Our Leadership

Steve Kendall

Steve Kendall

President Emeritus

Steve Kendall

Steve Kendall

President Emeritus

Dr. Kendall is a registered architect and holds a PhD in Design Theory and Methods from MIT. His career in architectural practice, research and education spans more than 35 years. Before his retirement in 2014, he taught in the US, Japan, China, Taiwan, Indonesia, South Africa and Italy. His teaching, research and writing focus on the Open Building approach, needed to make buildings more adaptable, easier to customize to meet changing preferences and thus more sustainable. He has authored more than 50 published papers and research reports and three books. He is Co-Founder and Vice President of the Council on Open Building, a professional non-profit advocating that buildings be prepared for change.

Adrienne Carpenter

Adrienne Carpenter

Adrienne Carpenter

Adrienne Carpenter

Adrienne Carpenter is a long time resident of West Mt. Airy. Locally she is actively involved with the WMAN Historic Preservation Initiative, serving as its committee chairperson. She has had a long term career in education with the School District of Philadelphia. Adrienne is a global traveler. She enjoys reading historical fiction. She is a WMAN member and a member of Historic Germantown.
Josephine Gasiewski Winter

Josephine Gasiewski Winter

Executive Director

Josephine Gasiewski Winter

Josephine Gasiewski Winter

Executive Director

Jo lives in W Mt Airy with her husband, two young children, poodle pup Penny, and Balinese cat Beef Stroganoff.   Born in the Overbrook Farms section of Philadelphia, she is a graduate of three pillars of Philly based education, Central High School (257!), the University of Pennsylvania (BA, MSEd), and Temple University (Phd).  After completing her doctorate in Urban Education, Jo did three years of post-doc research at UCLA’s Higher Education Research Institute where she focused on qualitative analyses related to diversifying the STEM pipeline.  Jo now serves as a qualitative data consultant primarily on diversity, equity, and inclusion projects in higher education.  She first joined WMAN as the VP of membership, but after organizing Covid vaccinations for hundreds of elderly folks during the peak of the pandemic, Jo caught the community organizing bug, and took on the role of full time ED in December 2022.  She is dedicated to reigniting WMAN’s advocacy and activism roots, and establishing WMAN as true community led, hub of West Mt. Airy life.

Paul Chase

Paul Chase

Executive Assistant

Paul Chase

Executive Assistant

Candis Lupeituu

Candis Lupeituu

Bookkeeper

Candis Lupeituu

Bookkeeper

Morrie Zimmerman

Morrie Zimmerman

VP Programs

Morrie Zimmerman

Morrie Zimmerman

VP Programs

Morrie is Principal of O Z Collaborative, an award-winning architectural firm established in 1988 that serves clients in the Philadelphia region with a range of project types, including affordable housing, non-profit, higher-ed, K-12 schools, institutional, sustainable design and historic preservation. Morrie and his wife, Anne Deaner, moved to West Mt. Airy a year after purchasing a fixer-upper in 2000, and raised their son with all the amazing amenities that we have around us, including the Wissahickon, Lovett Library, and Mt. Airy Baseball. Morrie has a deep interest in community, historic fabric, and the built environment and has served various roles in WMAN since 2008.
Anne Dicker

Anne Dicker

President

Anne Dicker

Anne Dicker

President

Anne Dicker lives in W Mt Airy with her husband, 11 year old daughter, and their two cats.  A resident of Mt Airy for 13 years,  Anne works at Living Beyond Breast Cancer as a database coordinator. She studied economics and geography at Middlebury College, and has a continuing interest in using maps and data to solve problems. Anne is a lifelong organizer and advocate for progressive causes and neighborhood issues – most recently for increasing voter participation, maintaining Mt Airy’s trees, and calming traffic.  Anne is the co-chair for Keep Mt Airy Green and is the leading the Northwest Traffic Calming Campaign.  She is passionate about making Mt Airy more livable by improving our walking infrastructure and increasing the density and vibrancy of our tree canopy.

