News / Events
FARAH JIMENEZ NAMED PRESIDENT and CEO
Head of MT. Airy USA to lead one of the city’s most successful social services and community development agencies;
Farah M. Jimenez, Executive Director of Mt. AiryUSA, has been named the new President and CEO of the People’s Emergency Center (PEC). She replaces Gloria Guard, who stepped down in June 2010 after 27 years growing and guiding the non-profit, which provides comprehensive services to homeless families in Philadelphia, engages in community development in and around its West Powelton neighborhood, and advocates nationally on issues affecting homeless women and their children.
David Fryman, PEC Board Chair and a partner at Ballard Spahr LLP, said that the Board chose Jimenez after an extensive nationwide search. “PEC’s Board is extremely excited to begin working with Farah, who we are confident will take this great organization to even greater heights. Her enthusiasm and experience will provide strong continuity to PEC’s nationally-recognized model for bringing services to families encountering homelessness, effecting critical policy changes, and developing the surrounding West Philadelphia communities.”
Said Jimenez: “I couldn’t be more delighted to accept the position of President at PEC. It is an honor to be entrusted with the leadership of this venerable institution that is making a difference in the lives of homeless and working families throughout West Philadelphia. I look forward to continuing to build upon PEC’s model of success while capitalizing on the opportunities to continue its future growth in a very challenging environment.”
Since 1997, Jimenez has served as Executive Director of Mt. Airy USA, a nonprofit real estate development corporation leading efforts to strengthen the residential and commercial environment in Northwest Philadelphia's historic Mt. Airy neighborhood. In the past three years, her organization has delivered more than $35 million of private investment to Mt. Airy, generating 150 new jobs and 40 new businesses. Under her leadership, Mt. AiryUSA has laid the groundwork to become a leading regional nonprofit developer of mixed-use and mixed-income communities.
Jimenez, a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania and its law school, was appointed in 2006 to the Community Development Advisory Board of the U.S. Treasury Department's Community Development Financial Institutions Fund. She served on the Fairmount Park Commission prior to its re-organization and has served on several boards and commissions — including several Penn alumni boards such as the Trustees' Council of Penn Women, the James Brister Society and the Association of Alumnae. She was co-founder of the Endowed Scholarship of the Association of Latino Alumni.
Bernadine Hawes, director of the American Cities Foundation’s small business development program and vice-chair of the PEC Board, will serve as PEC Interim President until Jimenez takes office in early October. Hawes has been a leading member of the region’s economic development community; she served as a vice president at the University City Science Center and currently is Chairwoman of DVIRC, a regional economic development agency providing business growth services to the region’s manufacturing sector. She has been a member of the PEC Board since 2000 and chaired the PECCDC Board for six years.
PEC, which was founded in 1972, provides emergency and transitional housing and comprehensive support services to over 150 homeless families. Through its real estate arm, PECCDC, it acquires, sells, rents, rehabilitates and manages properties in its West Philadelphia neighborhood. PEC’s supportive services include computer classes, financial literacy workshops, community events, and commercial corridor initiatives. The center leveraged and invested over $50 million in neighborhood improvements and served more than 8,000 families since its humble beginnings in a West Philadelphia church.