[1] She is helping lead a collaboration with Apple and the Chicago Public School system to teach computer programming to teachers.

Pinkard has served as the Director of Innovation for the University of Chicago's Urban Education Institute (UEI),[5] and as chief technology officer and director of the Information Infrastructure System (IIS) project at the Center for Urban School Improvement (USI) at the University of Chicago.

[5] Pinkard founded the Digital Youth Network (DYN) in 2006, at the University of Chicago's Urban Education Institute.

The project is designed to support "organizations, educators and researchers in learning best practices to help develop our youths’ technical, creative, and analytical skills.

"[9] The DYN model begins with sixth to eighth-grade education and focuses on mandatory in-school media arts classes and optional after-school programs.