WEAVERS WAY CO-OP - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board of Directors
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board of Directors
- President of the Board of Directors
Cheryl Croxton is mortgage finance professional and lawyer who served as vice president with Fannie Mae, a government-sponsored enterprise that supports liquidity and stability in the
secondary mortgage market. She has prior executive management experience in the areas of general and special asset servicing, credit risk and operations management, and the securitization of bulk mortgage loans. She focused particularly on solutions for business partners who support borrowers struggling with mortgage delinquencies.
During her 28-year tenure at Fannie Mae, Ms. Croxton served in a variety of leadership positions, including as vice president of customer account risk management. She also served as managing director in the Housing & Community Development Division, where she oversaw 10 community development outreach offices in the Northeast, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. She has worked with state & local representatives, housing advocates, non-profit developers, and financial intermediaries to deliver better housing options for under-privileged communities. Ms. Croxton began her career at Fannie Mae as counsel advising business teams on general corporate, mortgage finance and community lending matters.
Ms. Croxton holds a Bachelor of Arts from Mount Holyoke College and a Juris Doctor from Columbia University School of Law. Prior to joining Fannie Mae, Ms. Croxton practiced at the law firm of Dechert in Philadelphia and worked in brand marketing at Procter & Gamble in Cincinnati, Ohio.
She is a native Philadelphian who grew up in the Nicetown/Tioga section of the City and lives with her family in Chestnut Hill.
Job Titles:
- Information Technology Director
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board of Directors
- Treasurer of the Board of Directors
Dr Gail McFadden-Roberts joined the Weavers Way board of directors in May 2021. Her other leadership roles include Board of Trustees at Grace Baptist Church of Germantown and Special Assistant at the Federal Transit Administration (FTA). Before joining FTA, she was a Senior Transportation Planner for the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission (DVRPC) and held positions with the transportation operating agencies in Massachusetts, New Jersey, and Maryland. Ms. McFadden-Roberts has been a member of the Co-op since August of 2000.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board of Directors
Within a week of moving to Philadelphia a dozen years ago, Esther and her family signed on as members of Weavers Way Co-op. She has been passionate about co-ops and local empowerment throughout her life, starting as a teenager completing working hours for a now-defunct coop in Bethesda, Maryland, and as a Peace Corps Volunteer facilitating funding for women's cooperative projects in Sahelian West Africa.
Esther has a Ph.D. in Organizational Behavior and more than 20 years of training experience with organizations. She leads seminars, teaches courses and provides coaching emphasizing mindfulness skills in context. In addition, Esther teaches yoga and mindfulness regularly in office, studio and university locations in the Philadelphia area. Esther is member and former Co-Chair of the Weavers Way Health and Wellness Committee and one of the founding board members of The School Mindfulness Project. She is on the steering committee of the Mindfulness at the Bar initiative organized by the Philadelphia Bar Association. She is also a core member of the collective of practitioners teaching at the Healing Arts Studio in Chestnut Hill.
Before landing in Philadelphia, Esther was part-time professor of Organizational Behavior. At that time, she also chaired the Village Residents Association advocating for fair rent, community gardens and childcare for 800 families living on the University of California Berkeley campus. Esther lived and worked overseas for 10 years, particularly in Africa. Fun Facts: Esther has two teenaged kids who regularly roll their eyes at her lame attempts at humor; she grew up speaking a Swiss German dialect, and rode camels for transportation one summer while working in the West African desert!
Job Titles:
- Crops Farm Market Manager
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board of Directors
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board of Directors
- Secretary of the Board of Directors
- Member of the Co - Op
Jason has been a working member of the Co-op since 2006, and served on the Co-op's Environmental Committee from 2007-2010. He currently lives in Germantown with his partner and two crazy but delightful children. Jason holds a BFA in dance performance from Butler University, which he put to good use during his "first career" as a professional ballet dancer with Richmond Ballet in Richmond, VA. His dance career brought him to Sicily, Panama, and Tbilisi, Georgia. While dancing, he met his partner-to-be who grew up in Northwest Philadelphia, which eventually brought him to Philadelphia.
After moving on from dance, Jason worked for High Point Cafe in multiple roles, including as its Wholesale Director of Sales. He spent three years building a vibrant events department at Hill Center in Washington, DC - a multicultural arts and civic center. He also volunteered with the Philadelphia Coalition Against Hunger for two years as a food stamp screener.
Jason has brought community building to every position he has held. At High Point Cafe he organized the annual MLK Day of Service events and in 2008 he leveraged a long distance hike on the Pacific Crest Trail to raise $5,000 for the Coalition Against Hunger. An avid hiker, Jason also completed the Appalachian Trail in 2006 and the Continental Divide Trail in 2010. He currently teaches a course on hiking and backpacking at Temple University when not otherwise working in home improvement.
Jason is honored to serve on the Board of Directors of the Co-op.
Job Titles:
- Leader
- Member of the Board of Directors
- Vice President of the Board of Directors
Josh is a leader in the revitalization of historic commercial districts and senior economic development strategist at The Lakota Group, a Chicago-based urban planning firm. He uses local data to craft market-based strategies that help cities and communities guide their own future and build economically differentiated, dynamic places. He also has deep interest in social enterprise and community-owned businesses, which motivates his interest in Weavers Way.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board of Directors
Kacy Manahan first joined Weavers Way as a member in 2014, and recently re-joined after some time away from Philadelphia. She believes strongly in the cooperative model, particularly as a means to build resilience in the face of economic and environmental instability. By emphasizing local production and community-focused decision making, a coop like Weavers Way not only mitigates these stressors on a global scale, but also supports its members as individuals.
Kacy is a senior litigation attorney who practices environmental law at a regional nonprofit organization. She received her Juris Doctor and Certificate in Environmental, Natural Resources, and Energy Law from Lewis & Clark Law School in Portland, Oregon, and her Bachelor of Arts degree from Ursinus College in Collegeville, Pennsylvania. She has published several scholarly articles on environmental rights, the public trust doctrine, and other emerging environmental issues.
Job Titles:
- Ambler Assistant Store Manager
Job Titles:
- Interior Designer
- Member of the Board of Directors
Kristin Haskins Simms is an Interior Designer and General Contractor primarily focused on kitchen and bath remodels. Simms Graduated from The University of Pennsylvania with a BA in English and French and later received an MFA in Graphic Design from the Rhode Island School of Design (Risd). Upon graduation and over the course of 6 years, she launched her own graphic studio in Philadelphia working with City Government Agencies, non- profits and Small Businesses while simultaneously teaching at UCONN, UPENN, PhilaU (Now Jefferson), Rowan University and Rutgers for 6 years.
In 2006, Simms launched a T-shirt line that eventually transitioned into a full fashion line. Although fashion design was not her discipline, her designs and clothing line were a huge success and led her to become a contestant on Project Runway Season 8.
While Simms was in the throes of operating her design businesses, she was always committed to her family's real estate business for over 20 years, when she was needed. She (unintendedly) honed her construction, renovation, and property management skills. Eventually these skills were put to the test when she and her husband renovated and flipped an entire house. She discovered her real passion and out of that experience, a new career emerged and now has many renovation projects.
Her family has been a member of Weavers Way Co-op for 50 years. She lives in Germantown with her Husband, son and 2 dogs.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board of Directors
Norman Weiss - Chief Procurement Officer
Job Titles:
- Chestnut Hill Front End Manager