Board of Directors

To contact the Board, please email the board administrator at boardadmin@weaversway.coop, or write to: WW Board of Directors, 559 Carpenter Lane, Philadelphia, PA 19119.

Officers

  • Cheryl Croxton
    President
    2021-2024

    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.

  • Joshua Bloom
    Vice President
    2022-2025

    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.

    Josh began his career in revitalization as the downtown manager in South Orange, NJ, his hometown. Later, as a program officer at the National Main Street Center, he led the Center’s urban expansion efforts by launching Boston Main Streets, the nation’s first citywide Main Street initiative, and brought similar neighborhood-based revitalization models to Los Angeles, St. Louis, Chicago, Miami, and others.

    Josh lives in Mount Airy.

     

  • Gail McFadden-Roberts
    Treasurer
    2021-2024

    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.

     

     

  • Jason Henschen
    Secretary
    2021-2024

    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.

At Large Directors

  • Benjamin Bartley
    2023-2026

    I am a dedicated cooperator whose personal and professional life has always been rooted in food and agriculture.  I currently work for a verifier of corporate climate action -- when a food company works to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions, we verify that the action actually happened, whether the impact was conservatively estimated, that it was transparently disclosed, etc. I was also the protocol manager for a non-profit that quantified the ecosystem services farmers generate from regenerative agriculture.  

    Prior to working at the nexus of climate change and agriculture, my career focused on strengthening local and regional food systems. I was a Cooperative Extension Educator with Penn State University, where I led my team's Food Systems and Local Food programming. I served as the Value Chain Specialist for La Montañita Co-op, a retail cooperative and regional food distributor in New Mexico. In this capacity, I identified and secured market opportunities for local farmers and ranchers, in addition to providing technical assistance on food safety best practices and certification. I also served as the Food Access Director at the Arcadia Center for Sustainable Food and Agriculture in Washington, DC where we worked to address food inequities.  

    I have more than eighteen years of experience in the food and agriculture sector, including professional development at the Culinary Institute of America and the University of Vermont’s Food Hub Management program. I earned a Masters of Business Administration from Drexel University and a Masters in Ecosystem Management and Administration from Penn State University.

  • Hilary Baum
    2022-2025

    I have participated in building the regional food systems movement as an organizer, educator, and advocate for decades, and for many of those years, Weavers Way captivated my interest from afar. As soon as my husband Rich and I, former New Yorkers, moved to Chestnut Hill this past December, we happily joined, experiencing first-hand the Co-op’s ability to fulfill its promise for folks looking for connection and community around shared values of social responsibility and nourishing food. Our family includes a West Philly daughter and son-in-law and their two children, as well as a West Coast son and his partner.

    Until recently, I was working with the American Sustainable Business Council, focusing on New York’s efforts to transition to an economy based on renewables, safer chemicals, and sustainable business practices. That focus emerged after I helped launch Chefs for the Marcellus, a coalition of food and farming professionals concerned about the potentially disastrous impacts of fracking on our regional food system in New York. Leading a high-profile niche campaign in a successful larger movement provided a lesson in the value of taking action on critical issues on whatever scale we can.

    My background includes being the producer of coalition-building educational programs and public awareness campaigns focusing on food, farming, and sustainability. I have been involved with artisan food production, marketing, restaurant procurement, farmers’ market development and operations, and community supported agriculture. I was a board member of Hawthorne Valley Association, which oversees the management of a 900-acre biodynamic farm, its dairy, bakery, and fermented foods production, educational programs, and retail operations — great prep for being on the Board of Directors of Weavers Way!

  • Kristin Haskins-Simms
    2023-2025

    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.

  • Michael Hogan
    Director
    2020-2023

    Our family have been working members of the Co-op for more than 40 years. I know how the Co-op engenders community in the neighborhoods in which it serves. Having packed dried fruits, restocked shelves and refrigerators, picked farm vegetables, and cleaned up after closing, side by side with other members, I know what it means to cooperate.

    I live in Chestnut Hill, have been married for 47 years, have two adult married children and three grandchildren, and have been retired for 12 years. I travel extensively and visit food markets around the world. I love to cook and know that sharing food and drink provides a perfect opportunity to foster communication and healthy relationships. I worked for 37 years in the water world — 34 years with the Philadelphia Water Department, first as a biologist, then as a financial and budget analyst, and later as a manager in operations. When I retired, I was director of all field operations for the department. I have been Vice President, Treasurer, Chair of Finance and Building Committees of Lutheran Settlement House Board over a period of 10 years; Assistant Treasurer, Board of Reading Terminal Market Corporation for 3 years; and Board of the Reading Terminal Market Preservation Fund for 5 years. I served as President, Vice-President, Treasurer, and Secretary for the Eastern Meter Management Association more than 13 years. I will use my financial analysis skills and my commitment to our city to further the success of Weavers Way as a central community institution.

  • De'Janiera B. Little
    2022-2025

    De’Janiera B. Little began her community career working as a Customer Service Representative. She was devoted to assisting others in any way possible that would result in better outcomes for the community she served. She eventually felt her life would be more fulfilling in the nonprofit sector, in which she held various positions for more than 10 years.

    De’Janiera has worked in various positions in nonprofit, including the Philadelphia Housing Authority, where she was able to sharpen her real estate skill set. She also developed her passion for real estate while in this long-term position. De’Janiera is currently employed as a Property Manager as well as a PA Licensed Realtor.

    De’Janiera is also a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated. She resides in Philadelphia with her son and their three dogs.

  • Kacy Manahan
    2023-2026

    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. 

     

    In her "free" time, Kacy enjoys running in her neighborhood of Chestnut Hill and in the Wissahickon Valley, cycling to meet friends and explore new places, walking her large mutt Yogi, and learning the Irish fiddle. She is proud to represent the interests of Weavers Way members in her role on the Board of Directors.

  • Esther Wyss-Flamm
    Director
    2021-2024

    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!