Mt. Lebanon Students in a circle discussing Allegheny Conservation Corps.

The voyage of a year

At 3 a.m. Sunday, October 20, I bolted out of bed with a thought. Weeks earlier, I’d tried unsuccessfully to attend a Kamala Harris rally to spread the word about the Pittsburgh Tomorrow project. On this Sunday, Elon Musk was coming for a rally — and if I could get in, I wanted to be ready. I’d seen his Philadelphia rally and figured there’d be a similar Q&A session, so in the wee hours, I prepared, should opportunity arise.

I memorized a speech I could truncate if I were in danger of getting the hook. And at noon I drove to McKees Rocks and waited for 90 minutes in a line stretching several blocks. Finally entering the dark Roxian Theatre, I figured out where the Q&A line would be and, despite protestations, I didn’t budge. After another 90 minutes, the moment finally arrived. “Just one question and be brief,” said the woman holding the microphone. Musk, the richest man in the world, stood, waiting on the brightly lit stage 20 yards away.

“Elon, you’re clearly a great American pioneer, and we in Pittsburgh want to welcome you and thank you for coming.” The crowd applauded, and Musk nodded and said, “Well, it’s an honor to be here.”

I continued: “This is really the cradle of pioneers in the history of America. People from George Washington, as a surveyor, to Lewis and Clark, who pushed their Pittsburgh-made boat into the Ohio to explore the West. Entire industries started here — radio, the movies, the heart of the railroad industry, the first oil refinery, the Pittsburgh coal seam is the biggest in the world, alternating current, and venture capitalism. Philanthropy started here with Andrew Carnegie, and Pittsburgh made more steel during World War II than Germany and Japan combined.”

The crowd cheered, but I sensed my window was closing: “A group of us are starting a movement here that we’re calling Pittsburgh Tomorrow. We’re working to rekindle that pioneering spirit. Your son is coming to Carnegie Mellon next year and you’ve mentioned an interest in investing in this region. We believe that not only can we make Pittsburgh resurgent, but also by making this a place where people can conceive of a new reality — and make it happen — that that can provide an example of turning around the malaise in this country. So, I want to thank you for being here, to welcome you, and to invite you to invest in our city as we work to make it the best place to live in the world.”

The crowd cheered again, and Musk said, “Sounds good. Well, uh, given that my son will be attending college here next fall, I’m going to be in Pittsburgh a lot. So.” And then he got out a Terrible Towel and waved it. The place erupted, and I walked out, into the sunny October afternoon.

I didn’t realize just how much of an opportunity that exchange would be – it’s received more than seven million views on X so far. And I hope Musk will invest in Pittsburgh Tomorrow. Yes, he’s the richest man in the world, but I wasn’t thinking of him in those terms. Nor was I thinking of him in political terms — I’m an independent, as I believe a journalist should be. Beyond that, though, I’m a Pittsburgher, and beyond that, I’m an American.

I was thinking of Musk as the kind of American who could make a catalytic difference in our quest to reinvigorate Pittsburgh and our country. And I reiterate that invitation to him and whomever else — here or anywhere — wants to be part of a drive to renew American exceptionalism and the kind of excellence that lifts all boats, with Pittsburgh at the heart of that movement.

Gauging our progress

For better or worse, I believe in the power of inspirational phrases. One favorite is Goethe’s “If you can dream a thing, begin it — for boldness has genius, power and magic in it.” It’s right up there for me with Machiavelli’s “Fortune Favors the Bold” and this gem from Henry Ford: “Two men of exactly the same ability faced exactly the same problem. One was sure he could solve it; the other was sure he couldn’t. Both were right.”

For me, those maxims provide courage against the forces and vagaries of the world that would keep us from taking on daunting challenges. Pittsburgh Tomorrow is such a challenge — turning around a great and historic region, reversing its population losses, and making it the best place to live in the world. But let’s face it, for all their allure and charm, those quotes about dreaming, boldness, and belief are impotent unless they link arms with will, determination, and work.

So, on the one-year anniversary of Pittsburgh Tomorrow’s incorporation, let’s take a hard look at where we are after a year. I owe that to the donors and volunteers who’ve helped launch this project.