Rob Pelszynski

Rob Pelszynski

VP Finance

Rob Pelszynski

VP Finance

Rob and his wife Elizabeth have lived in West Mount Airy since 2006. They opened the Mount Airy Taproom in 2019. Rob holds a Bachelor of Business Administration specializing in Risk Management and Insurance. He has a wide range of experience in restaurant management.  Rob is interested in deepening his roots in the community by serving on the WMAN Board.

Kevin Keene

Kevin Keene

Kevin Keene

Kevin Keene

Kevin Keene was born in Philadelphia and has lived in the city for all but ten years. He is a graduate of Central High School and Clark University. He has been a resident of West Mount Airy for four years. He served in the City of Philadelphia for over 30 years as a Real Property Evaluator; Mass Appraisal Analyst; Real Property Supervisor; GIS Manager; Modeling Director and Director of Mass Appraisal and Analysis.

In his semi-retirement he is the principal at Keene Mass Appraisal Consulting. His primary passions are promoting assessment equity, teaching, community activism, cycling, travel and enjoying life with a loving wife and two adorable dogs.

Will Lippitt

Will Lippitt

VP Programs

Will Lippitt

Will Lippitt

VP Programs

The strength of this community and deep connectivity among the neighbors stand out as core values that resonate deeply for Will. Alongside the high quality of life, verdant gardens, tree lined streets, many parks, and walkable coffee shops in two directions, the community spirit was among the many qualities that drew his family to this particular pocket of Philadelphia from Seattle last year.  Will draws on his passion for stewardship of public space as a Master Watershed Steward for Carpenters Woods, and brings his real estate development expertise to the neighborhood zoning committee.

Will is excited to bring his years of construction and real estate experience to the neighborhood board to assist in navigating the current wave of development activity. An alumni from Brown in Architectural History and Urban Studies, he is passionate about urban design and the shared experience of public space.   Having served in board positions with community nonprofits in the past, Will has earned some useful perspective on how to draw forth the voices of all of the stakeholders that may not otherwise be heard or empowered. As a member of the WMAN board, he hopes to be an advocate for robust discussion that brings the neighbors together and collaborative effort that delivers proactive and thoughtful progress.

Cheryl Ann Nelson

Cheryl Ann Nelson

Cheryl Ann Nelson

Cheryl Ann Nelson

Cheryl Ann is a retiree of Community College of Philadelphia where she served as an English professor for 30 years. Her primary area of interest during her retirement is working with organizations that promote the importance and enjoyment of reading, especially for children and youth. Recent home and apartment development in her immediate area has spurred a desire to protect the W. Mt Airy neighborhood from being overly developed with construction that does not reflect a respect for this historic area of the Wissahickon Valley.

Ralph Pinkus

Ralph Pinkus

Ralph Pinkus

Ralph has lived on Westview Street since 1980.  He and his family moved to Philadelphia from the Washington, DC area where he worked in the Office of General Counsel for the Department of Housing and Urban Development.  He then served as a Deputy City Solicitor in Philadelphia in the City Law Department. In 1984, Ralph opened his private legal practice specializing in real estate and zoning matters.  He has chaired the West Mt. Airy Neighbors Zoning Committee since 2005.   He is currently in the process of retiring and has a part time “gig” serving on the Philadelphia Board of License and Inspection Review.  He enjoys walking in the Wiss with his lovely wife Cheryl, and traveling to Colorado to visit his two fantastic grandchildren.

