Governance
Governance - Board of Directors of City Trusts
The Board of Directors of City Trusts is a group of dedicated Philadelphia civic leaders appointed by and accountable to the Judges of the Courts of Common Pleas of Philadelphia. Membership consists of 12 citizens of Philadelphia and the Mayor and the President of City Council, who serve Ex-Officio. The board serves without compensation.
Girard College Committee
The Girard College Committee of the Board of Directors of City Trusts is comprised of board members who are responsible for the direct supervision of Girard College’s executive management. These board members share their expertise, offer guidance, and oversee all matters relating to Girard College. The President and senior leadership of the school consult with the Chairman of the Committee on matters of policy, organizational changes, and major operational issues.
Committee members:
Charles Gibbs, Chairman
Bernie Smalley
Derek Green
Donna Bullock
Paul Panepinto
Joseph Bilson
Michael Nutter, President of Board of Directors of City Trusts
After serving almost 15 years in the Philadelphia City Council, Michael A. Nutter was elected the 98th Mayor of his hometown in November 2007 and took office in January 2008. He served as mayor of Philadelphia for eight years.
Mayor Nutter pledged to lower crime, improve educational attainment rates, make Philadelphia the greenest city in America, and attract new businesses and residents to the city.
With the support of his staff, he made significant progress on every pledge: Homicides were at an almost 50-year low at the end of his tenure; high school graduation and college degree attainment rates increased significantly; Philadelphia added hundreds of miles in bike lanes and trails and launched the first low-income friendly bike share system in America, called Indego; and Philadelphia’s population grew every year since 2008, including the largest percentage of millennial population growth in the nation.
He actively recruited businesses to set up shop in Philadelphia, both domestically and internationally with tax reforms, better business services and international trade missions. And, despite the damaging impact of the Great Recession, Philadelphia’s economy demonstrated significant growth.
In 2013, Mayor Nutter concluded his tenure as President of the United States Conference of Mayors, the official non-partisan organization of almost 1,300 U.S. cities with populations of 30,000 or more. In 2011, Esquire magazine named Mayor Nutter to its Americans of the Year list, and in 2014, he was named Public Official of the Year by Governing magazine. During his tenure, Philadelphia City government received more than 150 awards for innovative programs, good government practices and excellence.
Since leaving public service in 2016, Mayor Nutter has remained actively involved in political campaigns, the corporate community, and academic institutions across the country. He currently serves as the David N. Dinkins Professor of Professional Practice in Urban and Public Affairs at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA).
Mayor Nutter is a lifelong Philadelphian, born and raised in West Philadelphia and educated at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.
He is happily married to his wife Lisa, and a proud parent to Christian and Olivia.
Charles Gibbs, Chairman, Girard College Committee
A prominent trial attorney with a devotion to public service, Mr. Gibbs is a past president of the Barristers’ Association of Philadelphia, the largest association of African American attorneys in Pennsylvania. Additionally, he is co-chair of the City Policy Committee of the Philadelphia Bar Association.
Mr. Gibbs currently serves as solicitor for Darby Borough in Delaware County, and he also has served as solicitor for Yeadon Borough in Delaware County.
Before practicing law, Mr. Gibbs, a West Philadelphia native, managed political campaigns and served in local government.
In 2021, the Philadelphia Board of Judges elected Mr. Gibbs to a lifetime appointment on the Board of Directors of City Trusts, a group of Philadelphia citizens who, along with the mayor and city council president, are charged with the administration of approximately 116 trusts left to the City of Philadelphia for charitable purposes. Mr. Gibbs proudly serves on the Sundry Trust and Girard College Committees.
After graduating from Temple University, Mr. Gibbs earned a J.D., cum laude, from Widener University School of Law, where he served as Vice President of the Moot Court Honor Society and President of the Black Law Students Association. He has been inducted into the West Catholic High School Hall of Fame.
Among Mr. Gibbs’ honors are being selected to The Philadelphia Business Journal’s “Top 40 Under 40” list and being included in LEADERSHIP Philadelphia’s Keepers Program. The Legal Intelligencer recognized him among Lawyers on the Fast Track, and he has been selected annually to the list of Pennsylvania Super Lawyers since 2012.
While his heart remains in his native West Philadelphia, he is a proud resident of East Oak Lane.