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  • 2013 Ridge Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19121
  • 2013 Ridge Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19121
  • (267) 267-5337

BOARD & OFFICERS

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  • Board and Officers

Kelvin A. Jeremiah, M.A., M.P.A.

Founder and Director

kelvin-jeremiah-218x300Mr. Jeremiah was named President & CEO of the Philadelphia Housing Authority on March 14, 2013 after serving as the HUD-appointed Administrative Receiver and the Interim Executive Director since June 2012. He oversees the day-to-day operations of the 4th largest housing authority in the country. During his tenure, PHA successfully completed a Recovery Plan to address deficiencies in operations and governance, which resulted in the agency returning to local control in April 2013.

Mr. Jeremiah, a 15-year housing veteran, originally came to PHA as the agency’s first-ever Director of Audit and Compliance in August 2011. In that role, he developed and implemented policies and procedures that ended a culture of splurge and rooted out waste, fraud, abuse, and mismanagement.

Some of his major initiatives as President & CEO include relaunching an improved Pre-Apprenticeship Training Program for residents and expanding the PHA Police Department for the first time in over a decade to address safety and security issues. Under his leadership, PHA is increasing the number of affordable housing units in the City of Philadelphia by partnering with public and private organizations to develop 6,000 affordable housing units over five years. Additionally, Mr. Jeremiah has also significantly increased the use of Section 8 Housing Choice Vouchers by over 2,000 new units.

Mr. Jeremiah formerly served as Inspector General for the New York City Housing Authority, the nation’s largest housing authority with a portfolio of 178,000 units housing over 450,000 residents and a Housing Choice Voucher Program with nearly 100,000 participating families and an operating budget of over $3.5 billion.

Mr. Jeremiah emigrated from Grenada to the United States as a teenager. He received a Bachelor’s degree in History/Business Administration from Pace University, a Master of Arts in American Social History from Rutgers University, and a Master of Public Administration from American International College. Mr. Jeremiah is a Certified Public Purchasing Official, a Certified Public Housing Management Specialist, and is a member of the Association of Inspectors General. He is a member of the Mayor’s Office of Community Empowerment and Opportunity Oversight Board.

Andrea Bowman

Chair and Director

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Andrea Bowman attended the American College in Paris, then Wellesley College, from which she graduated with a B.A. in English and Political Science. She received her J.D. from Syracuse University College of Law.

From February of 2013 to the present, she has served as Corporate Secretary for PHA in the Office of General Counsel and is also Deputy General Counsel for Corporate Matters. Her responsibilities include being PHA’s primary liaison with the Board of Commissioners, as well as a wide variety of Board matters; coordinating enterprise-wide records management (creating and implementing records management policy); supervising the Hearing Officers for Housing Choice Voucher informal hearings and public housing grievances (created the current Grievance Procedure and responsible for its implementation); acting as a Hearing Officer for grievances; handling Right-to-Know Law (“RTKL”) matters for PHA; and more.

Prior to working with PHA, Ms. Bowman was in the Governor’s Office of General Counsel for approximately seven years (after working with the Philadelphia-based law firms of White and Williams and then Duane Morris, specializing in commercial litigation), as a Deputy General Counsel. While with the Commonwealth, Ms. Bowman was the RTKL Coordinator for over 30 executive agencies, (reviewing all significant briefs, providing appellate advocacy and regular enterprise- wide training on RTKL matters); Chair of the Records Access and Management/RTKL Practice Group; Chair of the Intellectual Property-on-Call Subcommittee of the IP Practice group; a Member of the State Records Committee; and Chief Counsel to the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts and the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission. She has also taught English, French and Spanish, in Japan, France and the U.S.

Celeste C. Fields

President

Celeste C. Fields has worked at the Philadelphia Housing Authority since 2000 and currently serves as the Senior Executive Vice President/Chief Administrative & Financial Officer.  She is responsible for providing strategic direction, leadership, coordination and oversight for all administrative programs and activities of the agency, which include Financial Management and Budget, Information Systems Management, Supply Chain Management, Human Resources, Leased Housing and Asset Management.

Ms. Fields develops, oversees and implements the agency’s $400 million budget and implements comprehensive strategies to promote the long-term financial strength and stability of the agency. She currently serves as President for PhillySeeds Inc., serves as the Vice President of the Philadelphia Asset & Property Management Corporation (PAPMC), both subsidiaries of PHA, and is currently a member of the Pension Board for PHA.

Ms. Fields holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration/Accounting from Drexel University.

Annie Cheng

Director

annie-cheng-218x300Ms. Cheng has been with PHA for well over 10 years, starting out as a technical aide for the Housing Choice Voucher program before serving as a Business Analyst for the Information Systems Management Department along as a Senior Management Specialist in PHA’s Strategic Planning Office.  In that role, she led the department in tracking and ensuring completion of PHA’s Recovery Plan, the development and submission of the Moving to Work Plans and its reports to HUD, and the development of the Management Action Plan, which will streamline the agency’s business operations and maximize its resources.

Currently, Ms. Cheng serves as as Chief of Staff and is responsible for managing PHA’s Executive Office, activities and key priorities of the agency’s President & CEO.  She also acts as the President & CEO’s representative and primary liaison to external and internal constituents.  Ms. Cheng has a Bachelor’s of Science in Management Information Systems from Drexel University.

Cinnaya Demby

Director

Cinnaya Demby is a graduate of Lincoln University of Pennsylvania with a Bachelor’s Degree in Mass Communication. A former PhillySEEDs scholarship recipient who has recently started working for PHA in the communication department as a Media Relations Coordinator. In her current role, she is responsible for developing public relations strategies and initiatives, establishing and maintains cooperative relationships with community, media groups and conducts research to compose press releases and articles for PHA publications.

 

Eric Schneiderreit

Treasurer

Eric Schneiderreit is a graduate of Holy Family University with a Bachelor’s Degree in Accounting. Eric has been with PHA for over 15 years, starting out as a technical aide for the Housing Choice Voucher program and progressing through PHA as the Payroll Administrator, then Payroll Manager, and now in his current position as Accounting Manager, where he has been since 2014. In his current role, he is responsible for the accuracy and timely completion of all financial data, the submission of the Financial Data Schedule to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, and being a main point of contact for all external and internal financial audits.

 

 

Brooke McCain

Business Manager

Brooke McCain joined PHA in late 2023 as the PhillySEEDS Business Manager. In this role, she will focus on the fiscal, operational, marketing, and sponsor/partner development aspects of PhillySEEDS. Ms. McCain holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Women’s Studies from Rosemont College; has a background in event management, non-profit organization, coordination and promotion; and has previously worked with several non-profit agencies, including Northeast Treatment Centers and Philadelphia Academies, Inc. She has also worked closely with the Department of Human Services (DHS), the School District of Philadelphia, and many local businesses and community organizations.

Leonie Finkel

Secretary

Leonie Finkel has been with PHA since 2011, starting in the Office of General Counsel where she handled administrative tasks for the Litigation Department. She moved to Operations as the Administrative Officer in 2018, where she serves as the assistant to the Head of Operations. In that role, she also troubleshoots issues that residents bring to their elected officials, investigating and arranging for resolution of management and maintenance issues.
Leonie came to PHA with over 25 years of experience in large corporate law firms. She is passionate about affordable housing for all Philadelphians. She particularly enjoys her contact with residents and working to ensure that their needs are met.