High Technology Foundation Announces
New Board Member: William P. “Pat” Getty
FAIRMONT, WV — October 18, 2018 — The High Technology Foundation has announced the election of the newest member of its Board of Directors, William P. “Pat” Getty.
“We are honored to have Pat join our Board of Directors. Pat has distinguished himself as one of the most important leaders in this region of the country over the last few decades through his tireless dedication to cultivating advancement in both people and communities. Pat has been a champion for promoting regional collaborations to leverage resources in the pursuit of economic diversification. His innovative thinking and passion will be invaluable to the High Technology Foundation’s efforts to build a regional knowledge sector,” said James L. Estep, President and CEO.
Until his recent retirement, William P. (Pat) Getty was the President and a Trustee of the Claude Worthington Benedum Foundation, which serves West Virginia, southwestern Pennsylvania, and the multi-state economic region centered on Pittsburgh. He will continue to work for the Foundation as a consultant on several projects, including service on the implementation committee of the Tri-State Shale Coalition, which is a collaboration initiated by the Governors of West Virginia, Ohio and Pennsylvania seeking to optimize downstream economic development pertaining to shale gas, especially modern manufacturing.
Pat serves on the Boards of: Vision Shared, a West Virginia state-wide economic development initiative; Imagine West Virginia, an independent policy research institute; the Allegheny Conference for Community Development; Vibrant Pittsburgh, which seeks to attract, retain, and elevate skilled and diverse talent; and the Allegheny County Parks Foundation. He serves as a member of the steering committee for West Virginia Forward. He also serves on the Governor’s Advisory Council on Rural Affairs in Pennsylvania, the Advisory Board of Pittsburgh Regional Indicators, and the Policy Committee of the Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission. He is a Fellow of the University of Pittsburgh’s Institute of Politics. Since 2006, he has been a leader of “Power of 32,” a 32-county, four-state visioning and development project in the Pittsburgh economic region.
He was a founding Board member and past Chair of the Fund for the Advancement of the Minorities Through Education (FAME), is an Emeritus Trustee and past Chair of Shady Side Academy, is a past Board member and Chair of the Boys and Girls Clubs of Western Pennsylvania, a past Board member of the Technology Collaborative and LEAD Pittsburgh, and a past member of the West Virginia Jobs Cabinet and the Advisory Board of the West Virginia Teacher Quality Initiative.
A native Pittsburgher, Getty is a graduate of Trinity College and Georgetown University Law School. He had practiced law since 1970 with the Pittsburgh firm of Meyer, Unkovic & Scott prior to becoming President of the Benedum Foundation on January 1, 1999.
Pat will join the current members of the High Technology Foundation Board – Chairman James R. Haney, Dr. Frank W. Blake, Michael I. Green, Michael J. Basile, Esquire, and James L. Estep.