On Tuesday, July 29th, 2025, UCD staff gathered at Renata’s Kitchen for a celebratory send-off for two transformative board members in Craig Carnaroli and Joe Trainor, who are stepping down from their roles.
Craig Carnaroli speaking at the 2024 State of University City event
Craig Carnaroli, our longstanding Board Chair, is departing his role as Senior Executive Vice President at the University of Pennsylvania for a position at Stanford University, where he obtained an MBA in 1990. During his 25 years at Penn, Craig helped to transform Penn’s campus, modernize the university’s operations, and promote access and inclusion. He served as Penn’s chief financial and administrative officer, overseeing audits, compliance, and privacy; budget planning and analysis; business services; facilities and real estate services; finance; human resources; investments; information systems and computing; and public safety.
At UCD, Craig served as a constant champion for our organization and led the board through a period of great growth for the organization – from the establishment of the Skills Initiative and Project Rehab, to the development of major public spaces like The Porch at 30th Street Station and the 40th Street Trolley Portal. Craig offered high-level support and mentorship to UCD senior staff, and he facilitated a significant gift of $250,000 from Penn to UCD to distribute to small businesses struggling in the early days of COVID.
Joe Trainor (right) receiving a gift at the 2023 State of University City event
Joe Trainor is also stepping off the UCD board after 28 years of dedicated service. Joe was a founding UCD board member while holding the title of Senior VP for Finance/CFO at the University of the Sciences in Philadelphia. He was twice recognized by the Philadelphia Business Journal as CFO of the Year, once in 2011 while at University of the Sciences and again in 2022 after transitioning to CFO for the Wistar Institute.
Joe served as UCD’s longstanding treasurer on our board, offering crucial financial guidance over the years and always going above and beyond to champion us and our work. Joe remained on our board even after retiring from Wistar in 2023 and was a frequent presence at UCD events and gatherings. In the words of our president Matt Bergheiser, Joe is “genuinely one of the nicest people you could ever meet.”
We are deeply indebted to Craig and Joe for their many years of dedicated service to UCD. We wish Craig the best of luck in his new role, and Joe many peaceful days as he enjoys his retirement. Please stay tuned for updates on new officer roles on our board.