Cristella will be the nonpartisan nonprofit’s first female president in its 119-year history.
PHILADELPHIA – JUNE 6, 2023 – Today, the Committee of Seventy’s Board of Directors announced that Lauren Cristella has been named the organization’s new President and CEO. This announcement comes after a Transition Committee conducted a five-month formal process.
Cristella joined the Committee of Seventy in 2018 and assumed the role of Interim President and COO in January, when former President and CEO Al Schmidt left to serve as acting Secretary of State for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. She will be the first woman to lead the 119-year-old organization.
“Since joining Committee of Seventy in 2018, Lauren has been a consistent and influential force,” said Board Chair Eric Kraeutler, a partner at Morgan Lewis. “Lauren’s drive, creativity and leadership have led to incredible successes for C70 and for our city, and we are excited for the organization’s continued success under her leadership.”
Since arriving at Committee of Seventy, Cristella’s work has included:
- Leading public, partner and youth civic engagement and voter education efforts;
- Launching Seventy’s first membership program;
- Board engagement and development, with a focus on diversifying the board, as well as fundraising, including producing Seventy’s major annual event for 600+ attendees and raising more than half a million dollars in sponsorships;
- Creating and executing the annual Women in Public Leadership event;
- Managing the Buchholz Fellows program, a leadership training institute for young professionals;
- Launching and producing Studio C70 webcasts with civic leaders, partners and thinkers; and
- Managing the redesign of C70’s website.
“The Committee of Seventy has promoted, supported and facilitated election integrity for more than a century, and it’s an honor to carry that mission forward,” said Cristella. “At a time when our city is preparing to elect our 100th mayor, and American democracy is facing its greatest challenges since the Civil War, there’s never been a more important time for Seventy’s work to have an impact.”
Cristella has dedicated her career to promoting active citizenship. Prior to Committee of Seventy, she spent seven years at the Fels Institute of Government at the University of Pennsylvania, serving as the director of student affairs and strategic operations. Before that, Cristella spent almost five years leading education efforts and special projects for the National Constitution Center.
“In her work, Lauren has shown that informed voting and finding common ground is the only path toward a vibrant and open democracy,” said Board Co-Vice Chair Barbara Adams. “Under Lauren’s leadership, Committee of Seventy is well positioned to approach problems through a nonpartisan framework that will lead to outcomes that improve our city, our state and our country.”
Cristella served as a President of the League of Women Voters of Philadelphia from 2018-2023, and is a Board member of the Forum of Executive Women. She is also a mom and former foster mom who lives in South Philadelphia with her family.