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.

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.

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.

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

Rob Pelszynski

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.

Morrie Zimmerman

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.

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.

Steve Kendall

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.