Hello! My name is Andrew Pruden, and I am a third-year student at Pitt pursuing a double major in political science and computational social science, as well as a minor Spanish. I am also a gracious recipient of the 2023-24 William J. Keefe Congressional Fellowship Award. This summer, I had the phenomenal opportunity to work as a Policy and Government Affairs Intern at the Allegheny Conference on Community Development. The Allegheny Conference is a Pittsburgh-based nonprofit focused on economically uplifting Pittsburgh and the southwestern Pennsylvania region through research and analysis, advocacy, and business partnerships. As a member of the policy team, I researched local, state, and federal legislation to analyze possible effects on the southwest PA region while routinely drafting memos and policy briefs. Much of this legislation related to clean energy and commercial-residential real estate conversion, which are policy areas I am highly interested in.

In one particularly unique project, I investigated proposed changes to clean energy tax credits to see how they would affect businesses in the Pittsburgh area. I also had the opportunity to staff various exciting events that the Conference hosted throughout the summer, including a roundtable that featured Secretary of the National Economic Council Lael Brainard and CEO of PNC Bank Bill Demchak (photos below). This wide variety of tasks meant no two days at work were the same, allowing me to explore the many different facets of the organization and acquire more useful skills than I could name.

The entire experience was incredibly fulfilling, due largely to the level of involvement my supervisors and coworkers wanted me to have at every step of the program. I greatly valued being at the forefront of the policy development process and appreciated the opportunity to ask as many questions about our work as an organization as I wanted. Certain aspects of the job, such as the consistent need to digest, analyze, and report large quantities of complex information, were sometimes challenging. However, these are important skills to refine for my future career, therefore it was a challenge that I thoroughly enjoyed.

Thank you to the David C. Frederick Honors College for supporting me in this highly valuable and exciting opportunity!