Carol McCullough Fitzgerald is the Executive Director Emeritus of The Pennsylvania Society, having served as Executive Director of the Society from 2000 until her retirement in 2017. She was the fifth executive director of the Society, founded in 1899, and the first woman to serve in that post. The Pennsylvania Society is a nonprofit patriotic and charitable organization which honors the achievements of Pennsylvanians, to reward excellence, to promote good will and understanding, and to celebrate service to the Commonwealth.
In everything she has put her hand to– activities, projects, organizations, relationships – both personal and professional– Ms. Fitzgerald has made a difference. She has been a role model and mentor to many, while striving to expand and improve.
Ms. Fitzgerald has made a career in planning and organizing programs and major special events. As executive director of the Pennsylvania Society, Ms. Fitzgerald was responsible for coordinating and supervising all activities of the Society including membership, finances, committees, the annual dinner gala, annual luncheon meeting, scholar award program, scholarship program, archives, media coverage, staff and volunteers.
Prior to her association with The Pennsylvania Society, she served as the executive producer of PoliticalFest, a unique, nonpartisan, multimedia, interactive celebration of American politics. The first event of its kind, PoliticalFest was held at the Pennsylvania Convention Center in Philadelphia in conjunction with the 2000 Republican National Convention.
Before that, Ms. Fitzgerald was the Assistant Vice President of Alumni Relations at Drexel University, where she was responsible for the overall management and operation of programs involving over 70,000 alumni. Before working with Drexel's alumni office, she planned alumni activities at the University of Pennsylvania for its then 239,000 living alumni, and was responsible for class reunions, communications, promotional efforts, travel programs, and supervising the work of hundreds of volunteers as well as staff.
Ms. Fitzgerald has worked as a public relations consultant specializing in event planning and government relations, and as such has managed major political campaigns, fundraising strategies and events for candidates and elected officials in Philadelphia and Pennsylvania.
Active in the community, Ms. Fitzgerald has served on many boards and commissions, including the Governor's Industrial Board, the General Alumni Society of the University of Pennsylvania, the Board of Directors of Chestnut Hill College, the board of the Girl Scouts of Eastern Pennsylvania, the board of Historic Philadelphia, Inc., the Regional Advisory Board of the American Ireland Fund, the Forum of Executive Women, and served as a patron/sponsor of Voices in Harmony, a nonprofit mentoring organization for inner-city teenagers in Los Angeles co-founded by her daughter. Among her many honors, she was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Laws by Chestnut Hill College in 2016.
A lifelong resident of Philadelphia, Ms. Fitzgerald earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Pennsylvania, and a Master’s degree from Drexel University. She is the mother of three grown children, grandmother of five, and resides in the Chestnut Hill section of Philadelphia with her husband, the Honorable James J. Fitzgerald, III.