Julio A. Guridy
Councilman Guridy has been a member of numerous community organizations in the Lehigh Valley and throughout Pennsylvania. Some of his involvements include: The Governors Advisory Commission on Latinos Affairs, President and founding member of Latin Alliance of the Lehigh Valley, Commissioner of the Allentown Housing Authority, Board Member of the Chamber of Commerce of Greater Lehigh Valley, President and founder of the Latino Leadership Alliance of the L.V; President and founder Dominican Cultural Association of the L. V; President and founder Community Action Development Corporation, President of the Hispanic Business Council, Vice President of Latinos for a New Lehigh Valley, Secretary of the American Heart Association, Vice President Community Action Committee of the Lehigh Valley, founding member of AIDSNET, Board of Directors of East Stroudsburg University Alumni Association, Vice President of the Neighborhood Housing Services of the L.V; Member of the Allentown Liberty Bell Rotary Club, and President of the Act 101 Advisory Board of Northampton County Community College, Board of Directors of the American Red Cross, Member of the Allentown School District Empowerment Team, Board of Directors of Business Education Partnership, Board of Director of the Dominican National Round Table; and many more.
Councilman Guridy has been the recipient of many awards some of them include: Outstanding Dominican American by the President of the Dominican Republic and Embassy of the Dominican Republic in Washington, D. C., Citizen of the year in Pennsylvania by the Dominican Parade of Philadelphia southern NJ and Lehigh Valley; Distinguished Community Partnership Award by the Chamber of Commerce of the Greater L.V., Latino Business Pioneer by the Pennsylvania DCED , Honor in Support for Children by the Boys and Girls Club, National Dorothy Richardson Award by NRTI , Human Relations Award by Allentown Human Relations, Good Turn Award by The Minsi Trails Council of the Boy Scouts of America, Outstanding Service Award by Allentown Lehigh County Chamber of Commerce, Community Service Award by ESU Upward Bound Program, Outstanding Young Hispanic by the CSSOLV, and the National Upward Bound Award, Mover and Shaker Award of Delaware and Lehigh Valley.
In 2001, Councilman Guridy was elected to Allentown City Council and reelected in 2005. Councilman Guridy is married to Mercedes Guridy, and they have three (3) children: Jeremy, Julian and Giovanni.
Ray O’Connell
Ray O’Connell has resided in the City of Allentown for over 33 years with his wife, Mary Beth, and their 2 children, Brendan and Kaitlin (both graduates of the Allentown School District). He has worked in the Allentown School District most of his adult life.
From 1972- 1978, he was an Elementary Teacher at Mosser Elementary School.
From 1978 - 1982, he was the Assistant Principal at Raub Middle School.
From 1982 - 2001, he was the Principal at Trexler Middle School.
And from 2001 - 2007, he was the Executive Director of Secondary Education for the Allentown School District, where he supervised the 4 middle schools and 2 high schools in the District.
Ray has been a Member of the Allentown Recreation Commission for 20 years; a Member of the Allentown Human Relations Commission for 2 years; and has served on the Big Brothers/Big Sisters Board of Directors for several years.
Joe Davis
Joe Davis resides with his wife, Yolanda, on the East Side of Allentown. He has been a resident of Allentown for 32 years. They have raised two daughters, Adrianne and Serena, both of whom have graduated from Dieruff High School.
Joe had been employed as a brick and stone mason for 25 years in Local #5 Pa. In 2010, he was appointed as Field Representative for members living in Lehigh, Northampton, Berks, Carbon and Monroe Counties. His employment also included being Chapter Chairman, pension trustee, health fund trustee and advisory board member at Lehigh and Monroe Technical Institutes.
His community activities include; past president of Midway Manor Community Association and Crime Watch program. He was a committee member of the Crime Watch Presidents Council and Properties of Merit program. He was also a participant in the city's Homestead program and Inside Allentown classes. He was honored as Leonard Buck award winner and Midway Manor Citizen of the Year.
Jeanette Eichenwald
Jeanette Eichenwald is the school program coordinator for Muhlenberg College. Together with her husband, Eduardo Eichenwald, she founded the premier high tech company in the Lehigh Valley, MicroAge/DataSys Technologies. The company was listed by “Hispanic Business” as one of the 500 largest Hispanic owned businesses by revenue in the United States. The company was successfully sold in 2004. Jeanette has been a Spanish teacher in the Salisbury School District for more than 30 years.
