CRAIG CARNAROLI - Executive Vice President of Penn
As EVP of the Red and Blue, Craig oversees the business aspects of the University: the financial functions, the facilities area, human resources, and IT.
Street: What is the hardest part of being the Executive Vice President?
CC: Deciding when to close for a snow day. That involves getting up at 4:30 in the morning and listening to the latest weather report. But the hardest part actually is that there are so many great ideas I get—whether I’m sitting and talking with student groups, with faculty, or with deans -- and we can’t do everything at once. People have to kind of understand that there are priorities and that just because we don’t pursue it the moment it’s expressed, doesn’t mean it’s lost. So I always keep an inventory in my mind of good ideas. Just because you do the top three ideas, doesn’t mean that Four, Five, and Six weren’t good.
Street: What, in your opinion, is good leadership?
CC: Good leadership, I think, emanates from a very basic tenant, which is you treat people like you want to be treated. That, to me, is the fundamental principle of respect. When you respect people, they’ll respect you, and you’ll get good performance out of them. I also think, in my job, that listening is very important versus talking. I’m like a sponge that way -- I’m always absorbing information and observing what other people are doing and saying, so I can kind of put the pieces of the puzzle together, connect some of the dots.
What is your relationship like with President Gutmann?
CC: We communicate pretty frequently, and we both tend to be night owls. So we’ll still be on our e-mail at 10:00 at night because I’ll have written, “Oh, one more thing I forgot to tell you,” and she’ll respond back right away. She’s also really quite fun. If you ever want to know the review on any latest movie, Amy is a film aficionado–extraordinaire. I’m also a big sports nut, so whenever Penn has a win I know to take a photo of the final scoreboard and text it to her. She’s fun to be around. We can talk not only about the business of the University, but also what’s going on in the world. She’s also so passionate about Penn and I’m so passionate about Penn, and we come at it from different perspectives. She came to Penn as a leader, I came as a student and then as a leader. But it isn’t all business, all the time.
Street: What do you think is unique about being “second-in-command”?
CC: Leadership can sometimes be a lonely place if you have to make unpopular decisions. So I think one of the roles is to be supportive, but you have to have a very open relationship where you can agree to disagree and have a chance to share your point of view. I also think leveraging of time is very important. If you think there are certain things that are better delegated, you’ve got to be open to handling things on behalf of others and being a representative of an organization, even if you’re not that “top dog.” You’ve got to be a self-starter, too. People have often said to me, “You run a great meeting”. A part of it is I feel I have this benefit of observing so many different groups that I see what appeals to me. People really don’t like you disrespecting their time. It all comes back to Aretha Franklin and “R-E-S-P-E-C-T.” So if you’re running a meeting, people expect you to start on time and finish on time, unless you say “I’m asking you to hang in fifteen more minutes because we’re going to do X.” I find that my leadership skills have been honed for exactly that reason.
RAY CLARKE - Vice President of the UA
As stud-gov’s head VP, Ray oversees both UA Steering, the coalition of student groups who voice their concerns to the assembly and administration, and the University Council, where students from mis- or under-represented groups voice their concerns top administrators.
Street: What, in your opinion, is good leadership?
RC: At first I thought that a good leader was someone who was innovative, but as I get older I think that a good leader is someone who knows how to put people in the right place in the right time and direct them in the right path for what their goals are while staying in line with the ambitions of the organization.
What is your relationship like with the President of the UA?
RC: I’ve known Jane since freshman year. We served on Penn Dems board together. After that I served as a member of the committee that she was a director of on the UA. We are a good one, two combo. If you know Jane she’s this bubbly personality, everyone loves Jane, and for me I want to do things in a way where I think outside the box. Bringing her campus engagement skills with my ability to be creative with projects is a great way to go about things.
Street: What do you think is unique about being the “second-in-command”?
RC: Sometimes being number two is a good thing. When you have a leader that’s above you you can learn the ropes from them, and for me that’s really recognizing what’s important about our university. Specifically in my situation, being able to look to someone who’s been in all these roles has allowed me to excel in my role because I always have that one-two combo.
EVIE TZELIOS - Vice President of Undergraduate Media & Entertainment Club
Helping run one of the student-led media and entertainment organizations at Penn, VP Evie manages the internal organization and execution of UME speaker events, internship panels, and info sessions.
Street: What, in your opinion, is good leadership?
ET: I think good leadership is being accessible. One of the reasons I liked the UME leaders when I was a freshman was that they were very positive and always encouraged people to chat with them, and they never talked down to anyone. I try to go to a lot of the meetings just in case anyone has questions or wants to bounce ideas off me, so if they’re stuck or have a question later on they don’t feel weird about emailing me.
Street: What is it like being “second-in-command”?
ET: I’ve been on board a while now in different positions, and the friends I made were always my favorite part, even before I was VP. It’s a bit of pressure, because if an event didn’t meet your expectations you feel more personally responsible since you’re in a higher position, but you’re also proud when they go well.
Street: How does your position complement the President’s? How does it differ?
ET: I think Gabby (President of UME) and I were good at figuring out what each of us liked and running those portions of the club. Gabby loves the Film Festival and was previously a Film Festival chair, so she runs that and works closely with our Conference chairs. I used to be a Member Events chair, so I work with them and I also work closely with some of the standalone positions, like Professional Development chair and Communications chair. We divided up the work pretty naturally, without even really talking about it. I also think I’m the more serious person who is always thinking about logistics and Gabby is better at thinking of the big, creative ideas, so we balance each other out.
LUKE MASSARO - Vice President of Penn Glee Club
Besides sitting on the group’s Board of Governors, Luke serves as the Glee Club social chair and overseer of the new member process, admitting that being VP “is a really fun job with a powerful-sounding title.”
Street: What is the hardest part of being the Vice President for Glee Club?
LM: The hardest part about being VP is trying to be fun and happy while also commanding respect. I can't help but wonder what people think of me when I send a stern e-mail demanding punctuality for some event and then immediately follow that with an e-mail about a party. I'm supposed to be keeping everyone happy, especially the newbies, but we also need to get stuff done. I try to counteract this disjunction by putting a lot of gifs and colors in my messages.
Street: What, in your opinion, is good leadership?
LM: Good leadership to me is leading by example. I don't necessarily want to be a role model for other members of my group, but I do want to do whatever it takes to make people feel like the Glee Club is their family, where they feel safe and comfortable being themselves.
Street: How does your position complement the President's? How does it differ?
LM: My position complements the President's because we get to approach issues in club from different perspectives. He has a lot of serious tasks to complete, and with my being the "fun" board member, they don't often overlap. But when they do, I usually get have the privilege of playing Good Cop to his Bad. He is the stern parent, and I'm a cool mom.
