University City District’s (UCD) Board of Directors has announced that longtime UCD President Matt Bergheiser will be stepping down after more than 16 years of leadership, effective April 30th, 2026, to launch a new social impact venture.
The UCD Board has unanimously appointed UCD’s Senior Vice President of Strategy Sarah Steltz as Interim President, effective immediately. The UCD Board has also appointed a Transition Committee to work closely with Bergheiser and Steltz to ensure a seamless leadership transition and maintain momentum across UCD’s core initiatives while plans for a permanent transition are implemented.
“On behalf of the UCD Board, I’d like to thank Matt for his many years of bold vision, dedicated leadership, and exemplary service to UCD and its network of partnerships among anchor institutions, employers, neighborhood businesses, and residents, and wish him equal success in this next stage of his career,” UCD Board Chair John Grady of Wexford Science + Technology said. “Matt’s integrity and skillful work has defined UCD as a trusted, smart-thinking, hard-working, practical problem-solving organization that has expanded opportunity and quality of life for all of University City’s diverse and varied stakeholders. Matt leaves a deep impact across University City and beyond, and a high bar for the organization to build upon. Thanks to Matt’s stewardship, UCD has a deep and talented team, and the Board looks forward to working with Matt and Sarah through this transition period.”
Appointed in 2009, Bergheiser joined UCD at a key point in UCD’s organizational history and helped establish UCD as a trusted partner that builds bridges between our institutional and community stakeholders. During his time, UCD tripled its budget, grew to a total of more than 130 employees across a range of economic development, placemaking, and economic opportunity roles, and invested more than $25M to build, program, and steward iconic, community-oriented public spaces.
Matt was the architect of multiple key programs and subsidiaries at UCD, including the nationally recognized workforce subsidiary The Skills Initiative and the pioneering social enterprise Green City Works. His love and passion for shaping social enterprises will continue as he launches a new venture called Celsius, a portfolio of clean energy businesses owned by frontline workers.
“My 16 years at UCD have been an unrivaled personal and professional experience,” said Bergheiser. “This is an incredible organization, with a remarkable team, Board, and partners. I can’t wait to see the work continue to evolve and the impact grow in new and exciting ways for all of University City’s residents, visitors, employers, and stakeholders.”
Sarah Steltz moves into the Interim President position with nearly 20 years of experience in public, private, and non-profit roles in workforce, governmental affairs, and economic development. Her previous roles include ten years at Drexel University in positions focused on economic growth and opportunity, leadership roles in workforce and economic development for the City of Philadelphia’s Commerce Department and the Chamber of Commerce for Greater Philadelphia, and two tenures at UCD, including serving as the Executive Director of The Skills Initiative from 2018-2021 and returning to the organization in 2024 to her current role as Senior Vice President for Strategy, where she has broad leadership responsibility for economic development, advancement, partnership development, marketing, program delivery, and new strategies and initiatives.
