Leaders: Building Our Future Together

Join the Southeastern Pennsylvania First Suburbs Project to celebrate our organization’s progress in realizing our collective vision to make southeastern Pennsylvania a fair, stable, and prosperous place to live.

The Southeastern Pennsylvania First Suburbs Project’s
Second Annual Fundraiser and Inaugural Awards Ceremony

Thursday, December 8, 2011 – 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm
Twentieth Century Club, 84 S. Lansdowne Avenue, Lansdowne, PA 19050

Keynote Speaker — Estelle Richman, U.S. HUD Acting Deputy Secretary

HONOREES:
U.S. Congressman Jim Gerlach
State Senator Ted Erickson
Rev. Ed Crenshaw, Victory Christian Fellowship
Kirby Hudson, City of Coatesville Assistant Manager

$100 per person • $75 for First Suburbs Project members

To purchase tickets:    

To purchase an Ad in the event Program Book, sponsor the event or
contribute to the Jonathan T. Schmidt Leadership Training Fund:

Building One Pennsylvania Statewide Public Meeting

800 Leaders at Building One Pennsylvania Public Meeting  on October 27, 2011 at the Bright Side Baptist Church in Lancaster, PA

Leaders from across the state convened to present an agenda for change to state and federal policymakers that will stabilize and revitalize our communities.  The 800 leaders from across the state secured a commitment from U.S. HUD Sec. Shaun Donovan to work directly with Building One Pennsylvania and our regional and national partners to “end the tyranny of the zip code.”  He specifically committed to working with the First Suburbs Project to make the southeastern Pennsylvania region a model of regional fair housing.

Donovan also reported that HUD, DOT and EPA are creating a “preferred sustainability status,” to give funding priority through their competitive grants to communities that develop strong plans to re-invest in existing communities and create regional opportunity by coordinating transportation, housing, and access to jobs.

Plans are already in the works to meet with a bi-partisan group of members of Congress to develop “sustainability” criteria for federal transportation funding.  In the large public meeting, the same concepts of funding priorities were introduced as it relates to state policy. Bi-partisan support was secured from Senator Ted Erickson, Rep. Tom Killion, Rep. Hennessey, Rep. Mike Sturla, and Greg Grasa (policy analyst for the House Transportation Committee) to work with us on developing similar performance criteria for transportation and infrastructure funding.

Click here for press in Lancaster Online Newspaper.

First Suburbs Project Leaders Participate in White House Forum on Older Suburbs, Inclusion, Sustainability and Economic Growth

Upper Darby Councilman Nathaniel Goodson, Forum Co-Chair

A 32-person delegation from Pennsylvania participated in the historic White House Forum on First Suburbs, Inclusion, Sustainability and Economic Growth on Monday, July 18, 2011.

Co-chaired by First Suburbs Project leader, Nathaniel Goodson, this was a nationwide event — 170 local elected officials, business, labor and civic leaders from 22 metropolitan regions from across the United States crowded into the White House South Court Auditorium to discuss the strengths and assets as well as the fiscal, social and environmental issues facing America’s first suburbs.

They were joined by some of the President’s most important and influential officials including Counselor to President Obama Pete Rouse and Secretary of US DOT Ray LaHood, some of the nation’s most respected policy experts and an exceptional group of inspired local leaders who served as our panel experts. The First Suburbs Project delegation included:

Jacquelynn Puriefoy-Brinkley of Yeadon Borough; Nathaniel Goodson of the Upper Darby Council; Michael Golden of the Jenkintown Borough Council; Marlon Millner of the Norristown Council; Denise Stinson of the Yeadon Borough Council; Jennifer Hoff of the William Penn School District Board of Directors; Jonathan Snipes of the Falls Township Board of Supervisors; Mayor Joshua Maxwell of Downington; Bishop Richard McCray of the Norristown Ministerium; and George Aman of the Board of Good Schools Pennsylvania.