Sam Lifson-Neubardt

Sam Lifson-Neubardt

VP Administration

Sam Lifson-Neubardt

VP Administration

Sam lives in Mt Airy with his family. While relatively new to Philly he’s proud to have made it his home, and feels so lucky to have been welcomed by such an amazing community. Sam works for a small software company building tools for environmental conservation and is passionate about making Mt Airy a walkable & affordable place for everyone.
Jarma Frisby

Jarma Frisby

Jarma Frisby

Jarma Frisby

A life-long NW Philadelphia resident and is a “super community volunteer” Jarma served on the WMAN board from 2003- 2009 (President 2005-2009), has worked with Food Moxie and other local organizations. Recently retired from the Philadelphia Department of Public Health and looking forward to continuing to work with WMAN on zoning and fundraising committees.
Carla Pagan

Carla Pagan

VP Fundraising

Carla Pagan

Carla Pagan

VP Fundraising

A resident of West Mount Airy for 23 years, Carla is passionate about community and all things real estate. She joins the board with more than 15 years of administrative experience and a willingness to serve. She and her 17-year-old son Elijah, love walking and biking in the Wissahickon.
Nicole F Seawright

Nicole F Seawright

Nicole F Seawright

Nicole Seawright is an attorney, activist, and educator. She currently serves as a career counselor at Columbia Law School and is an active member of the National LGBTQ+ Bar Association. Nicole and her wife, Mariah, moved to West Mount Airy with their daughter in 2023 from New York.

Carrie Stavrakos

Carrie Stavrakos

Carrie Stavrakos

Carrie has lived in Mt Airy since 2004 and been exploring the NW neighborhoods
ever since. She loves the leafy village, the friendly neighbors, community spirit
and beauty at every turn. Carrie began her career in the art world working at the
Philadelphia Museum of Art and has volunteered as a board member with
Community Accounting, Spiral Q, and PAPA (Philadelphia Alliance for Performance
Alternatives), then served as the Managing Director of the first Fringe Festival.
After a long stint at Penn she moved on to small nonprofits located in Philadelphia
and Princeton, and Temple. University. After a career break, Carrie spent time
working at Bakers Street Bread in Chestnut Hill, and then at SE Planned
Parenthood. Thankfully she found her calling back to the art world at Woodmere
Art Museum this past summer and has immersed herself in working with all the
northwest neighbors on creating community and dialogue around not just the art
scene but needs of neighbors. She is honored to be considered to be a board
member of WMAN to continue those conversations.

Octavius Price

Octavius Price

Octavius Price

Originally from Memphis Tennessee, I made my way to Philadelphia in August of 2020, instantly fell in love with the character and fabric of the city and the grit of its citizens. Decided that my family would set up here and raise our daughter here. You can frequently find me walking or running up and down Germantown Avenue or taking the 23. Excited for the future of Mt.Airy and looking forward to helping it fulfill its potential.

Maura Kennedy

Maura Kennedy

VP Programs

Maura Kennedy

VP Programs

Maura lives in West Mount Airy with her wife, Jessica, their two young sons, and a rescue
dog named Ella. Maura has extensive professional experience working in real estate in the
public and private sectors. She has held leadership roles in the land use agencies for both
the City of Philadelphia and the City of Pittsburgh. She currently works in the private sector,
where she leads projects across the Mid-Atlantic. Maura has a bachelor’s degree in
government from Cornell University and an MBA from the Wharton School of the University
of Pennsylvania. In her free time, she enjoys hiking in the Wissahickon with her family,
reading mystery novels, and advocating for safer streets.

Susan Matyas

Susan Matyas

Susan Matyas

Susan Matyas has resided in W Mt. Airy for nearly 15 years and
wouldn’t want to live anywhere else! She worked for several
decades as an engineer and consultant for hi tech companies such
as Hewlett Packard, and then made the switch to the nonprofit arts
world. She has been in leadership roles for nonprofits in the city
including the Kimmel Center and is currently Senior Director of
Development & Communications for the Preservation Alliance for
Greater Philadelphia. She was an adjunct faculty in Drexel’s Arts
Administration & Museum Leadership program for over a decade
where she taught Fund Raising, Advanced Fundraising, Strategic
Planning, Grant Writing, and more. Susan is the Board President of
Allens Lane Art Center and is thrilled to be back on the board of
WMAN.

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