Meet the candidates

Mia graduated from CHS in 1996 after moving with her family to the township in 1988, and returned to Cheltenham in 2006 to raise her own family here. Her older son attends Cheltenham High School and her younger son attends Myers Elementary. She has been active in the PTOs of Wyncote, Myers, EP, CBK, and CHS.

Mia is the Program Manager of Healthy NewsWorks, a non-profit organization focused on teaching health journalism and media literacy to under-resourced K-8 schools in Philadelphia, Camden, and Norristown. She helps to run this very extensive programming, develops curriculum, and works with teachers to implement lessons directly. Prior to Healthy NewsWorks, Mia worked as a literacy coach for 7 years, and spent 10 years as a classroom teacher. She holds a BA in Children’s Literature from University of Pittsburgh and M.S. Ed in Elementary Education from University of Pennsylvania.

Charles and his family chose Cheltenham when relocating to the Philadelphia area 10 years ago. The community's reputation for excellent public schools was key in that decision. He is the parent of two scholars, a daughter who attends Cheltenham High School and a son who attends Cedarbrook Middle School. An advocate of better educational outcomes and a stronger sense of belonging for all students, Charles is a former board member of the Cheltenham African American Alliance and Cheltenham Little League and has supported the PTO at Glenside Elementary and Elkins Park School in various capacities. Charles is finishing his first full term as a Cheltenham School Board Director. He is currently co-chair of the Facilities Committee and he supports Cheltenham School District on the Eastern Center for Arts and Technology Joint Operating Committee.

Charles has spent the entirety of his working life in operations management with a focus on process improvement, operational efficiency, and team development. He is a creative, inspiring leader who has a passion for solutions-oriented dynamic thinking to find the best possible end result for all. Charles is a proud graduate of Howard University where he studied Biology and Chemistry with a focus on Food and Environmental Microbiology.

Jenny has lived in Glenside for 15 years. She is the proud parent of a daughter who attends Mount Holyoke College and a son who attends Cheltenham High School. She has been active in the Glenside Elementary School PTO and in the Special Education Alliance of Cheltenham (SEAC), and she served as PTO president of Cedarbrook Middle School. In July 2020, Jenny was appointed to the Cheltenham school board and she was re-elected to the board in November 2021. She serves as a co-chair of the board’s Educational Affairs committee and she represents CSD on the board of the Montgomery County Intermediate Unit (MCIU).

Professionally, Jenny recently became the Assistant Director of Institutional Support at Eastern University, which involves researching and writing grants in support of Eastern’s funding priorities. Previously, she worked as grant writer for and then Executive Director of the West Philadelphia Alliance for Children (WePAC). WePAC brings access to books and the joy of reading to young children by re-opening libraries in public elementary schools in Philadelphia. For 12 years, she worked as a senior staff attorney at the Education Law Center (ELC), where she advocated for all of Pennsylvania’s children to have access to a quality public education. She holds a B.A. in Government from Lehigh University and a J.D. from Harvard Law School.

Robyn is a literacy consultant, literacy coach and reading specialist, assisting teachers, leaders and school districts as they work to improve their reading outcomes. She has dual undergraduate degrees from Hofstra University, Long Island, New York, in Psychology and elementary Educationand a Master’s degree from the City University of New York’s Queens College in Reading Education. She has been a classroom teacher in NYC and Darby, PA, an executive at Girl Scouts’ national headquarters in NYC, a reading specialist, and a literacy coach for the past two decades with for profit and nonprofit organizations.

Mrs. Murphy is CEO of Further Her Consulting Group/Further Her in Action where she is a certified life coach and consultant. She volunteers at her church, the Gift of Life, and Girl Scouts of Eastern PA. She lives in Elkins Park with her husband Kevin, with whom she counsels engaged and married couples.

Ross is thrilled to have chosen Cheltenham in 2017. He currently lives in Elkins Park with his wife and two sons, both of whom will attend Myers Elementary. He has been active in Myers PTO and served on the board of United Parents Group.

Ross is the President of Dogwood Consulting where he engages in evaluation and organizational development with nonprofits, local, county, and state governments, and K-postsecondary educational institutions to provide data to improve their processes and measure outcomes for the people they serve. Ross is a former music teacher in the School District of Philadelphia and adjunct professor at Temple University where he taught classes on diversity, equity, and inclusion in education and interpersonal and organizational communication. Ross’ current work includes strategic planning with equity-focused educational institutions and groups, and evaluation of diversity, equity, and inclusion in educational programs. His work regularly focuses on racial equity in education, inclusion of people with learning differences and disabilities, and the growth of students’ social-emotional skills. Ross has a B.A. in Music Education from Mansfield University, a M.A. in Music Education from Boston University, and a Ph.D. in Urban Education from Temple University.