Dr. Janet Haas Elected to the Board of Trustees of The Philadelphia Orchestra and Ensemble Arts as Part of Its Next Chapter of Civic Leadership
February 12, 2026Dr. Janet Haas Elected to the Board of Trustees of The Philadelphia Orchestra and Ensemble Arts as Part of Its Next Chapter of Civic Leadership
Appointment reflects the organization’s intentional approach to board-building and its evolving role as a civic anchor and platform for the city
For Immediate Release: Philadelphia, PA (February 11, 2026) — As part of its ongoing, intentional approach to building a Board of Trustees that reflects the scale of its artistic and civic ambitions, The Philadelphia Orchestra and Ensemble Arts today announced the election of Janet Haas, M.D., to its Board of Trustees. Her appointment underscores the organization’s evolution as a civic anchor and platform for the city, and follows recent additions of nationally recognized civic, philanthropic, and institutional leaders who are helping to shape its next chapter.
Dr. Haas is Board Chair of the William Penn Foundation, where she has helped guide the foundation’s strategic grantmaking for more than two decades. Under her leadership, the foundation has made transformative investments in education, protection of the Delaware River watershed, arts and culture, and the creation of accessible, vibrant public spaces. These priorities closely align with The Philadelphia Orchestra and Ensemble Arts’ own commitment to community impact, access, and public space activation, including its placemaking work along the Avenue of the Arts and its role in strengthening Philadelphia’s cultural ecosystem. In recognition of their extraordinary philanthropic leadership, the Haas family was named one of eight recipients of the 2015 Carnegie Medal of Philanthropy.
Deeply engaged in Philadelphia’s nonprofit and civic landscape, Dr. Haas currently serves as a trustee of the University of Pennsylvania, the Morris Arboretum, and the Free Library of Philadelphia. Her board service reflects a sustained commitment to institutions that expand access to knowledge and culture, steward public spaces, and foster civic connection, values that directly mirror the mission of The Philadelphia Orchestra and Ensemble Arts as a platform for public engagement and shared civic life.
“We are thrilled to welcome Janet Haas to our Board of Trustees,” said Ralph Muller, Chair of the Board of Trustees. “Janet brings an extraordinary record of civic leadership, philanthropic stewardship, and commitment to the arts. Janet’s experience stewarding complex institutions and philanthropic portfolios will be instrumental as our board guides the organization through its next phase of growth and impact, strengthening our role as both a world-class performing arts organization and a civic anchor for the region.”
“As we enter this next chapter for The Philadelphia Orchestra and Ensemble Arts, we are continuing to evolve as both a world-class orchestra and a civic institution,” said Ryan Fleur, President and CEO of The Philadelphia Orchestra and Ensemble Arts. “We are intentionally building a board that reflects the best of Philadelphia’s public, private, and civic leadership, and Dr. Haas’s record of philanthropic vision and community-centered work aligns powerfully with the future we are shaping for our organization and the city we serve.”
In addition to her philanthropic and governance leadership, Dr. Haas brings a deeply human perspective shaped by her clinical work in palliative care - an expertise grounded in empathy, long-term stewardship, and community well-being. She is a practicing physician at the University of Pennsylvania Health System, treating patients at the Abramson Cancer Center at Pennsylvania Hospital. Board-certified in physical medicine and rehabilitation with a specialization in brain injury, she trained at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, Stanford University Hospital, and the University of Pennsylvania Health System, and previously taught at Temple University School of Medicine. Dr. Haas earned her medical degree from Hahnemann Medical College (now Drexel University College of Medicine) and her undergraduate degree from Wesleyan University.