Jeanette served for six years as School Board Director and as the co-chair of the education committee for the Allentown School District. She is the recipient of the following awards: The Allentown Rotary Service above Self Award; Muhlenberg College Raoul Wallenberg Award; Central Catholic Freedom Medal; Lehigh Valley Chamber of Commerce Executive Women’s Council Athena Award; George Feldman Leadership Award; and is a Power of Women Honoree.
Jeff Glazier
An Allentown native, Jeff Glazier, is proud to continue his service to the community by serving on City Council. He is a graduate of the Allentown School District and earned both Bachelors and Masters degrees from The Pennsylvania State University.
Jeff and his wife Carrie have raised three sons in Allentown.
Previously, Jeff was a member of the Allentown School Board for 12 years. He runs Glazier’s Furniture and serves as administrator for the Allentown School District Foundation.
When not working, Jeff and his Brittany Atticus can be found walking in Allentown’s great park system.
Cynthia Mota
Cynthia Mota was appointed to Allentown City Council in January of 2012, and brings a fresh, community service-based vision to her role as a Councilwoman and serves as a voice for all of Allentown.
Cynthia, who is of Dominican descent, moved to Allentown and attended Harrison-Morton Middle School. She is a proud graduate of Dieruff High School, and earned a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Sociology and Spanish from East Stroudsburg University. She received a Master of Arts Degree in Human Development from Pacific Oaks College in Pasadena, California.
Cynthia began her career in human services while still in college, working as a mentor while studying at East Stroudsburg. After receiving her Master’s Degree, she worked as a Peer and Youth Counselor and a Tutor in the Highline School District in the Seattle, Washington area.
Cynthia then returned to the Lehigh Valley where she continued her work with adults, children, and families as a Family Counselor, Case Manager and Clinical Director for several area Community Service Organizations including NHS Human Services and the Council for Alcohol and Drug Abuse.
Cynthia states: “I am what Allentown is today. We are a diverse community that can accomplish great things when we all work together. ” Her years of experience working with all ages in the human services sector as a counselor and coordinator provides her a unique connection with her constituents that helps her to better understand their concerns and needs.
Cynthia lives in Allentown with her husband, Alani, and their three children Ylaila, Alani Jr., and Cyani.
About Peter Schweyer
Peter G. Schweyer is a Democrat, who was elected to serve on Allentown City Council for a four year term in November, 2007. When he took office in January, 2008, Schweyer became the youngest member of City Council and was at the time the youngest elected official serving in any level of government from Allentown. In October 2010, Schweyer was elevated to the position of Council President after serving as Vice President, making him the youngest person to ever serve Allentown in this leadership capacity.
On Council, Schweyer currently serves as Chairperson of the Finance Committee. He is a voting member of the Community and Economic Development and Parks and Recreation Committees. He also serves as Council’s Representative on the Blighted Property Review Board of which he is Chairperson.
Most recently, Schweyer authored an ordinance that will make mortgage lenders more responsible for maintaining vacant properties that they own and has added funding to the City’s budget for an annual gun buyback program. He was the author of Allentown’s comprehensive anti-graffiti law and the ordinance that requires landlords to evict convicted drug offenders. He also authored legislation that will publish campaign finance reports on the City’s website and a number of ordinances that have made it easier to operate a business in Allentown.
Professionally, Schweyer serves as Director of Community and Government Affairs for Sacred Heart Hospital. In this capacity, he serves as the point of contact for elected and appointed officials from every level of government while working to improve the Sacred Heart community and building relationships with key organizations across the Lehigh Valley. Finally, he serves as the Hospital’s representative on the Health Care Council of the Lehigh Valley.
Immediately prior to his service with Sacred Heart Hospital, Schweyer served as Chief of Staff to State Representative Jennifer L. Mann for 8 years. Schweyer had also served as Legislative Assistant for State Senator Lisa M. Boscola and State Representative Steve Samuelson. He was also a school teacher in West Philadelphia in 2000.
Schweyer is a member of the Board of Directors for the Lehigh and Northampton Transportation Authority (LANTA), having been appointed by Lehigh County Executive Don Cunningham. From July of 2010 through July of 2012, he was the elected Chair of the LANTA Board, again making history as the youngest person to have ever held this position.
He was born and raised in Allentown, where he graduated from Central Catholic High School. Afterwards, he went on to earn a Bachelors of Arts degree with Honors in Political Science from the Pennsylvania State University, State College. He also studied Elementary Education at St. Joseph's University in Philadelphia on the post-graduate level.
Lastly, he was awarded a Lehigh Valley 20 Under 40 by the Eastern Pennsylvania Business Journal in 2011.
Schweyer is a homeowner who lives with his wife, Jennifer, and their daughters, Sarah and Erin, in South Allentown.