Fellows in Urban Leadership Fall 2023 Visit to New York

On October 27, 2023, Penn IUR sponsored a trip to New York with its 2023-2024 cohort of Fellows in Urban Leadership.The full day of site visits provided an opportunity to meet with and learn from local urban leaders who have championed New York’s arts and culture sector. 

The Fellows made their first stop at the offices of MHR Fund, hosted by Penn IUR Advisory  Board Chair, Mark Rosenberg. In a stunning conference room overlooking Central Park and north to the George Washington Bridge, the Fellows met with Emily Rafferty, who has served in several important roles in the city: President, Metropolitan Museum of Art; Board Chair, Federal Reserve of New York; and Board Chair, NYC & Company, the city’s tourism agency, as well as many other local and national boards. 

As Rafferty shared her career and her experience advancing into leadership positions. Through 40 years at the Met and 10 years as its president — and equal times in her roles at the Fed and NYC & Company — she emphasized the value of communication and teamwork not only in day-to-day work, but especially in response to unexpected challenges and crises. She held the students spellbound in her description of how the Met responded to 9/11. As news of the attack came into the museum, management sent 2,000 staff members home. Later in the chaotic day, the mayor called and insisted that the Museum open the next day, September 12. With a Herculean effort, working through the night, the Met opened the doors that morning, welcoming 3,000 visitors — testimony to the city’s resilience. 

Bill Lukashek, Penn IUR Advisory Board member, added a different dimension to the discussion. He related his experience as a volunteer member of one of the city’s community boards, the entities representing citizen voices in land use and other municipal decisions. He explained the value of this work, one completely unrelated to his business life, but one that made him an expert and advocate for parks and open space in the community board district. He urged the students to “get involved in civic life wherever you live and whatever profession you pursue.”

After these powerful discussions, local Penn IUR board members and alumni of the Fellows  program joined the group for lunch and conversation. 

Next, the Fellows headed to Lincoln Center, via a fast-paced walk that passed through  6 1/2 Avenue, a quarter-mile, mid-block, privately-owned-public space (POP) that traverses several offices. They then rounded Columbus Circle, redesigned by Laurie D. Olin, Practice Professor Emeritus, Landscape Architecture, Weitzman School of Design, to arrive at the rarely seen backstage door of Metropolitan Opera. There Marcia Sells, Chief Diversity Officer, greeted the students with cupcakes and drinks before they all settled down to hear about her work with the Opera’s CEO, Board, and donors.

Sells has helped the Opera to expand the diversity of programming and reach new audiences, including BIPOC students and aspiring dancers. Along the way, she told the students about her journey to her position, starting as a young ballerina star attending the Professional Children’s School, and later attending college, law school, and business school. Her career included a stint at a prominent law firm, working as chief counsel to a labor union, and most recently serving as Associate Dean and Dean of Students at Harvard Law School.

The splendid October weather provided an ideal background for the Fellows to walk through Central Park as Eugenie Birch, Penn IUR Co-Director, delivered a quick history of New York City’s premier public space on their way to their next appointment with the head of the Frick Museum. The Frick is currently undergoing a major expansion and is temporarily housed at the former Whitney Museum, where students met the Frick’s Director Ian Wardropper. Wardropper shared his experience in overseeing the multiyear effort of the Frick’s expansion:  lead the museum through gaining construction approvals, working on significant changes in the design, and fundraising to support the project while tending to the museum’s daily operations. Throughout it all, Wardropper had to exhibit patient leadership and develop strong relationships with residents and elected officials who were initially hostile to the Frick’s plans.

Finally, the group strolled down an Upper East Side street for dinner at the home of Penn IUR Co-Director Eugenie Birch, where fellows, alumni, and board members had a chance to discuss the trip’s highlights and forge new connections before rushing off to catch the train back to Philadelphia. They were exhausted but enriched by the myriad views of the Big Apple.