University City Discrict Announces Additions to Board Of Directors

Tuesday, January 20, 2015

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Lori Brennan, University City District | 215-243-0555 x227 or [email protected] 

UNIVERSITY CITY DISCRICT ANNOUNCES ADDITIONS TO BOARD OF DIRECTORS
(Philadelphia, PA) - University City District (UCD), the economic development organization located in West Philadelphia, is pleased to announce five new members to its Board of Directors, which is composed of community, business, institutional, and non-profit leaders from within University City. The new additions to the 25-member board are: Jamie Gauthier, Tom Klaritch, Mark Mills, Joe Reagan, and John Vitali. Members are elected to three-year terms. 
Built on the indispensable foundation of Clean and Safe, UCD has steered its work to match the vision of its partner institutions, creating new possibilities for the neighborhood. From The Porch at 30th Street Station and the 40th Street Trolley Portal improvements to the West Philadelphia Skills Initiative and Project Rehab, UCD continues to put its stamp on one of the region’s most vital neighborhoods. None of this would be possible without the generous contributions of UCD’s Board of Directors, who underwrite the Clean and Safe program and provide much-needed operating support.

University City District Board Member Bios


Jamie Gauthier, Executive Director, Sustainable Business Network & President, Garden Court Community Association
Jamie Gauthier is the Executive Director of the Sustainable Business Network (SBN), a 400+ member business organization “working to build a just, green and thriving economy in the Greater Philadelphia region.” Prior to joining SBN, Jamie held the position of Program Officer with Philadelphia Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC), supporting community-based organizations to develop and implement initiatives designed to bring new life to communities. Jamie holds a Master’s degree in City Planning from the University of Pennsylvania, and an undergraduate degree in Business Administration from Temple University. She currently serves as Co-President of Garden Court Community Association (a civic association serving the community she resides in), and as a board member of both the 52nd Street CDC and Traveler’s Aid Family Services of Philadelphia. Prior to her career in community and economic development, she worked as an Accountant in the for-profit sector.


Tom Klaritch, Executive Vice President, HCP
Tom oversees more than $3 billion of medical office property assets for HCP. Previously, he was a founding member and Chief Financial Officer of MedCap Properties LLC, - acquired by HCP in 2003 - a real estate company located in Nashville, TN that owned, operated and developed properties in the healthcare field. Tom has more than 25 years of operational and financial management experience in the hospital and medical office sectors. He is a certified public accountant.


Mark Mills, President, The Metropolis Group
Mark Mills owns The Metropolis Group, a real estate firm which has developed a portfolio of nine multi-family and mixed used properties in the University City area. Mark previously led the development of multi-family properties for The Temple Group and worked on affordable housing development projects for Penrose Properties.


 Joe Reagan, Vice President, Development, Wexford Science and Technologies
Joe is responsible for numerous collaborative development projects with the University City Science Center.  He also is managing the development and leasing of the University of Miami Life Science Park.  He has 15 years of institutional real estate, design and construction experience, as well as 14 years of work experience as a consulting architect in New York City and Philadelphia.  Before joining Wexford, Joe was Assistant Vice President of Real Estate and Architecture for the University of Pennsylvania Health System (UPHS), where he oversaw 5 million square feet of owned and leased facilities and directed the Health System design and construction department with an annual capital budget in excess of $100 million.  He is a registered architect in Pennsylvania and New Jersey.


Joe Ritchie, Vice President of Development, Brandywine Realty Trust
Prior to joining Brandywine in September 2014, Joe founded Birchwood Partners, LLC to act as a principal to acquire and improve real estate assets, and to act as a fiduciary to develop and execute solutions for its clients’ real estate and economic development challenges. Previously, he was the Senior Vice President of the Northeast Region for The Burks Companies, a principal of Lomax Real Estate Partners, founding CEO of the City of Newark, New Jersey’s Economic Development Corporation and a Vice President of Trammell Crow Company.  Joe chairs the board of Old City District and is a resident of University City.


John Vitali, Vice President for Finance and Administration, University of the Sciences
John joined USciences in July, 2013 and oversees the offices of Finance, Controller, Facilities and Operations, Administrative and Auxiliary Services, and Public Safety.  Previously, John spent 13 years as Executive Vice President and CFO of the Brooklyn Public Library, the fifth largest system of its kind in the U.S. and the ninth largest cultural nonprofit organization in New York City.  John played a large role in managing the system’s 58 neighborhood libraries, a business library, and its flagship Central Library with a combined $100 million operating budget and $62 million capital budget. 


About University City District
University City District is a partnership of world-renowned anchor institutions, small businesses and residents that creates opportunity, improves economic vitality and quality of life in the University City area of West Philadelphia. Our primary mission is community revitalization. We work within a place-based, data-driven framework to invest in world-class public spaces, address crime and public safety, bring life to commercial corridors, connect low-income residents to careers, and promote job growth and innovation. 

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