Whether she’s advising businesses on their digital presence or volunteering within the Newton community, entrepreneur and community leader Angela Pitter operates under the same mindset: if something can be made better, she will be the one to get it done. 

“I’m a believer in execution—I mean, at the end of the day, I love the vision, but you know, a vision without execution is just a dream,” Pitter said. “I’m all about getting stuff done.”

Pitter’s life and extensive career began in the Bronx, where she grew up and attended The Bronx High School of Science. She later moved to Boston to study computer engineering at Boston University, before earning her master’s in administration.

The culture shift from the Bronx to Boston was a shock, she explained. 

“I was kind of shocked when I came to Boston and said, ‘Whoa, where is everybody else?’” Pitter said. “Like all the non-white folks—there’s like none. So it was very different … it was the whole vibe that was completely different.”

After graduation, Pitter moved to Newton in 1991 and worked for a tech company throughout the 2000s. In 2011, after she was laid off from her previous job due to the 2008 financial crisis, Pitter decided to run for Newton’s School Committee—following a short stint with the district’s superintendent search committee—and won. 

Pitter was the second Black person ever elected to the Newton School Committee. She served her Ward 3 seat for three terms before leaving in 2018.

“Believe it or not, Newton really didn’t spend any money on technology,” Pitter said. “My elementary school was Cabot Elementary, and we did a fundraiser, like I pushed them because I decided, of course, technology is my thing—I’m going to lead the tech committee. And we raised over $100,000. And so we got the technology, but not every school is able to raise that kind of money.”

Pitter used her experience with Cabot to push for the expansion of Newton’s technology resources throughout the entire district. Her work in outfitting Newton’s classrooms with modern-day technology was vital after she left the committee when the COVID-19 pandemic forced teachers to accommodate students virtually.

“And you know, thank God that I actually pushed for it, because when I left in [2018], the pandemic hit just a couple of years later,” Pitter said. “By then, they had fully outfitted all the classrooms. I can’t even imagine what would have happened.”

Her time on the committee is part of what inspired Pitter to start her own business in digital marketing, as it helped her to realize the importance of social media and how to communicate with people with different perspectives.

“I realized that businesses and nonprofits really need to get into bed with the social media stuff,” Pitter said. “You also get to hear from everybody, everybody has an opinion … I think it also helps you in business, you know, have these conversations with people who have these very different perspectives.”

Pitter started LiveWire Collaborative, a digital marketing consultancy that helps business owners and executives develop and implement online strategies in 2012. As a solo entrepreneur and CEO, Pitter works to help businesses manage their digital narrative.

“Your whole thing is revolving online, so unless you’re managing your whole online footprint, it’s like you can either control the narrative, or the narrative controls you, so I think it’s very important,” Pitter said. 

Specifically, Pitter is widely known for her expertise in LinkedIn training, consulting businesses and individuals on how to best present themselves professionally on the platform. 

“LinkedIn is, I would say, the number one place where you can sort of own your narrative,” Pitter said. “It helps you to own your digital footprint, own your full narrative.”

As a BU alumnus, Pitter hosts extremely popular webinars for her fellow alumni around the world to help them cultivate their LinkedIn presence. She works with Jeff Murphy, the director of Alumni Career Engagement at BU, to run them.

“She’s donated her time and expertise to literally thousands of BU alumni around the globe,” Murphy said. “In this last one, we had close to 900 people who participated from around the world … she’s like, giving all of this advice away for free, because she cares about people in her community. And I mean, it literally is thousands of people around the globe that she’s had an impact on.”

One of her longtime clients, Newton resident Linda Swain, emphasized the importance of Pitter’s LinkedIn training for her company. 

“She is terrific at empowering others,” Swain said. “So, really one’s LinkedIn presence is kind of the intersection of one’s own personal brand and the company that they work for, and she does a great job kind of speaking to that delicate balance, and empowering people to make sure that they focus on this.”

Now, with the introduction of AI into the digital world, Pitter has been pivoting her work at LiveWire to include helping businesses and nonprofits manage their usage and implementation of the technology. 

“It’s not human in the loop, it has to be the human in the lead, because each of us have our own subject matter expertise, and we have to be able to look at [AI’s] output and know whether it’s good or bad, and then that’s the only way it’s gonna work,” Pitter said. “You do not want to just let the monster loose.”

Outside of her work as an entrepreneur, Pitter continues to be a pillar within the Newton community, especially as the board chair of the Charles River Regional Chamber, where she works to support small businesses and entrepreneurs in the wider Newton area. 

Greg Reibman, the president and CEO of the chamber, emphasized how well Pitter is able to empower others. 

“She’s a good, steady voice for our community, provides a kind of consistent perspective, and understands the needs of our small businesses and minority owned businesses,” Reibman said. “She helps us see the big picture.”

Pitter has also been involved in diversity and inclusion work outside of the Chamber, establishing the Newton Coalition of Black Residents back in 2020, following the Black Lives Matter movement. 

“You know, it’s just the focus of, like, bringing folks of color together to really look at the issues that we have in common, and also just network,” Pitter said. “It’s just a way for us to come together.”

Pitter currently resides in Newtonville with her family and plans to continue her work in learning more about how to tackle AI’s role in business in the future. 

“I can’t even imagine right now, what the future [holds], where we’re going to land,” Pitter said. “I’m really excited to just kind of stick around and just ride this one out.”