Administrative Staff & Board
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Staff |
Staff Bios |
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Matt Bergheiser |
Matt Bergheiser joined UCD as Executive Director in 2009. In his previous work as Philadelphia Regional Director of the Knight Foundation, he gave away money for a living. As a result - in stark contrast to his time at UCD – everyone treated him nicely and laughed at all his jokes. He is a trustee of Community College of Philadelphia, and a member of the Mayor’s Council on College and Career Success. Matt also ran downtown Trenton’s business improvement district for five years, and served as Executive Vice President of The Enterprise Center, an accelerator for inner-city entrepreneurship. He believes passionately in cities and in creating opportunities for people and places to thrive. Matt holds a B.A. from Princeton University and an MBA from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. |
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Lori Klein Brennan |
Since May 2003, Lori Klein Brennan has been the Director of Marketing & Communications for UCD. Her role encompasses all aspects relating to enhancing the visibility and public image of both the organization and of University City. Prior to joining UCD, Lori’s career spanned several prominent Philadelphia nonprofits - The Academy of Natural Sciences, The Nature Conservancy and People’s Light and Theatre Company. Although her day job keeps her active in many aspects of the Philadelphia public relations and marketing community (she has spent countless hours volunteering for city-wide events from Live 8 to the 2000 Republican National Convention - even though she is a Democrat!) her greatest joy is watching and learning from her two year old daughter, Madelyn. Lori has served on the board of the Philadelphia Public Relations Association and the Woodlands Cemetery Company. She has been a vegetarian for 21 years, enjoys traveling, photography, making jewelry and watching WVU football. If she could do it all over again she’d either be an architect, interior designer, or employed in some capacity by rocker Gene Simmons. She is a 1996 graduate of West Virginia University, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts in Communications. She currently resides in Broomall with her husband Ed, her two year old daughter Madelyn and tortoises, Chomp and Stomp. |
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Dexter Bryant |
Dexter Bryant is the director of operations at UCD, where he manages 45 Ambassadors and 24 cleaning employees. Dexter is also the liaison between UCD and the Philadelphia Police Department. Before arriving at UCD he was a manager for Onesource and, just prior, devoted 10 years of his life to the Montgomery Mall where he managing maintenance and facilities. Dexter also worked in a managerial capacity at Center City District, Rohm and Hass, the Harrisburg Airport, and UPS Air Hub. He received his training in trade schools for construction and management, and spent a number of years working in the construction field. Dexter is married, has a son and a dog named Fluffy. He loves all forms of auto racing and, as a drummer, is always is search of someone to jam with. |
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Seth Budick |
Though he has a graduate degree in the study of insect behavior, Seth Budick’s primary interest is in creating livable neighborhoods for people. As part of the Planning and Economic Development department, Seth applies his extensive programming and GIS experience towards the analysis of data related to community and economic development. Seth has been a resident of University City since 2007, when he rekindled his love affair with the soft pretzel and returned to Philadelphia after a long absence. In his spare time, Seth enjoys exploring new neighborhoods, as well as hiking, and vegetable gardening. |
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Mark Christman |
Mark Christman has been a resident of West Philadelphia since 1996 and employed by UCD since 2004. He graduated from Drexel University and subsequently attempted to graduate from the University of Pennsylvania. He is a member of Saunders Park Neighbors and the Party for the Park planning committee, as well as an avid beer drinker at Local 44 and Fiume. Mark is the founder of Ars Nova Workshop - a nonprofit jazz and experimental music presenting organization, a member of Mayor Nutter’s Cultural Advisory Council, the recipient of the Philadelphia Magazine’s Best of Philly award, and was named a “Local Hero” by Spin Magazine. |
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Chris Ghaffaar |
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Prema Gupta |
Prema Katari Gupta joined UCD as Director of Planning and Economic Development in 2010. Having grown up in rural Connecticut and graduated from Bowdoin College in coastal Maine, Prema fell in love with urban life during her semester abroad in Florence, Italy and is committed to a career making cities more vibrant and more functional. Prema was most recently a Real Estate Manager at the Philadelphia Industrial Development Corporation, and has also worked at Yale University and at the Urban Land Institute, where she authored a book on mixed-use development. She is on the executive committee of ULI Philadelphia and on the board of Historic Rittenhousetown. Prema has a master’s degree from PennDesign and a certificate in Real Estate from the Wharton School. In her spare time, Prema enjoys going on long runs in the Wissahickon and planning international trips that may or may not be feasible. She lives in West Mount Airy with her husband, Anuj, and their daughter, Leela. |
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Carolyn Hewson |
Carolyn Blackwell Hewson joined UCD in 2005 in the Community and Economic Development Department. She currently serves as project manager for capital improvement and planning projects throughout University City. Carolyn came from the world of consulting where she worked on economic revitalization strategies for communities in the Philadelphia region and beyond. She received her Master’s Degree in City and Regional Planning from the University of Pennsylvania and her undergraduate degree in International Relations from Wheaton College in Massachusetts. Carolyn lived in Washington, DC for several years after college working at a think tank on international trade policy. Carolyn keeps busy when she’s not in the office by chasing after her energetic toddler and undertaking the occasional craft project. Carolyn enjoys traveling, having visited 27 states and 15 countries on five continents. |
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Katie Holeman |
Katie Holeman, originally from Connecticut set out on her artistic path as a studio art major with a focus in illustration and printmaking at Ohio Wesleyan University. After college, she designed her way down the Eastern seaboard by way of Boston and New York City. Before moving to Philadelphia and joining UCD in 2007, she was a book designer at Random House. She and her husband Ran live in East Falls with their two cats, Luna and Soli. If there were an eighth day in the week, Katie would use it to become a pastry chef. |
