Pittsburgh weekly roundup: 412 Food Rescue’s new CEO; Inside Diversitech; Fentanyl sensor innovations

412 Food Rescue hires new CEO

412 Food Rescue, which aims to bridge the divide between waste and supply, last week announced its newest CEO, nonprofit veteran Alyssa Cholodofsky. It’s the combination of human interaction and powerful tech that drew her to the role.

“What really attracted me to this organization,” Cholodofsky told Technical.ly, “is the way the environmental impact and the impact on people and food insecurity meshes with technology.”

➡️ Read on to learn about Cholodofsky’s plan for the tech-enabled nonprofit

How to build a tech conference

Pennsylvania is home to one of the largest inclusion-focused tech conferences on the East Coast thanks to entrepreneur Shannon Morales. Called Diversitech, the May 7-10 conference is expected to draw 1,000 professionals.

Diversitech really took off when it was a place to gather during pandemic lockdowns, and now that it’s back to IRL, Morales is working to make it live up to its tagline of being a place where “community, tech and culture collide.”

➡️ Learn more about the conference and Morales, and listen to a podcast

News Incubator: What else to know

• Yinzers are enjoying working in person again, at least those that get to work out of the Snyder Mansion. The brownstone that’s been turned into an office space has been a hit for North Side workers. [TribeLIVE]

• A research team at the University of Pittsburgh developed a fentanyl sensor to test for the powerful opioid in other drugs. It’s six times more sensitive than existing methods, per the researchers. [University of Pittsburgh]

• Startup darling Gecko Robotics inked a $30 million deal with Middle Eastern company ADNOC Gas. The gas company will use the tech for predictive industrial maintenance. [Gecko Robotics/Technical.ly]

• A Bitcoin miner is expanding its footprint in Western PA. Mawson Infrastructure will be able to accommodate more than 38,000 “miners.” [Mawson Infrastructure]

• Pay your parking tickets! The city is asking Pennsylvania officials to freeze registrations for drivers with unpaid violations. [CBS]

🗓️ On the Calendar