to know everything about a specific brand. As such, it is not susceptible to drawbacks like hallucinations, when an AI model randomly answers with false information presented as fact, often a result of insufficient data or bias. The public launch of generative AI did help the company, though, by making the concept of an AI tool less obscure. 'It has normalized what we're doing,' Burke said. 'We're in a very conservative, cautious, slow industry — it changed the conversations that I was having.' Now, he says, there is a lot of demand, and a lot of clients bringing them new ideas on how the company can continue to grow. 'Our future is not just compliance, it's also creative,' Burke said. 'We recently launched some creative assistants, and are seeing this amazing amount of excitement.' From one to ten To get to where Lithero is today, with a team of ten and a growing roster of clients, it spent years based at Ic@3401, a University City coworking and incubation space sponsored by Drexel University and the University City Science Center that closed in 2024. One of its earliest investors, apart from friends and family, was Ben Franklin Technology Partners. Burke also credits its law firm Morgan Lewis as a big supporter, as well as angel investment group Broad Street Angels.
Technical.ly
2 days ago
- Business
- Technical.ly
2025 Cesium Developer Conference
Connect with developers and integrators shaping the future of open geospatial technologies at the 2025 Cesium Developer Conference happening June 23-25 in Philadelphia. The conference features over 90 sessions curated across six tracks and features industry leaders from Google, NVIDIA, Bentley Systems, the Open Geospatial Consortium, and more. Register now to learn about the latest geospatial technology trends, tools, and high-value applications.
