Mayor Parker names her nine school board members

Mayor Cherelle L. Parker named her new school board on Monday, nominating four sitting board members and five newcomers.

The list includes some surprises, and represents Parker putting her stamp on city schools.

Chosen were veterans Reginald Streater, the current board president; Sarah-Ashley Andrews; Chau Wing Lam; and Joyce Wilkerson. New to the board are Crystal Cubbage, Cheryl Harper, Whitney Jones, Wanda Novales, and Joan Stern.

Current board members Leticia Egea-Hinton, Lisa Salley, and Cecilia Thompson had sought terms on the Parker school board, but were not chosen.

Parker, in a news release, said she was proud of her nominations and confident that she had the right board.

“I promised to seek out the best candidates for this important board, and to identify a group that has the skills and experience, knowledge and wisdom to serve on our Board of Education,” the mayor said. “I said I wanted a school board with a diversity of skills, from different neighborhoods, sectors and communities, some with deep knowledge, some with new ideas, a group that truly reflects my vision of One Philly, a United City.”

The move, which came on the City Charter-set deadline, effectively sets the course of the Philadelphia School District, its 216 schools and $4.5 billion budget.

» READ MORE: Philly schools have a first-look $4.5 billion budget: takeaways from the school board meeting

Parker chose from a field of 27 candidates. Vice president Mallory Fix-Lopez, the only current educator on the board, recently announced her resignation effective April 18. Board member Julia Danzy did not seek another term.

Next up, City Council weighs in with hearings on the nine school board members. The new board is expected to be seated by May 1.

The board members are expected to appear at a City Hall news conference scheduled for Tuesday afternoon.

Philadelphia Superintendent Tony B. Watlington Sr. said the new board members “have experience and connections to public education in Philadelphia, and I look forward to working in partnership with them to significantly improve student outcomes through our five-year strategic plan, Accelerate Philly.”

Current board members include Andrews, a therapist and nonprofit founder; Lam, a nonprofit leader who has experience in the charter sector; Streater, the current board president, a lawyer; and Wilkerson, who’s now retired but who worked in higher education and as former Mayor John F. Street’s chief of staff.

The new members she added are:

Cubbage, a Philadelphia School District graduate who worked as an electronics engineer at NASA Glenn Research Center, a Peace Corps volunteer, and teacher at public and private high schools. She also started her own nonprofit and worked on teams opening new schools with Drexel University and the district. She’s now the executive director for the Philadelphia Learning Collaborative.

Harper, a district graduate and former district teacher, administrator, and director of human resources under former Superintendent Constance Clayton. Harper also worked as human resources director in the Camden school system and for the Pennsylvania Department of Education assisting schools with meeting state educational goals. Harper is currently a Cheyney University trustee.

Jones, chief financial officer at the nonprofit Children’s Crisis Treatment Center, who previously worked in finance for the KIPP charter school networks in San Antonio and Philadelphia. Jones also monitored charter schools’ financial stability with the DC Public Charter School Board.

Novales, executive pastor of the City Reach Church, is the former CEO and principal of Pan American Charter School who also has experience teaching in district and charter schools. She’s a board member of the Tacony Civic Association and the Philadelphia Gospel Movement.

Stern, a public finance attorney who has drafted debt and finance legislation enacted in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. Stern has also served as special counsel and bound counsel to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the city, and the district.

Not chosen were current board members Egea-Hinton, a social worker and former city employee who is also a former board vice president and the leader of the search process that brought Superintendent Tony B. Watlington Sr. to Philadelphia; Lisa Salley, who has experience as an engineer and in the business sector; and Cecelia Thompson, who has been active in parent and special-needs groups for years.

The newcomers who were on Parker’s shortl list but ultimately not selected were:

Nakia Carr, district office manager for State Rep. Jordan Harris (D., Philadelphia) and a member of the Police Department Advisory Council for the 17th District, a mother, grandmother and former president of the Prep Charter parent and community advisory council.

Timothy Crowther, political and legislative director for the International Union of Painters and Allied Trades District Council 21. Crowther, a former glazier, has also worked as fund administrator and business agent of that union.

Cindy Farlino, a former Philadelphia teacher, administrator, and principal of Meredith Elementary School who now manages a project involving arts education for the nonprofit Children First.

Mark Gittelman, a recently retired lawyer for PNC Bank who sits on the board of the Support Center for Child Advocates and the Philadelphia Bar Foundation who continues to take on pro bono work.

Keola Harrington, a district graduate who worked as an AmeriCorps member teaching first grade at Comegys Elementary and algebra at West Philadelphia High, is now the Philadelphia Parking Authority’s chief financial officer. She has also worked in senior management for the city’s Commerce Department and was the assistant city treasurer.

Michael Henderson, an entrepreneur, has held leadership positions in various corporate settings. He holds law and neuropharmacology degrees.

Jameika Id-Deen, a district graduate, is a member of the district’s Parent and Community Advisory Council and a parent of seven, including a neurodiverse daughter. She has a coaching certification in Individualized Education Program document drafting and consultations.

David Irizarry, Delaware County’s superintendent of juvenile justice services, is the former deputy director of Philadelphia’s Office of Violence Prevention and with Philadelphia’s Youth Violence Reduction Partnership.

Dominique Johnson, the special events and training coordinator at Achieve Reunification Center, a Philadelphia Department of Human Services program designed to help parents with dependency cases. Johnson founded Horizon Youth Experience, a community youth program aimed at creating positive life experiences for underserved young people.

Letisha Laws, a doctoral candidate at Drexel University focusing her research on the lived experience of Black principals in high-poverty schools, worked as a teacher and administrator at charter schools. Laws is senior program officer at Elevate 215, a nonprofit that raises funds for city public, charter, and private schools.

Maddie Luebbert, who is a current Philadelphia teacher and advocate for LGBTQIA students. Luebbert has said they will leave their teaching job at the end of the school year.

Colleen McCauley, a nurse and public health professional and parent of a recent district graduate, was recently health policy director at Children First.

Cheryl Mobley-Stimpson, a district graduate who holds advanced degrees in law and education, is a former district teacher with experience in community outreach and leadership development. She has also served as an adjunct professor.

Michelle Palmer, executive director of Breakthrough of Greater Philadelphia, a program that helps underserved students get to “top choice high schools,” is a former teacher and administrator at Germantown Friends School.

Marisa Shaaban, the parent of three children in district schools, is the director of constituent affairs for Rep. Ben Waxman (D., Philadelphia) and the former director of government relations for the Delaware Valley Health Council, where she advocated for uninsured and underinsured people in the Philadelphia region. Shaaban is a former member of the school board’s Parent and Community Advisory Council.