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Teresa Gillen

Teresa Gillen

Lecturer in Law

Terry Gillen is an experienced executive who specializes in urban policy and economic development. She is a Visiting Fellow at the Urban Institute in Washington, DC.  Prior to that role, she was the Director of the Pay for Success program at national LISC in New York. In 2016, she was Deputy Operations Director for the Hillary Clinton campaign in Pennsylvania. Prior to that she was Director of Federal Affairs for the City of Philadelphia and was Executive Director of the Redevelopment Authority (PRA) of Philadelphia.

Terry previously served as the Director of Economic Development Policy for the Rendell Administration in Harrisburg. She was also Senior Vice President of the Philadelphia Industrial Development Corporation (PIDC), under Mayor Rendell. In that job, Terry oversaw the planning process that turned the former Philadelphia Navy Yard into a successful business park. Her TED Talk about that effort can be seen at her website: www.terrygillen.com.

Terry also practiced public finance law for Ballard, Spahr, Andrews and Ingersoll.

Terry has a B.A. cum laude from the University of Rochester, an M.A. in Public Policy from the University of Chicago, and a J.D. from the University of Pennsylvania. At Penn, she served as Executive Editor of the Law Review and helped to create an affirmative action program for the Law Review. Her article, A Proposed Model of the Sovereign Proprietary Distinction, was published by the University of Pennsylvania Law Review in March 1985.

From 1998 to 2008, Terry served as Democratic ward leader of the 30th Ward in South Philadelphia. She was Political Director of the Nutter for Mayor campaign in 2006-2007.