Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego and Raleigh Mayor Janet Cowell Join Penn Institute for Urban Research Advisory Board

Penn and Wharton alumni bring current mayoral leadership and expertise in urban finance, infrastructure, economic development, climate resilience, and public investment to Penn IUR

The Penn Institute for Urban Research (Penn IUR) at the University of Pennsylvania is pleased to announce that Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego, W’12, and Raleigh Mayor Janet Cowell, C’90, W’95, have joined the Institute’s Advisory Board, adding the perspectives of two sitting U.S. mayors to Penn IUR’s network of urban leaders, scholars, policymakers, and practitioners. The sitting mayors join former public officials Manuel Diaz, former mayor of Miami, and Marc Morial, former mayor of New Orleans.

The appointments deepen Penn IUR’s connections to leaders confronting some of the most consequential issues facing rapidly growing American cities, from housing and infrastructure investment to climate resilience, public finance, technological change, and equitable economic development. Both Gallego and Cowell are University of Pennsylvania graduates with extensive experience spanning government, finance, economic development, and civic leadership.

“Mayors are at the forefront of responding to the profound transformations taking place in cities, and their experience is essential to Penn IUR’s work,” said Eugénie Birch, Co-Director of Penn IUR and Nussdorf Professor of Urban Research and Education at the Stuart Weitzman School of Design. “Mayor Gallego and Mayor Cowell lead two dynamic and rapidly growing cities, and each brings an exceptional record of translating ambitious ideas into action. Their voices on our Advisory Board will strengthen the connection between the research taking place at Penn and the practical decisions urban leaders must make every day.”

Susan Wachter, Co-Director of Penn IUR and the Albert Sussman Professor of Real Estate and Professor of Finance at the Wharton School said the appointments are particularly significant as cities assume greater responsibility for navigating economic, fiscal, environmental, and technological change.

“Adding two sitting mayors to Penn IUR’s Advisory Board brings an invaluable practitioner perspective to these questions,” Wachter said. “Mayor Gallego and Mayor Cowell also bring deep expertise in finance and investment, strengthening our ability to connect urban research with the fiscal and institutional realities that determine what cities can achieve.”

Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego: Urban Leadership in a Rapidly Growing City

Gallego’s appointment builds on a growing relationship with Penn IUR. In April 2026, Penn IUR honored her with the Lawrence C. Nussdorf Urban Leadership Prize at its 21st Annual Urban Leadership Forum, recognizing her leadership in guiding Phoenix toward a more resilient, sustainable, and equitable future.

A graduate of the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, Gallego has overseen a period of significant economic and technological growth in Phoenix while advancing policies addressing the environmental and infrastructure pressures facing a rapidly growing desert city.

Gallego is also a prominent member of the Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN) Global Commission for Urban SDG Finance, for which Penn IUR serves as Secretariat. The Commission brings together mayors, researchers, financial experts, development institutions, city networks, and private-sector leaders to develop strategies for substantially increasing the flow of public and private capital to sustainable urban infrastructure.

More recently, Gallego has emerged as a leading mayoral voice on the rapid expansion of data centers and artificial-intelligence infrastructure and the implications of that growth for cities. 

“Cities are defining what innovative leadership looks like—from serving as the advanced industry hubs that power our national economy, to driving strategies to support climate resilience. Penn IUR has been an incredible asset to me as mayor, and I look forward to working with this important network as a board member to develop and share solutions for the benefit of urban communities around the world,” Mayor Gallego said.

Raleigh Mayor Janet Cowell: Connecting Public Finance, Civic Leadership, and Place

Janet Cowell was elected Mayor of Raleigh in 2024, bringing to city hall more than 15 years of previous elected public service and a career spanning public finance, investment, state and local government, and civic leadership.

Before becoming mayor, Cowell served as a Raleigh City Councilor, North Carolina State Senator, and North Carolina State Treasurer. As State Treasurer, she became the first and only woman to hold the office, overseeing approximately $100 billion in pension assets as well as health benefits serving nearly one million public-sector workers and retirees.

That experience gives Cowell an unusually broad perspective on the financial systems underlying public-sector investment and the long-term fiscal decisions that shape communities—expertise closely aligned with Penn IUR’s work on municipal finance, infrastructure, housing, and sustainable urban development.

Cowell’s path back to elected office also included leadership of one of Raleigh’s most significant civic investments. Prior to her election as mayor, she served as President and CEO of the Dix Park Conservancy, where she helped advance the transformation of Dorothea Dix Park and raised approximately $40 million in private funding for projects including the creation of Gipson Play Plaza and restoration of the park’s historic chapel and stone houses.

Cowell earned her undergraduate degree from the University of Pennsylvania and an MBA from the Wharton School. 

“Cities work best when people feel connected to their communities and have a meaningful role in shaping their future. I am delighted to join the Penn Institute for Urban Research Advisory Board and to reconnect with Penn through an institute dedicated to understanding how cities grow and how that growth can improve people’s lives,” Mayor Cowell said. 

“Raleigh is experiencing extraordinary opportunity and change, and I look forward to sharing what we are doing in Raleigh while also learning from Penn IUR’s researchers and its network of urban leaders.”

Bringing City Hall into the Urban Research Conversation

The addition of Gallego and Cowell strengthens the representation of active local government leadership on Penn IUR’s Advisory Board at a time when cities are being asked to address an increasingly interconnected set of challenges. 

Phoenix and Raleigh offer particularly valuable vantage points. Both are growing Sun Belt cities experiencing substantial economic and demographic change, while facing decisions about how infrastructure, housing, transportation, public services, technology, and climate resilience can keep pace with that growth.

The two mayors bring distinct but complementary experience. Gallego’s leadership encompasses climate resilience, water, extreme heat, advanced manufacturing, technology infrastructure, and global urban finance. Cowell brings extensive experience in public finance and institutional investment, state and municipal government, public-private partnerships, parks and public space, and community engagement.

Their appointments will help Penn IUR further connect scholarship across the University of Pennsylvania with the experiences of leaders responsible for governing cities in real time. For more information about Penn IUR and its Advisory Board, visit https://penniur.upenn.edu/about.