Candis Lupeituu
Paul Chase
Josephine Gasiewski Winter
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.
Natalie Sloane
Natalie’s work with WMAN revolves around trees and trash. She and her partner Brody started Mt Airy Trash Team shortly after moving here. MATT is a group of volunteers that meets once a month to pick up trash together around our community. Natalie holds a BSW from the University of North Carolina and a MSW from NYU. Natalie is also the co-chair of Keep Mt Airy Green, and Mt. Airy Tree Tenders, and is dedicated to increasing the tree canopy in Mt Airy. She regularly organizes meetings of “the tree people”.
Gwyneth Shaw
Gwyneth moved to Mount Airy in 2013 and is raising two baseball-crazed sons and a dog with her husband. A former journalist, she now writes for an academic institution but still enjoys a good sleuthing expedition. She and her family particularly enjoy easy access to the Wissahickon and the other green spaces in the neighborhood, including all the Mount Airy Baseball fields and their backyard, where they are locked in an eternal battle with weeds. Gwyneth is most passionate about making the neighborhood safer for walkers, runners, cyclists, kids, and drivers; she also cares deeply about working to preserve the neighborhood’s unique characteristics, including its diversity.
Cheryl Ann Nelson
Cheryl Ann is a recent retiree of Community College of Philadelphia where she served as an English professor for 30 years. She has lived in the West Mt Airy neighborhood since 2004 in a lovely Victorian home on Sharpnack Street. 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 spurned 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.
Will Lippitt
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.
Leroy Hall
Leroy has been the principal of Henry Houston since July of 2014. He is also an Adjunct professor at Chestnut Hill College. Previous experience includes different roles in the Philadelphia and Pittsburgh school districts. Principal Hall is currently pursuing a Doctor in Education from Drexel University. He also holds Masters in ED from University of Pittsburgh. Leroy lives with his family in Landsdale, PA. He will be an invaluable voice to hear from on how WMAN can better support our schools.
Anne Dicker
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.
Adrienne Carpenter
Adrienne is an educational leader. She has experience with coordinating partnerships with universities, businesses and community programs. Her vast experience includes being an principal, and an assistant regional supervisor an Instructional Officer supervising 36 schools. She currently works as a consultant for Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. Adrienne holds a Doctor of Education from Temple University. She is a resident of Mt Airy. In her free time she enjoys reading, global travel, dancing and fine dining. Adrienne is currently the leader of the Historic Preservation arm of WMAN’s Neighborhood Transformation Committee and is working tirelessly to organize neighbors around protecting the character and integrity of the buildings in our community.