A former diversity, equity and inclusion leader in Pittsburgh has been tapped to lead the Collaboratory Against Hate, a joint effort from Carnegie Mellon University and the University of Pittsburgh that aims to combat hate speech and extremist language online and in reality.
Susan Baida officially started her role as the first executive director of the Collaboratory late last fall and has since been quick to identify the present and emerging methods used by bad actors to instill hate speech, illicit fear, impose threats and promote other forms of physical violence against people belonging to one or more minority populations. She leads a team of about a half dozen researchers and co-directors and at times will oversee research efforts being conducted by dozens of data scientists across Pitt and CMU who are all looking to identify how these methods are being developed and deployed.
Baida joins the Collaboratory during a period of time marked by an increase in hate crimes targeting minority populations across the United States. She views her role as one that will hopefully look to address the root causes of these crimes so that they can be addressed before their onset and therefore eventually eliminated.
But both Baida and the Collaboratory won't have to go about this initiative alone.
"I am concerned because we are seeing an escalation in hate crimes for sure; it's been increasing for the last 10 years and 2022 was a peak year," Baida said. "But what does excite me is that there are many more groups — advocacy groups — coming forward and being formed to address these issues, and what we're trying to do is make sure that we identify them and partner with them to address this all together."
Baida continued: "That gives me a lot of encouragement. I do see the numbers rising and it's a serious problem in this country. I feel that the Collaboratory is at the right place at the right time, and we're really excited about the interest out there in collaborating with us to mitigate what we're seeing."
Pitt and CMU first formed the Collaboratory in March 2021. Its origins come following the October 2018 Tree of Life Synagogue mass shooting in Squirrel Hill where a gunman killed eleven people and injured six others in what has become the deadliest anti-Semitic attack in U.S. history.
Baida previously served as the director of the Center for Engagement and Inclusion at UPMC, which is where she built and implemented a diversity and inclusion strategy for the health care conglomerate's more than 40 hospitals and clinics.
