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. At his inaugural address, 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. He also promised to lead an ethical and transparent government focused on providing high quality, efficient and effective customer service.
With the support of an experienced, professional staff, Mayor Nutter made significant progress on every pledge, including examples such as: 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 bikeshare 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. In fact, since January 2014, more than $11.5 billion of economic development projects have been completed, are under construction or announced.
During his tenure as Mayor, Nutter served as the President of the United States Conference of Mayors and as President of the Pennsylvania Municipal League. He has received numerous awards and accolades, including being named to Esquire magazine’s Americans of the Year List (2011) and Public Official of the Year (2014) by Governing magazine. Beyond that, the Philadelphia City government received more than 150 awards for innovative programs, good government practices, and excellence.
Since leaving public service in January 2016, Michael Nutter has remained active in public policy, education, government, and civic life. He has served in a variety of advisory & educational roles with the Homeland Security Advisory Council, Columbia University (SIPA), Bloomberg Philanthropies, What Works Cities program, Ekistic Ventures, Drexel University, Airbnb, the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia, NOVELE, the U.S. Department of Transportation, JPMorgan Chase, the Chicago Council on Global Affairs, and many other organizations.
Currently, Michael Nutter is a Professor of Practice in Urban and Public Affairs at Columbia University through the School of International and Public Affairs.
Michael Nutter is a life-long Philadelphian, born and raised in West Philadelphia with an education from Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. He has been dedicated to public service since his youth. Michael Nutter is happily married to his wife Lisa, and a proud parent to Christian and Olivia.
His full biography can be found on his website here.
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