Lancaster Civic Leader Philip Wenger Returns to PCA&D’s Board

Entrepreneur, conservationist and longtime Lancaster civic leader brings decades of nonprofit and business leadership back to the college he helped build.

Pennsylvania College of Art & Design (PCA&D) has announced that Philip R. Wenger has joined its Board of Trustees – marking a return for the Lancaster business and civic leader, who previously chaired PCA&D’s board and played a key role in the college’s purchase of its N. Prince Street home and its achievement of Middle States Accreditation.

Wenger founded Isaac’s, the Lancaster-based restaurant chain, and grew it to more than 20 locations before selling the business in 2017 to become President and CEO of the Lancaster Conservancy. Over his eight-year tenure there, he built a professional staff and dramatically increased fundraising and community support – protecting more land in eight years than the Conservancy had in the previous 45. He retired from that role in 2023.

In 2024, Wenger helped found the Friends of the Susquehanna River Art Collection, working with artist and curator-in-residence Rob Evans to build a collection centered on the Susquehanna River and its impact on American art history. In its first year, the Collection generated more $1 million in acquisitions and donations. The Collection just completed a major exhibition at the Susquehanna Museum of Art.

Wenger’s civic record in Lancaster spans more than 40 years, including founding the Lancaster AIDS Project, chairing the Lancaster Chamber of Commerce, co-leading the Lancaster County Homelessness Coalition, chairing the Lancaster County Community Foundation, and most recently serving as Board Chair of Lancaster General Health during its merger with Penn Medicine.

“Phil’s fingerprints are already on this college – quite literally, on the building we work in every day,” said Andy Barnes, President of PCA&D. “Having him back at the table as we grow PCA&D’s role in this community is a real gift.”

“My life’s passions are art, nature and entrepreneurship,” Wenger noted. “PCA&D is an organization that has tremendous growth potential and is alignment with my other art and nature activities.”

Wenger lives along the Susquehanna River with his husband, Steven Dinnocenti.