Trailblazing Women Powering Pittsburgh’s STEM Scene

Although proud of its steel city roots, Pittsburgh has grown by leaps and bounds into a thriving technology hub, with many tech companies establishing headquarters here. This local tech boom has been fueled in part by top-tier universities that are engaging in life-changing research and producing the next generation of brilliant minds.

While women leading the technology sector in Pittsburgh are no longer the unicorns they once were, they remain less common than their male counterparts. In this two-part series, we will speak with six women who are actively shaping the region’s technology landscape.

Emily Mercurio

Emily Mercurio, Co-founder and CEO, CivicMapper

From the moment she quite literally felt the ground shake from a nearby coal mine adjacent to her elementary school in Westmoreland County, Emily Mercurio was fascinated by geology and the power of the Earth beneath the surface. Mercurio went on to study geology at Penn State, eventually earning her master’s at Michigan Technological University and a Ph.D. at the University of Pittsburgh.

Along with her husband and a third partner, she founded CivicMapper, a geospatial technology development firm. “We make, curate, and develop data—taking data from maps and making it geoenabled so that it can be analyzed in a mapping program. We also offer geospatial consulting as well as web app development. The web app side of our business is becoming very popular, and we anticipate continued growth,” she said.

About half of CivicMapper’s clients are connected with nonprofit work, although the company also partners with utility companies and government agencies. One major project involved designing a map of the sewer system served by ALCOSAN.

As CEO of a small but growing company, Mercurio often wears multiple hats. “I see my function in two main ways—making sure that the team is resourced to get the job done for our customers and setting the direction and strategic vision of the company: what kind of clients to pursue and which projects to take on,” she explained.

In addition to working in a field she has loved since childhood, Mercurio said she enjoys the creative aspects of owning a business. “I love that we don’t have to go through layers of bureaucracy to get something done. We can be very agile and quick to develop a solution.”

Unlike her college and early career days—when she was often the only woman in the room—Mercurio is encouraged by the shift in gender representation, noting that geoscience majors are now about evenly split between men and women.

For women aspiring to leadership roles in tech, she offers this advice: “Leadership is highly individualized—there’s no one correct way to lead. Keep your mind plastic and always keep learning. When you can see things from all viewpoints, it prepares you for decision making.”

Ellie Gordon, Founder and CEO, Behaivior

Ellie Gordon

Ellie Gordon first created a mental wellness app at a hackathon—a collaborative engineering event—as a way to help mitigate the opioid epidemic. “Our area was hit hard by the opioid crisis. Many of us have community members, friends, and family who have been deeply hurt or lost loved ones, so we wanted to find a way to help. The idea was born from that,” she said.

That hackathon entry gained her access to the XPrize Competition, where she was one of the winners. A Pittsburgh native, Gordon worked out of CMU’s incubator program and also spent time at Pitt before eventually founding her own company: Behaivior.

“Behavior is a digital health company. Our platform, ‘Recovery,’ uses AI to predict harmful behaviors and avert crises in advance. It enables real-time recovery intervention, with the goal of improving outcomes and reducing care gaps when crisis events are most likely to occur,” she explained.

Gordon has always been interested in the intersection of health, wellness, and technology. “My driving force is tikkun olam, a Hebrew phrase meaning ‘repair the world.’ I’ve been involved in a wide variety of initiatives, volunteering in many different ways with numerous organizations. I was in the nonprofit space for quite a while, and when this opportunity came about, I was excited to use technology to expedite solutions to problems like this,” she said.

As CEO, Gordon’s responsibilities span strategic direction, company culture, team support, partnerships, and ensuring maximum impact. Running any company is challenging, but female-owned tech companies often face added barriers. “A significantly smaller amount of investment goes to women. In 2025, PitchBook stats showed that just 0.7% of VC funding went to female-founded companies.”

Despite the obstacles, Gordon remains determined. “You have to fight against that and believe in what you’re doing. We had to essentially ignore the people who said, ‘You can’t do this.’ We showed them that we could.”

Massy Paul, CEO, Monaloh Basin Engineers

Massy Paul

After a successful six-month stint with the company, Massy Paul was invited to join full-time. Just two years later, she became president—and within three years, she had acquired the business. Today, she is the CEO of Monaloh Basin Engineers, a civil engineering firm whose name pays tribute to Pittsburgh’s iconic three rivers.

Specializing in transportation infrastructure, Monaloh Basin Engineers offers a comprehensive suite of services including surveying, right-of-way plan preparation, construction inspection, and construction management. “Surveying is at the heart of what we do,” Paul said. “From lidar and bathymetric surveys to drone-based data collection, we use state-of-the-art equipment to support virtually every industry that requires land or structural assessment.”

“Our role is foundational,” she continued. “We’re the first ones on-site. We collect the critical data design engineers need to begin their work. Without our surveys and topographic analyses, design simply can’t move forward.”

This essential work was especially evident in early 2022 when the Fern Hollow Bridge collapsed. Monaloh Basin Engineers was called to assist, helping expedite the reconstruction and contributing to its early completion. The firm is also part of the team working on the Pittsburgh International Airport’s modernization project, reinforcing its role in shaping the region’s infrastructure.

From a young age, Paul knew she wanted to be a trailblazer. “I’ve always been drawn to challenges and to spaces where I could make a meaningful impact. When it came time to choose a career, I noticed how few women were in engineering—and I didn’t see that as a barrier. I saw it as a calling. I chose engineering not just because I love problem-solving and innovation, but because I wanted to change the face of the industry. Becoming an engineer—and eventually a CEO—was my way of proving that women not only belong in this space, but bring essential strength to it.”

Paul is also committed to helping other women succeed. “I wanted to carve out a path where other women could follow and not feel like outliers,” she said.

Though she never initially imagined herself as a CEO, Paul embraces the role. “My job is about building a culture where people can thrive—where innovation and collaboration drive our success.”