Founder and Director
Kelvin A. Jeremiah has served as President & CEO of PHA, the fourth-largest public housing authority in the United States and Pennsylvania’s largest affordable housing provider, since March 2013. That was also when he established the PhillySEEDS non-profit, to provide life-changing opportunities for the PHA community, assisting PHA residents/program participants through its three core programs: scholarships, matching grants for first-time homeowners for closing costs, and Housing Choice Voucher matching grants for security deposits.
As CEO, Kelvin Jeremiah’s tenure has been remarkable for both his dynamic achievements in increasing affordable housing and his productive relationship with the PHA resident community.
The same concern and respect for PHA residents that was the impetus for his creating PhillySEEDS underpins his collaborative working relationship with PHA resident leaders, giving them a more significant say within the organization, creating a constructive and engaged relationship between residents and PHA management, and resulting in a multitude of resident programs, such as entrepreneurship training, trauma-informed counseling, and the Youth and Family Center.
CEO Jeremiah’s tenure at PHA has also been marked by an intensive and innovative focus on preserving and expanding the supply of affordable housing, rebuilding Philadelphia’s distressed neighborhoods, and growing jobs, educational opportunities, and services for neighborhood residents. As of January 2025, PHA has completed the development and preservation of 6,000 affordable housing units, transformed distressed neighborhoods, created a citywide non-profit to serve residents, and secured more than $1 billion in new funding. PHA has become an acknowledged forerunner and model in the public housing industry.
Recognition for the vision and accomplishments of CEO Jeremiah has been abundant, including from The Philadelphia Business Journal, which honored CEO Jeremiah as a Minority Business Advocate and one of the Region’s Most Admired CEOs in 2014 and in 2022, his inclusion on the elite list of the 2022 Philadelphia Titan 100, and from Children First, which honored him in 2023 as a Champion for Children, for his work at PHA to improve the lives of children living in public housing.
Chair and Director
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.
President
Celeste Fields serves as Senior Executive President/Chief Administrative & Financial Officer for PHA, reporting to the President & CEO. She is responsible for providing strategic direction, leadership, coordination, and oversight for administrative programs and activities of the agency, including Financial Management and Budget, Information Systems Management, Supply Chain Management, and Leased Housing. She develops, oversees and implements the agency’s $521 million-dollar budget and comprehensive strategies to promote the long-term financial strength and stability of the agency. She currently serves as President for PhillySEEDS, Inc., a 501(c)(3) that supports PHA residents; as Vice President of the Philadelphia Asset & Property Management Corporation (PAPMC), a subsidiary of PHA; and is Chair of PHA’s Pension Board.
Ms. Fields has worked at PHA since 2000 and earned a Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Administration/Accounting from Drexel University.
Director
Rev. Bonnie Camarda has served as the Director of Partnerships for The Salvation Army in Eastern Pennsylvania and Delaware since 1999, where she is at the heart of its initiatives to form fruitful partnerships with area business leaders, government leaders, prospective donors, fellow social service organizations, and most importantly, individuals seeking spiritual guidance and hope. Her professional accomplishments and community involvement are truly one and the same, and she has been recognized for her rare ability to reach across socioeconomic, gender, age, and cultural lines. Commissioner Camarda accompanied Governor Tom Wolf with a host of delegates from the Philadelphia area and Unidos Pa’PR to visit The Salvation Army in Puerto Rico to learn more about the long-term recovery of the island in the wake of Hurricane Maria. Upon her return, she received a Citation from the Philadelphia City Council as Honorary Puerto Rico Citizen of the Year in 2018, selected for her outstanding work for all Puerto Rican citizens recovering from Hurricane Maria, especially those transitioning to Philadelphia. Along with serving on the PHA Board, Commissioner Camarda is also a Board member of Esperanza, Philadelphia School Partnership, and Einstein Hospital.
Director
Annie Cheng has been with PHA since 2006, 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 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.
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.
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.
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.