Audrey Russo worked for a decade as a director and manager for social services agencies and facilities before jumping to the corporate sector and jobs with Reynolds Metals Co., Alcoa and Maya Design. Last month, she was named president and chief executive officer of the Pittsburgh Technology Council, a trade association for high-tech and entrepreneurial ventures that serves 13 counties in southwestern Pennsylvania.

Audrey Russo -- "I'm a romantic capitalist."

Q: You are the first woman to head the Technology Council. Has being female been an issue or obstacle in your career?

A: When I was in health care, the nurses and therapists were female but they weren't at the senior level. So almost always I've worked with the men. It's hard to say [whether it's been an issue]. I've always worked hard and been pretty nimble and agile in how I relate to people. I'm perceived as strong and perhaps been pigeonholed because of it. I've been cognizant of it, but not troubled by it. I know role reversal because my husband is staying at home.

Q: You started your career working with people coming out of state institutions and people incarcerated for drug and alcohol abuse. How did you end up at major aluminum corporations Reynolds and Alcoa?

A: I liked the business aspect of public policy. I'm a romantic capitalist. I cry when people go out of business. I was at a state facility in Virginia and did a big turnaround there and started consulting in strategic planning and business planning. Reynolds Metals became a client. Reynolds' chief executive asked me to come inside and drive the transformation on the information technology side. When Alcoa acquired them [in 2000], they created a job for me. My husband and I wanted to come to Pittsburgh.

Q: After Alcoa you went to a smaller high-tech firm and now you're at a trade association. What skills do you tap from your varied experiences?

A: This job is the perfect intersection. They needed someone who understands big business, small business and public interest.

Q: According to the Tech Council's 2005 statistics, technology firms in the southwestern Pennsylvania region, including Pittsburgh, employed more than 207,000, or 17.5 percent of the overall work force. How can the council help to boost tech employment?

A: There are a lot of good things going on in the region: work force development, venture capital and risk money. ... What we have a lack of is the right people and talent. There are jobs here, but we're missing the kind of people we need to do those jobs. The council is positioned to help, for example, through our career center. We're looking to strengthen that. That's definitely one of my goals.

Q: What about issues like taxes that affect attracting and retaining more tech business to the region?

A: We have very strong public policy expertise. We are revered as having capabilities to think through and get united voices around issues particularly at the legislative level. For example, the [2006] legislation to extend the R&D Tax Credit for small businesses. That bill also increased the cap on net operating losses carried forward ... and continued the phase-out of the capital stock and franchise tax.

We have a couple of crown jewels here and one of them is our industry networks [where people share advice and initiatives to grow their industries].

We have networks for information technology, life sciences, education, advanced manufacturing and a new one for clean technology. The effectiveness of the council is serving as a backdrop. We've found people want to stay here and be part of it.

Q: Do you think Pittsburgh is perceived as a place for thriving technology businesses?

A: Carnegie Mellon University helps us tremendously. And the University of Pittsburgh has become much more selective and improved for recruiting since I've been here. One of the issues for tech firms is the availability of risk capital, and I think there are some people doing amazing things, like Innovation Works and some of the venture capitalists.

People are saying we still need to create a culture of entrepreneurship. ... People have to feel the whole region has opportunity, movement. They want to be able to come and think there is not just one job here. [The region's history] is a very paternalistic business culture.

Q: How have you found it as a place to reside?

A: My husband and I are both from New York. Pittsburgh reminded us of Queens. We love the ethnic diversity and can keep our daughter exposed to Orthodox Judaism.

I like the grit and working around the middle class. That's the fabric of America. When family and friends come to visit they are blown away by the theater and everything else we have access to and can touch here and can't get elsewhere. And I'm a big proponent of the weather here. It's gorgeous.

Q: What's the most challenging part of your new job?

A: Getting to talk to all the right people in the confines of the day. I'm still ready to connect and talk with people at 11 p.m. ... or 5:30 a.m. But I can't reach out.