William Petersen

William B. Petersen is the former Chief Operating Officer of the Philadelphia Museum of Art. He also served as the Museum’s General Counsel. Prior to his time at the Museum, Petersen spent nineteen years at Verizon. During his tenure at the company, he held several senior positions, including General Counsel of Verizon Wireless and Senior Vice President in charge of litigation and enforcement matters for Verizon Communications. Petersen has also worked in private practice and is a former Assistant United States Attorney in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.

Petersen has a BA from Ursinus College, an M.Div. from the Yale Divinity School, and a JD from the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School, where he was the Editor-in-Chief of the University of Pennsylvania Law Review.

Petersen is currently a member of the Board of Directors of the Rosenbach Museum of Library, where he sits on the Executive Committee and Chairs the Nominations and Governance Committee. He has also served on the Boards and Executive Committees of Philadelphia’s public media company – WHYY, the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts in Philadelphia, and the Independence Visitor Center, also located in Philadelphia.