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Sheila Ireland |
Sheila Ireland is the Director of the West Philadelphia Skills Initiative at UCD, where she's passionate about learning as a vehicle to connect people to their hopes and dreams. A Chicago native, Sheila moved to Philadelphia as a teenager, and after living in several neighborhoods settled in University City for nine years. She has over fifteen years of experience in human resources, training and organizational development, which includes her time as Human Resources Director for Encore Healthcare LLC, where she worked just prior to UCD. Sheila graduated from Temple University with a B.B.A in Human Resources, and is a M.A. candidate at Saint Joseph’s University majoring in Organizational Dynamics and Leadership. Sheila is a passionate collector of books and shoes, and struggles to be an avid gardener in her new home in Mount Airy. She is wife and mother to the two lights of her life, her husband Charles and her son Chuckie. |
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Charles Johnson |
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Charles Jones |
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Maggie Langdon |
Maggie Langdon, a native Philadelphian and one of seven children, was born into stardom when she and her sister arrived as the largest set of twins born in world history. After school Maggie worked as a travel agent and she loves to travel, especially to the islands. Her passion for math ultimately led her to accounting, which she enjoys as one of her many roles at UCD. She joined UCD in July of 2000. Maggie has three wonderful boys and loves sports. |
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Lt. John McCurdy |
Lt. John McCurdy has over 24 years of service with the Philadelphia Police Department. Prior to working in University City, he had numerous assignments including working as the Lieutenant in the 18th District at 55th and Pine streets, as an instructor at the Advanced Training Unit, a Sergeant in the 23rd District, a Detective at Northeast Detective Division, and patrol officer at the 39th District. He received his Masters in Education from Temple University, and his Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Susquehanna University. Lt. McCurdy is married with three children, Ryan, Danielle and Sean. |
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Joe McNulty |
Joe McNulty has been involved in community development in Philadelphia since 2003. He spent 3 years on- and offsite at Habitat for Humanity, helping to create a green building initiative that resulted in 7 LEED Certified, affordable townhomes in West Philly. At New Kensington CDC, Joe mobilized neighbors in Fishtown, Kensington and Port Richmond to create a neighborhood plan for the post-industrial Delaware Riverfront as part of the citywide Civic Vision for the Central Delaware. Joe runs long distances and often smells like it too. He and his wife Andrea plan to retire to a farm raising pygmy goats. |
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Ann Mintz |
Ann Mintz lived in University City for fifteen years as a Penn graduate student and while working as archivist to Buckminster Fuller, the Science Center’s World Fellow in Residence. Her career as a museum master planner and director then led to the Franklin Institute, Orlando, Harrisburg and Western Massachusetts, and she is thrilled to be back in Philadelphia. Long time neighborhood residents may remember hearing her on WXPN and WHYY and as a co-founder of the Cherry Tree Music Coop. She lives in West Mount Airy with her husband Clifford Wagner, another former neighborhood resident, two rescued dogs and two rescued cats. /p> |
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Michael Williams |
Michael Williams was born in Philadelphia in the late summer of 1967. The youngest of three boys with one sister-in-law, he was raised by his mother and two aunts, along with his four cousins in a southern North Carolinian style Christian upbringing. He was well-educated in the Philadelphia public school system, where he was the recipient of various awards, certificates and accolades. After high school, he briefly attended college (realizing that it wasn’t for him) before joining the Air Force Reserves, where he would work for eight years as a federal employee for the Moral, Welfare and Recreation department at the Philadelphia Naval Base. From the late 90’s to the early millennium, he worked for nonprofit arts and culture organizations. Michael is the ultimate Prince fan, but likes to listen to different genres of music, watch and play sports, work out at the gym, attend concerts, shop and dine in New York City and read a good psychological thriller. |
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Board of Directors |
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Craig Carnaroli |
University of Pennsylvania |
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James Tucker |
Drexel University |
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David Adelman |
Campus Apartments |
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Joseph Trainor |
University of the Sciences in Philadelphia |
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Maureen Rush |
University of Pennsylvania Public Safety |
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Anthony Bartolomeo |
Pennoni Associates Inc. |
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Madeline Bell |
The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia |
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Dorothy Welch Berlind |
Cedar Park Community Representative |
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Della Clark |
The Enterprise Center |
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Barry Grossbach |
Spruce Hill Community Association |
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Curtis Hess |
The Science Center |
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Lindsay Johnston |
Common Ground Realtors |
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Michael Jones |
Powelton Village Community Association |
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Daniel Liberatoscioli |
The Restaurant School at Walnut Hill College |
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Donald Melnick, M.D. |
National Board of Medical Examiners |
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Mark Mendenhall |
Garden Court Community Association |
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Christopher Montello |
Gazit Group USA, Inc. |
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Carole Parker |
International House |
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Max Paul |
Central City Toyota |
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Susan Phillips |
University of Pennsylvania Heath System |
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Anthony Rimikis |
Brandywine Realty Trust |
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William Schwartz |
INTECH Construction, Inc. |
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Earl Williams |
Walnut Hill Community Association |
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