PHA Commissioners

Lynette M. Brown-Sow (Chairperson) is the Vice President of Marketing and Government Relations at Community College of Philadelphia. In 1980, she founded L.M. Brown Management Group, a certified minority/female-owned consulting firm that provides professional services to corporations, non-profits, and governmental entities. As an entrepreneur, Ms. Brown-Sow helped to create Health Pass, one of the nation's first health insurance organizations (HIO), in the mid-1980s. In 2008, Mayor Michael Nutter appointed her to the Philadelphia Zoning Board of Adjustment, which she chaired from 2010-2013. In 1991, then-Mayor Edward Rendell appointed Ms. Brown-Sow to the position of Deputy Mayor of Administration to manage appointees to all boards, commissions, and non-civil service positions.

A member of Cheyney University of Pennsylvania Council of Trustees, her diverse board appointments include The Philadelphia Tribune Co. Inc., Hahnemann University Hospital, and Girard College. In 2009, she founded and now chairs the Hardy Williams Education Fund, a non-profit organization that provides support for educational endeavors, and scholarships for people interested in careers in law, government, or social action. She is also chair of the Board of Directors of Youth Advocate Program Inc., an international youth service organization, and a member of the Board of Directors of YAP Ireland.

Leslie D. Callahan, PhD serves as pastor of St. Paul's Baptist Church in North Philadelphia. She received her Bachelor of Arts in Religion from Harvard/Radcliffe, her Master of Divinity from Union Theological Seminary in the City of New York and her PhD in Religion from Princeton University. Her research interests include religious history in the United States, particularly independent African American Christianity and Pentecostal studies.   

Rev. Bonnie Camarda has served as Director of Partnerships for the Salvation Army of Eastern Pennsylvania and Delaware since 1999 as a tireless advocate for the underserved. Rev. Camarda co-chaired the Mayor Nutter's Faith Leaders Advisory Task Force for Community Safety with the goal of maximizing the neighborhoods' spiritual assets, social capital and civic values. She is a non-violent activist encouraging mutual trust and respect through amnesty programs that provide musical instruments to Philadelphia schools for weapons turned in to authorities. An avid supporter of education, Rev. Camarda serves as Moderator for the Faith and Community Partnerships of the School District of Philadelphia. She is also the past president of the Hispanic Clergy of Philadelphia, which she helped co-found.  

The Hon. Nelson A. Diaz (Vice Chair) has served as a Judge for the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas and as City Solicitor of Philadelphia. He was appointed by President Clinton to be the general counsel for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development where he focused on reforming public and mixed-use housing programs and served on the President's Commission on White House Fellowships. A national leader who has worked for three U.S. Presidents, Judge Diaz has made history as the first Latino lawyer and judge in Pennsylvania. Judge Diaz has been honored with the Thurgood Marshall College Fund Award of Excellence, and several civil rights and management awards from HUD. Recently, he was named a winner of the Lifetime Achievement Award byThe Legal Intelligencer,honoring attorneys who represent the best the Pennsylvania legal community has to offer. He is currently a board member of Exelon and a partner at Dilworth Paxson, LLP. 

Shellie R. Jackson is a parent, a PHA resident and possesses a lifelong commitment to public service. As an election judge, Ms. Jackson is keenly aware of the rules, regulations, and documentation required for enforcement and the barriers to full community participation in civic matters. She is also passionate about the need for a strong representative voice to empower community residents. Ms. Jackson is an empowered role model who values education, promotes self-sufficiency and advances the need for homeownership opportunities.  

Joan Markman, Esq. is Chief Integrity Officer for the City of Philadelphia. She serves as the city's compliance officer, monitoring government practices and procedures, especially as they relate to contracting and concessions, the sale or lease of city-owned land, and the use of city buildings and equipment. Ms. Markman served as an Assistant United States Attorney from 1987 through 2007. A Philadelphia resident since 1984, she held a key role in the FBI investigation of City Hall during the John F. Street administration, prosecuted numerous fraud and corruption cases, and was counsel in the corruption trial of former City Treasurer Corey Kemp and several City contractors. She has also served as an adjunct professor at the University of Pennsylvania Law School. 

Kenneth A. Murphy, Esq. is a partner and vice-chair of the Products Liability and Mass Tort Practice Group at Drinker Biddle. His background encompasses a broad area of legal expertise in federal and state courts in New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. He is a former member of the Pennsylvania Bar Association's Minority Committee and current vice-chair of the Philadelphia Bar Association's Judicial Selection and Retention Commission. He is also a member of the International Association of Defense Counsel and the Defense Research Institute.  

Vernell Tate is an elected PHA resident leader serving as a representative voice to the PHA Board of Commissioners on issues including Low Income Housing Tax Credit site development, site maintenance, major system repairs, and security system improvements. Possessing excellent technological skills, she worked with PHA to ensure responsiveness to site based quality of life issues, helped convert a former day care center into a state-of-the-art computer laboratory, and extended its use to resident leaders from other sites for computer classes. For the past 30 years, Ms. Tate has been with the U.S. National Archives and Records Administration.   

Herbert Wetzel is the Executive Director of Housing and Community Development for the Philadelphia City Council. He is also a founding member of the board of directors and former executive director of the Greater Germantown Housing Development Corporation. Mr. Wetzel has a long history of community development activities and during the past 20 years, he established a small business in the Germantown section of Philadelphia to create neighborhood-based economic development, and also served as Director, Deputy Executive Director and, upon appointment by former Mayor John Street, Executive Director of the Philadelphia Redevelopment Authority.

2013 Board of Commissioners Meeting Schedule:

• Friday, January 11 at 2pm (previously scheduled for December 28)
  Location: Raymond Rosen - 2301 W. Edgley Street
• Friday, January 25 at 2pm
• Friday, February 22 at 2pm
• Thursday, March 28 at 2pm (previously scheduled for March 22)
• Friday, April 26 at 2pm (please note that the public comment period will be held at the start of the meeting)
• Thursday, May 16 at 3pm

PHA Board Meeting Minutes are available for viewing.