Pitt’s Board of Trustees elected five new trustees during its annual meeting on Friday, June 28. The new members, all distinguished Pitt alumni, bring to the board a range of experience that spans decades in industry and public service.
The five new trustees, whose terms are effective July 1, are:
Robert O. Agbede (ENGR ’79 ’81G), is vice chair of Hatch USA, a global management, engineering and development consulting firm. In 2000, Agbede was inducted into the Hall of Fame of the Swanson School of Engineering, where he is currently a member of the Board of Visitors and chair of its Diversity Committee. He helped establish several mentorship and scholarship opportunities at the Swanson School. In 2009, the University’s African American Alumni Council presented him with the Distinguished Alumni Award for Achievement in Business.
SaLisa L. Berrien (ENGR ’91) is the founder and CEO of COI Energy and has more than 25 years of experience in the electric power and smart grid space. Berrien is also founder and board chair of STRIVE Inc., a charitable organization that focuses on STEM leadership development training for students in grades three through 12. In 2013, she established COI Ladder Institute to focus on delivering leadership and empowerment services to millennials and women. In 2004, Berrien established the Karl H. Lewis Engineering Impact Alumni Fund for Pitt students of underrepresented groups enrolled in engineering.
Sundaa Bridgett-Jones (GSPIA ’95) leads the Rockefeller Foundation’s support for policy innovations to help solve pressing international development issues. She has more than 20 years of experience designing and executing global initiatives and public-private partnerships. Between 2010 and 2012, she led the Office of Policy, Planning and Public Diplomacy at the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor and served as a member of the White House National Security Staff interagency committee. She serves as a member of the Board of Visitors for Pitt’s Graduate School of Public and International Affairs.
Wen-Ta Chiu (GSPH ’89) serves as a co-CEO of California-based AHMC Healthcare Inc., a hospital and health system committed to improving access to health care services for the most vulnerable members of the San Gabriel, California, community. In 2011, Chiu was appointed Minister of the Ministry of Health and Welfare in Taiwan. Chiu is an accomplished traumatic brain injury researcher who has made significant leadership contributions in public health. He has been honored as a Distinguished Alumnus of Pitt’s Graduate School of Public Health and with the University’s Legacy Laureate Award.
Adam C. Walker (A&S ’09) is CEO of Summit Packaging Solutions, a leading global supply chain firm. Walker previously co-founded Homestead Packaging Solutions, overseeing facilities in Tennessee and Michigan and garnering industry recognition such as the National Minority Supplier Diversity Council’s Supplier of the Year and the U.S. Department of Commerce–MBDA Manufacturer of the Year. Walker was a National Football League player for seven consecutive seasons, beginning and ending his career with the Philadelphia Eagles in 1990 and 1996, respectively. From 1991 until 1995, he played for the San Francisco 49ers, including the 1994 Super Bowl championship team.
Other board elections, nominations
The board also re-elected Eva Tansky Blum to her fifth and final term as chair of the board, a position she has held since 2015. Thomas E. Richards, a long-serving Pitt trustee and executive chair of the board of directors for the technology services corporation CDW, was named chair-elect of the Board of Trustees. In this capacity, he will become chair after Blum’s final term, which will conclude in June 2020.
Outgoing trustees Michael A. Bryson, Thomas M. Kurtz, Robert G. Lovett, Martha Hartle Munsch, Jeannine T. Schoenecker, William E. Strickland Jr. and Stephen R. Tritch were thanked by Chancellor Patrick Gallagher for their service to the board and Pitt.
The board also nominated Richards, Vaughn Clagette, James Covert and John Verbanac to serve on the UPMC Board of Directors.