Press release written by Len Lear for Chestnut Hill Local posted 28 August 2025
Longtime Chestnut Hill resident Tony Sorrentino was named the new chief executive officer of the Fairmount Park Conservancy, the steward for the city’s 10,000-acre park system. Photo courtesy of the Fairmount Park Conservancy
Tony Sorrentino, a Chestnut Hill resident who has worked on major projects, including the revitalization of the 40th Street retail corridor, was named chief executive officer of the Fairmount Park Conservancy. The 27-year-old nonprofit organization is the steward for the city’s 10,000-acre park system.
The Fairmount Park system is by far the largest municipal park in the world. Wissahickon Valley Park, a major attraction that brings countless visitors to Northwest Philadelphia every day, consists of 2,042 acres of woodland surrounding the Wissahickon Creek between the Montgomery County border and the Schuylkill River.
Sorrentino, who most recently served as an associate vice president in the office of the executive vice president at the University of Pennsylvania, will take up his new position in October, raising funds, overseeing big park renovations, and running recreational and educational programs. “At Penn, I have worked indirectly in fundraising with donor groups,” Sorrentino told the Local. “I was more of an ambassador, not a front-line fundraiser. In this current climate, with so many cutbacks in public funding, we need the private sector to fill in more than ever and donate for public health, education, culture, and arts. Individuals, foundations, and corporations are being asked, ‘What do we value?’”
When asked why Sorrentino was chosen for the position, Fairmount Park Conservancy Board Chair Carol Eicher said, “Tony’s proven ability to build partnerships, drive innovation, and embrace diverse stakeholders will be invaluable in advancing our mission to make Philadelphia’s parks accessible and relevant for all.”
The Fairmount Park Conservancy is a private nonprofit founded in 1998. It partners with the City of Philadelphia to restore its park system by securing private and public funding, engaging volunteers and leading signature projects. According to their website, in its first 15 years, the Conservancy raised more than $25 million for the Philadelphia park system and increased public awareness of the park’s role in contributing to the Greater Philadelphia region’s health and economy.
Sorrentino was born in Overbrook and grew up in Upper Darby. He also has a connection to South Philadelphia, where his father’s family ran a corner grocery store. He attended La Salle University and the University of Pennsylvania and lived in Germantown, Center City, and West Philadelphia before settling in Chestnut Hill in 2002.
“When I graduated from La Salle in 1992, it was the first time I ever had a Schmitter,” Sorrentino told the Local about his introduction to the classic sandwich invented at McNally’s Tavern in Chestnut Hill. “I was living in Germantown, but I loved Chestnut Hill. At the time, I thought if I could live in Chestnut Hill some day, that would be amazing.”
After La Salle, Sorrentino worked in communications at The Franklin Institute from 1993 to 1999 developing public programs to help demystify science. “Schoolkids would come in regularly,” he said. “I felt good that we were really contributing to the city.”
From 1999 to 2001, Sorrentino worked for the Philadelphia Cultural Alliance, a nonprofit that supports the city’s arts sector. He was also attending the University of Pennsylvania and working on a master’s degree in city planning. Later, while working at Penn in the office of the executive vice president, Sorrentino helped oversee staff members involved in land planning, real estate development, community development, and marketing communications.
The project he is most proud of is developing the 40th Street corridor, which divided Penn from the Spruce Hill neighborhood. The section of 40th Street between Market Street and Lancaster Avenue had become shopworn with lots of vacancies and rundown properties. On one side, there were about 20,000 students and on the other side, about 40,000 families.
“Everyone needs a grocery store, shoe store, movie theater, etc.,” Sorrentino said. “So we developed a master plan bit by bit and opened all of those retail storefronts. The whole development took from 2000 to 2005, and I am proud that it is still almost 100 percent occupied. It is Main Street for people on both sides of 40th Street. We fixed the sidewalks, opened the library, and put in an above-ground garage. We had a neighborhood plan and a campus plan.”
Sorrentino is also a cheerleader for Chestnut Hill. “I’m excited to look at making the park available to everyone,” he told us. “Everyone in the city should have access to the park on a hot day for a pool, tennis, pickleball, frisbee. There is so much scientific evidence that these activities are good for the heart and for physical and mental health. Here in Chestnut Hill, we have an embarrassment of riches. Several Chestnut Hill residents have second homes at the shore or mountains. For inner city residents, Fairmount Park can be their second home. Everybody needs a little respite.”
For the last four-and-a-half years, Sorrentino has also been writing a book titled “Medicine for the City,” about how academic medical districts like Philadelphia’s “break boundaries in healthcare and drive economic growth.” The book, published by the University of Pennsylvania Press, will be released in the winter of 2026.
About Fairmount Park Conservancy
Fairmount Park Conservancy is a 501(c)(3) non-profit that leads and supports efforts to improve Philadelphia’s parks. Fairmount Park Conservancy brings parks to life. We work with the City of Philadelphia and its communities to steward our parks and nurture our shared environment, cultural resources and public health. We envision a vibrant, high-quality, and equitable Philadelphia park system for everyone.
