2009 Freedom Fund Gala keynote speaker
Michael A. Nutter

Michael A. Nutter, the 98th mayor of Philadelphia, has set a course for America’s sixth largest city aimed at growing the regional economy in a sustainable manner, dramatically improving public safety and investing in education and workforce development.

Since taking office in January 2008, Mayor Nutter has implemented a crime fighting strategy that has seen a sharp decline in the homicide rate and continuing reductions in other violent crime.

He has committed the city and the Philadelphia School District to increase the school graduation rate by 50 percent in five to seven years and to double the college attainment rate in five to 10 years.

With a pledge to make Philadelphia the greenest city in America, Mayor Nutter has launched an aggressive strategy, Greenworks Philadelphia that will reduce the city’s carbon footprint and train Philadelphians for new green collar jobs, from weatherization to solar panel installation.

Long committed to careful planning of development, Mayor Nutter has reoriented city government, giving primacy to planning as the city prepares for future development along the Delaware River, the Navy Yard and Philadelphia International Airport. He has reorganized the city’s Commerce Department to improve its assistance to small businesses and to foster minority- and women-owned business.

Within city government, Mayor Nutter has begun a reform drive that includes the creation of a 311 Call Center to serve better the service needs of city residents. And his administration has set bright line standards for ethical conduct, increased funding for the city’s Inspector General’s office and established the city’s first ever Chief Integrity Officer.

In response to the deepest recession in generations, Mayor Nutter launched a nationally recognized mortgage foreclosure program that links at-risk homeowners with housing counseling and related services.

Born in Philadelphia in 1957, Michael Nutter grew up in West Philadelphia with his parents, who instilled in him a deep interest in community service, his sister and grandmother. An academic scholarship recipient, he graduated from St. Joseph’s Preparatory High School. In 1979, he graduated from the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania.

Before pursuing his career in public service, Mayor Nutter was an investment manager at a minority-owned investment banking and brokerage firm.

After working in the gubernatorial campaign of Ed Rendell and the campaigns for City Council members John Anderson and Angel Ortiz, Michael Nutter won elections as a committee person in the 52nd ward in 1986, 52nd Democratic Ward Leader in 1990 and, in his second attempt, for City Council in 1991.

In a legislative career spanning almost 15 years, Michael Nutter authored successful reform legislation in the area of ethics and campaign finance, civilian review of the Police Department, tax reform and a smoking ban in public places.

In June 2006, he resigned his City Council seat and began a reform-oriented campaign for the Democratic mayoral nomination, which he won in a five-way primary. In the general election, he garnered 83 percent of the vote.

He resides in Wynnefield with his wife Lisa and daughter Olivia. His son, Christian, lives and works in New Jersey. Mayor Nutter is a member of the Mt. Carmel Baptist Church in West Philadelphia.