Farah Jimenez leaving Mt. Airy USA
Monday, July 19th, 2010
Farah Jimenez is leaving Mt. Airy USA
Since 1997 Farah Jimenez has been the driving force behind one of Northwest Philadelphia's biggest projects: the revitalization of Germantown Avenue in Mt. Airy. Today she announces her resignation as executive director of Mt. Airy USA. Her last day will be August 31.
Jimenez will start her new job on October 4 as president and CEO of the People's Emergency Center in Philadelphia. PEC's longtime President Gloria Guard is taking a job with One Economy Corporation.
Under Jimenez the NW community development corporation has steered federal, state and local grants to turn a once dying commercial corridor into a viable district.
Oh, there is one other thing you should know about Jimenez. Defying all Mt. Airy stereotypes, this "community organizer" is a Republican. A Republican who's married to a Democrat. When NPR learned this in 2008 it invited Jimenez and her husband, David Hyman a Jewish Democrat, to be on NPR's Tell Me More program to discuss how they managed to fall in love.