COMMUNITY ADVISORY COMMITTEE
Community Advisory Committee
The EAT Café’s Community Advisory Committee is an ongoing forum through which the Café garners the input of neighbors, community leaders and supporters to inform café operations, build connections and plan for the café’s future programming. The Community Advisory Committee meets once per month, and is open to any community member of the Café’s neighborhoods. If you are interested in participating in the Community Advisory Committee, please contact the EAT Café staff at info@eatcafe.it.
MEET SOME OF OUR COMMUNITY ADVISORS
PAULETTE ADAMS
Paulette is a resident of Mantua and the Director of Community Development for Councilwoman Jannie Blackwell’s office. Councilwoman Blackwell’s district encompasses much of West Philadelphia, including EAT Café and its surrounding neighborhoods. As the Director of Community Development, Paulette is committed to community-based economic development, and believes that EAT Café is one means of accomplishing this.
PAM ANDREWS
Pam is a longtime and active resident of West Powelton. In addition to being an EAT Café Advisory Committee member, Pam is a PEC Neighborhood Advisory Subcommittee member, a West Powelton Saunders Park RCO board member, a block captain, and a graduate of the Citizen’s Planning Institute. As a longtime community activist, Pam is committed to supporting neighborhood preservation, senior citizens, public safety, education, health, housing, employment, and local business.
JOE ALBERTI
Joe has been a teacher in the School District of Philadelphia since 2006 at his neighborhood school, Samuel Powel Elementary, teaching 3rd and 4th grade, and he is a part of the school’s leadership team. Joe is a board member of the Powelton Village Civic Association, serving as the chair of the Streets Committee. It is his hope that the EAT Cafe will bring together a diverse group of neighbors from across West Philadelphia to share in not only a meal together, but to share their thoughts, ideas, and innovations for how we can make West Philadelphia an even better place to live together.
KEVIN BROWN
Kevin is the new manager of the Neighborhood Advisory Committee at People’s Emergency Center, which serves as a connection between PEC’s Community Development Corporation and the community. He works to help residents access resources related to housing, delinquent real estate taxes, and community development projects. Kevin is involved with EAT Café because he sees it as an innovative way to engage the West Philadelphia community.
CALLALILY COUSAR
Callalily was born in Philadelphia in 1929. She owned her own beauty salon for 16 years, worked as crossing guard for 16 years, and served as a shop steward for 15 years. Calla loves to help and fight for the rights of the underdog. She does this by serving as block captain, a post she has held for 15 years. During that time, she has organized many block beautification efforts and helped to win the “City Clean Contest” twice for her community. She also serves as president of the East Parkside Residence Association (EPRA), an organization whose mission is to Empower People and Raise Awareness. In this capacity she has helped to establish a playground in the neighborhood, a food cupboard, health fairs, block parties, and tax and resume assistance and preparation, and donates clothing to shelters, works with local halfway and recovery houses, and keeps the community informed about available resources.
JOHN KIRBY JR.
John is the Director of Community Health and Wellness at the Stephen and Sandra Sheller 11th Street Family Health Services. A now 3-year resident of the Belmont neighborhood, John is very interested in seeing this community thrive and flourish. With a background in Public Health, he desires to help with initiatives that will make use of the wonderful resources that are already on the community. This passion has brought him to EAT Café, where he hope to offer fresh ideas and my skillset to help the upstart become successful and answers some of the food access challenges. John hope that this can be a model for other programs in Philadelphia and around the country.
RYAN KUCK
Ryan is passionate about connecting people to good food. He works with a variety of organizations that build gardens, teach cooking, and resource neighborhoods with knowledge and resources for improving quality of life. Ryan has lived in Belmont for nearly 10 years and he’s excited to help this cafe project create something truly unique and owned by the broader Lancaster Avenue community.
CHANDA “MUFFY” RICE
Muffy is a longtime resident of Mantua. She loves being in the kitchen, she loves food, and most of all, she loves making people happy with food. She is excited to be involved with EAT Café because it is her life goal to help heal hearts with food – by “putting food in their bellies and an arm around their shoulders”.
ANGELA SIMON
Angela is a longtime and active member of the Mill Creek community. She is president of the Mill Creek Advisory Council and a member of Mill Creek Community Partnership, which aims to revitalize the community through arts and culture, education, community based-initiatives, economic empowerment, and collaboration.
APRIL THOMPSON-HARRIS
April is a concerned resident of Powelton Village who is in total support of the mission embodied by EAT Café. As a volunteer at various organizations fighting hunger, she believes EAT Café is an awesome and beneficial addition to our community.