Bill Finch
Chief Strategy Officer (CSO)
Bill Finch is a respected leader in critical policy issues ranging from science and technology, to energy and the environment, to public safety, and municipal leadership.
Finch currently serves as Executive Director of the Discovery Museum and Planetarium, to which he was appointed in January of 2018. Previously, he served as a Fellow at the Rockefeller Institute of Government where he maintains a continuing affiliation as a Visiting Climate Fellow. Prior to that, he served as the Executive Director or the New York State Thruway Authority and supervised the Authority through the opening of the new Mario C. Cuomo Bridge.
With more than thirty years in local elected or appointed office, Finch has a long history of public service. Most recently, he served as mayor of Bridgeport from 2007-2015, where he successfully leaded the city through a period of growth – more than a billion dollars of reinvestment – despite the Nation’s biggest economic downturn since the Great Depression. He vastly cut city waste, held down spending, improved public safety and achieved the lowest crime rate in 40 years, increased the school budget and built many new schools, and created economic development and job growth across the city. Prior to holding the city’s top office, he served as state senator from 2000-2007 and City Council Member throughout the 1990s.
Finch has dedicated his life to making our country a better place to live, work, and raise a family. This passion has driven him to pursue such postings as his appointment to the Co-Chair of the U.S. Conference of Mayors Climate Protection and Energy Task Force and as membership in Mayors against Illegal Guns.
Finch grew up in the greater Bridgeport area, and is the proud father of four kids – Peter, Christopher, Atticus, and Aiden – all of whom have grown up in Bridgeport and have attended Bridgeport public schools. A history buff, science geek, and political junkie, Finch continues to reside in his beloved Park City.