As a refresher, we are responding to a crisis that’s been building for decades, yet few of our leaders face it and no civic groups are tackling it head on. The 1980s saw an unparalleled economic collapse here, sending 300,000 mostly young Pittsburghers elsewhere for greener pastures. They took their future children and grandchildren with them, creating a devastating brain drain and making us one of the nation’s oldest cities. Now, we have by far the highest natural population decline — more deaths than births — of America’s 387 metro areas. Perhaps worse, among 16 benchmark regions, the average 10-year job growth is 28.2 percent. Only one actually lost jobs and workers over the past 10 years: Pittsburgh. Unchecked, these losses portend a vicious cycle of accelerating decline.

On Nov. 17, 2023, we incorporated to prevent that. Committees formed. Meetings followed. Ideas arose, all well-intended, if diffuse. One was a marketing campaign saying, “Hey, this is a low-cost place with great quality of life — move here; you’ll love it.” But we rejected that because every region is vying for young talent, and we’re so far behind that we must do something different. We must shoot much higher. Because of that, we committed to a long-term goal that would become the heart of Pittsburgh Tomorrow: making Pittsburgh the best place to live. It’s necessary, and it’s doable.

Attracting support

Late last fall, we held our first small fundraiser, over well-intended objections that we weren’t ready and might make regrettable missteps. But friends responded. So the next month, we held a bigger event. More responded. And by May, 145 leading Pittsburghers had contributed and pledged more than $2.6 million.

We purposely didn’t go to foundations first. If individuals wouldn’t support us, it either meant we had a crummy plan or they didn’t care. Either way, Pittsburgh Tomorrow wouldn’t deserve to exist. But if Pittsburghers did support us, we’d have the freedom of movement to do what’s necessary to succeed. And we could charge ahead with the confidence that community buy-in brings.

This summer, we launched a campaign to ask two key groups to match our Founders Circle’s donations. One is Pittsburgh’s largest foundations, whose mission is to support sometimes unorthodox means to improve this region, and they have roughly $15 billion in dry powder to do just that. Since incorporation, the R.K. Mellon and Henry Hillman foundations have donated more than a quarter of what we’re seeking from the whole foundation group.

Next are the area’s leading companies — the biggest beneficiaries of Pittsburgh Tomorrow because they need workers and customers. We’ve met with UPMC, Highmark, PNC and BNY, and early next year we’ll ask them and scores of others to join us. Finally, next fall we’ll launch the same kind of March of Dimes crowdsourcing effort that funded Dr. Jonas Salk’s polio work that put Pittsburgh on the world medical map. Pittsburghers want this area to matter again, and they’ll help.

Launching projects

A few have termed my approach: “Ready, Fire, Aim.” And there’s some truth to that. As a Pittsburgh journalist for 39 years, I believe we’ve become risk averse — the capital of studies and exceedingly careful planning. So I was determined, as Paul O’Neill once advised me, “to get execution.” And to that end, since last spring, we’ve launched these four programs.

  1. College student retention. When the Allegheny Conference discontinued its talent-related programs a year ago to focus on Downtown, we hired the leader of those efforts — Linda Topoleski — and we’ve had two big wins. We helped resurrect The Pittsburgh Passport, designed to connect college students with regional amenities and increase the chances they’ll stay in Pittsburgh. And in October, we spearheaded “Go Global” with university and community partners, convening 85 HR leaders to “demystify” the process of hiring more of the 12,000 foreign-born students who graduate mainly from Pitt and CMU each year. (See more on pittsburghtomorrow.org)
  2. The New Americans. Our immigration journalism initiative led by NextPittsburgh founder Tracy Certo has produced 20 story packages that media outlets across the region are publishing. We’re tilling, seeding, and fertilizing the intellectual soil here with awareness: We must become a place where immigrants come, feel welcome, and succeed. We have less than a quarter of the national average of foreign-born residents. They bring diversity, vitality, higher birth rates and a business start-up rate five times that of native-born Americans. They are the new risk takers who believe in America’s promise.
  3. High school leadership. I first mentioned in print the idea of a high school-based Allegheny Conservation Corps and leadership program more than 10 years ago — during a magazine competition for civic renewal ideas. It was the overwhelming winner among readers, and it’s finally a reality (see the story on page 23). This fall, 250 students from 15 high schools took part in community conservation projects across Allegheny County. It proved two of our hypotheses: Young people are eager to pitch in, and they want to work with kids from other schools and be part of a movement. We’re dramatically expanding this Leadership Program early next year.
  4. Public messaging. Gone are the days when R.K. Mellon and David Lawrence could create a renaissance by themselves. So in this media age, we’re taking a new tack. We’ve organized 20 media company leaders who’ve agreed to donate ad space and air-time for a ubiquitous, relentless public messaging campaign to get this region’s real horsepower — its people — behind the effort to create a new future. This is a first in the U.S. and it begins in 2025.

