Committee of Seventy Chairman michael r. stiles
In April of 2001, Michael Stiles was hired by the Philadelphia Phillies as their Vice President for Administration and Operations. In that capacity, Stiles was responsible for the general administration of the Phillies front office as well as for overseeing ballpark and game day operations. In February of 2015, Stiles was promoted to the position of Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, spearheading all business operations and supervising the general administration of the club. He retired from the Phillies as an Executive Vice President in July 2017.
As an attorney since 1971, Stiles has held significant positions in public service for almost 30 years. From 1993 until 2001, he served as the United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, supervising an office of 125 lawyers and 105 support personnel. As U.S. Attorney, Stiles was responsible for the prosecution of all federal crimes within the nine-county, southeastern Pennsylvania region, which included successful prosecutions of organized crime members, police corruption, white collar fraud, civil rights violations, political corruption, and significant illegal drug organizations. He also was responsible for the litigation of all civil matters in which the federal government had an interest.
While U.S. Attorney, Stiles was appointed by Attorney General Janet Reno as Chairperson of the Attorney General’s Advisory Committee (AGAC), which is comprised of 15 United States Attorneys from around the country who meet regularly in Washington, D.C., to discuss with, and advise, the Attorney General on matters of importance to the Justice Department. At the conclusion of his term as Chairperson of the AGAC, Attorney General Reno appointed Stiles to supervise the investigation of the August 1992 incident at Ruby Ridge, Idaho, and its aftermath, which was completed in August of 1997.
Prior to being appointed by President Clinton to the position of U.S. Attorney, Stiles was an elected trial judge in the Common Pleas Court of Philadelphia for more than ten years, presiding at hundreds of trials involving cases heard by juries and by the judge alone. For five years, from 1988 to 1993, Judge Stiles heard homicide cases exclusively, and also served as the Homicide Calendar Judge, supervising the assignment of all murder trials in Philadelphia.
Prior to his judicial election, Michael Stiles was a prosecutor in the Philadelphia District Attorney's Office for twelve years. He served in various trial and supervisory positions under District Attorneys Arlen Specter, F. Emmett Fitzpatrick, and Edward G. Rendell. Before resigning to run for judicial office, he served as the First Assistant District Attorney of Philadelphia in 1982 and 1983.
Stiles obtained his undergraduate degree in political science from the University of Pennsylvania. He is a cum laude graduate from Villanova University School of Law, where he was a member of the Order of the Coif (a scholastic honor society), and Articles Editor of the Law Review. He has taught trial advocacy courses at Temple University School of Law, as well as undergraduate criminal justice courses at Temple. He has served as the Chairperson of the Woodlynde School Board of Directors and on the Board of Directors of United Way of Southeastern Pennsylvania. He also served on the Board of Trustees for Thomas Jefferson University. Stiles currently serves on the Executive Committee of the Board of Directors of the Committee of Seventy, a government watchdog group.
Michael and Leslie Stiles live in the East Falls section of Philadelphia. They have two adult children, Eric Stiles and Jacqueline Cuddeback; a son-in-law, John Cuddeback; and three grandchildren, Jack, Whitney, and Cole Cuddeback.