The Plan: Change reality and perception

We’ve built a rigorous strategic plan blending long-term thinking with entrepreneurial action. Like a struggling baseball team, we’re building our farm system. As I mentioned to Musk, pioneering innovators made Pittsburgh. But with the 1980s exodus and diaspora, we lost a disproportionate number of them. Pittsburgh Tomorrow is cultivating a new generation.

We have divided our targets into four key segments: Young Talent (high school, college, and young professionals); Visionary Entrepreneurs (small business, emerging sectors, and community builders); Outside Influencers (New Americans, boomerangers, and transplants); and Creative Leaders (business, community, education, and government). These are the archetypes we will engage, enable, attract, accelerate and connect. They are going to turn this place around, stop the population losses, and make it the best place to live.

Through workshops and meet-ups, we’ll learn what they want in a city and what their experience here has been, and we’ll build new and measurable programs to close that gap.

We’ll also re-map this region. Pittsburgh forged the basic materials that built this country. It’s been a place of humility and quiet pride in that productive power. Unlike other cities, we didn’t have to sell; customers came here. As a result, we’re long on engineering but short on sales and marketing. Look for Pittsburgh Tomorrow to tell a new story about this region, its singular features and unique character — and to accentuate the new reality, even as it emerges.

Shifting to high gear

Starting a business is a challenge. I’ve done it. Starting a nonprofit has more strings attached than Gulliver faced with the Lilliputians. But we’ve made our way through that. We’ve filed and re-filed enough state and federal forms to cover the Steelers endzone. We’ve set up HR, legal, financial, and governance policies and procedures. We’ve created systems for saving, categorizing, and storing all manner of documents – to enhance efficiency and collaboration. We’ve created a theory of change, strategic framework, and Gantt chart to manage progress. We’ve built a great website — pittsburghtomorrow.org — and we’ve done all this with a team of two — a CEO (me) and a COO (Laura Kisailus) — plus a helpful board and a few occasional consultants.

And now, we’re “ready to rock.” With the foundation laid, in early October we advertised two positions — Head of Program Innovation and Head of Storytelling (head of communications). We received 300 applications, culled that group to 30, and held 15-minute Zoom interviews with each. We narrowed the field again, and we had 90-minute, in-person interviews with 12 finalists.  We’ve researched and crafted an organizational culture that fits Pittsburgh and our ambitious goals, and we’re hiring people who fit that best. Our first is Caroline Fisher who will lead communications. More hires are imminent. All of the people we interviewed were bright, accomplished, and committed to Pittsburgh.  They’re excited to sink their teeth into meaningful work. And everyone working on this knows it’s not a job — it’s a mission.

The road ahead

When I was 27, I asked my father about marriage. He encouraged me, adding: “If you knew everything, you’d never do anything.” His words have returned to me many times this past year. Being somewhat naïve is a key quality in life. So is being tenacious. In its first year, Pittsburgh Tomorrow has come a long way. We’ve survived and grown stronger. We’ve conquered travails and obstacles and kept faith. Now we’re pushing our own Pittsburgh-made boat into the river.

We believe making Pittsburgh the best place to live is doable and even inevitable. It is perfectly situated for the future: abundant water, climatic protection, geographic location, great universities, strong social fabric, low crime, authentic neighborhoods, cultural amenities, great sports, philanthropic wealth, and medical care that rivals or exceeds the best in the world. We have a stunning natural playground of mountains and rivers, and we lead the world in the fields of the future: computer science, robotics and AI.
While touring UPMC’s new Vision Center — literally the best in the world — I paused on the outside terrace on an upper floor and looked around. Below us was the blue Monongahela, to the right the dappled South Side and its slopes, and to the left the dramatic Hill District — all on a gorgeous October day. I exclaimed to the others, “Look at this! We are so fortunate to live in this absolutely beautiful city!”

So, with all these riches and building blocks at our feet, why wouldn’t we take our turn in the generations of Pittsburghers who have made this the indispensable American city? Why wouldn’t we pick up the gauntlet and make this the best place to live? It’s all here, just waiting for each of us to do our part, to become part of something truly great that lights a lamp for the rest of the country.