Seven candidates for seven seats in 2023 CHCA board election

Posted 6/8/23

This year the Chestnut Hill Community Association has seven board seats open and received seven nominations.

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Seven candidates for seven seats in 2023 CHCA board election

Posted

This year the Chestnut Hill Community Association has seven board seats open and received seven nominations. All seven nominees will advance directly to the board. An additional appointed institutional director has been appointed to the board.

Tommy Bergstrom

Tommy Bergstrom, an experienced nonprofit professional, possesses a deep love for community and all things Chestnut Hill. Bergstrom spent a decade working in higher education admissions guiding students and the many community-based organizations that support them through the college search and application process. His progression within this field at Franklin & Marshall College and the University of Pennsylvania led him to become the director of visit experience for Penn’s Undergraduate Admissions Visitor Center. Bergstrom also gained a master's degree in nonprofit leadership from Penn’s School of Social Policy and Practice, which fed his interest in learning more about nonprofit strategy and success while launching him to a new career in fundraising. Bergstrom currently works in annual giving for the Penn Fund and in his short tenure has helped to secure millions of dollars for undergraduate student life and financial aid through alumni donors.

Bergstrom, his husband Levi, and their 9-year-old Lab mix Roy can be spotted most days around town enjoying Chestnut Hill’s many shops, eateries and accessible green spaces. They have all (especially Roy) thoroughly enjoyed meeting new friends while out on walks, spending time speaking with fellow patrons as well as employees, owners, community leaders and all-around supporters of Chestnut Hill’s vibrant institutions. Bergstrom hopes to join the CHCA to bring a helpful perspective in constituent engagement, events, fundraising and most importantly, to give back and help the community that welcomed him and his family with such gracious open arms.

Henry Trapnell

Henry Trapnell and his husband Judson reside in a historic home on East Bells Mill Road in Chestnut Hill. Trapnell has a deep commitment to his community and a strong desire to serve. His professional background in technology at Google and finance at JP Morgan gives him a nuanced understanding of the challenges and opportunities that modern communities face. Trapnell believes in the importance of financial responsibility and innovation to build strong and sustainable neighborhoods.

As a lover of DIY projects, animals and a novice gardener, Trapnell is passionate about local ecology and sustainable practices. He previously served as treasurer for his co-op board in Brooklyn, N.Y., where he managed finances and ensured that all residents had a say in the governance of their building.

Trapnell's education at Boston University and Stanford University, including an MBA, also prepared him to think critically and creatively about complex problems. He is excited to apply these skills to the challenges facing Chestnut Hill and work with his fellow residents to build a vibrant, inclusive and sustainable community.

Trapnell has a strong passion for community development, especially in the fields of gardening, historic architecture and outdoor activities. Leaning on his background in tech and financial services, he plans to bring valuable expertise to help shape the future of our neighborhood. He believes in making our community inclusive, diverse and sustainable, and is also eager to introduce and reinforce eco-friendly initiatives.

Richard Tuttle

Richard Tuttle has been a resident of Chestnut Hill since 2016, and a resident of Mt. Airy and Flourtown since the 1980s. He is an attorney with considerable experience counseling non-profit organizations and has been involved in a wide variety of charitable efforts over the years. During the past year, he has provided advice and support to the ad hoc Light Up the Tower committee (of which his wife, Lucie Daigle, is a member), and has been a volunteer in many CHCA activities and efforts since 2016. He believes that Chestnut Hill is a special place and, as a board member, will do his utmost to support the CHCA’s continuing efforts to sustain and improve our community.

Renewing Board Members

Laura Lucas

Laura has been a financial services, marketing and client relations senior executive for GMAC (17 years), PHH, Freedom Mortgage, Newbold Advisors, Selene Finance, Digital Risk and Bayview, and consulted for Bank of America, Chase, Texas-based USAA, Vericrest/Caliber and Nationstar/Mr. Cooper before forming her own consulting company. As senior vice president and vice president for many of these groups, she led transformations, operations and growth opportunities. She is also a hyperlocal influencer with a Facebook social media curated page and a following approaching 4,000 Chestnut Hill fans, who she calls Chestnut Hill Insiders. This allows her to celebrate all the things she loves about Chestnut Hill.

She has been an active board member of the Community Association for a decade, serving as president from 2016 to 2020 and vice president of operations from 2014 to 2016. Currently, Lucas co-chairs the Governance Committee. Her biggest pride is overseeing our Green Space Initiatives, which is a collaborative group of CHCA, Conservancy, Business District and green partners that oversees the 30 green spaces in Chestnut Hill and a tree endowment fund. (You may have heard about our new trail on 10 acres at Mermaid Park with Friends of Cresheim Trail.) While CHCA president, she was a board member of the Business District boards. She is a board member of the Friends of Chestnut Hill Library, led the opening of Hilltop Books two years ago, and drives the twice-annual Big Truck Book Sales to raise funds for our library. Lucas has served on or chaired many CHCA committees and fostered strong partnerships with our area community groups, businesses and institutions. Now in our 75th year as an institution, she would like to continue to build on these partnerships while strengthening the Local and membership efforts.

Lynn Schroder

Now in her second term as a board member, Schroder believes it is a privilege to continue to serve and contribute to the Chestnut Hill Community Association Board of Directors. She believes our urban village is a diverse and vibrant part of the Philadelphia scene, and the CHCA serves to strengthen our community voice and encourages and welcomes input from all members.

Schroder holds degrees from West Chester, Lehigh and Arcadia University and has been rewarded with a 32-year career in the field of special education as both a teacher and administrator. As a retiree and empty nester, along with her husband JR, she loves strolling the Avenue with their dog Murphy.

Lindsey Toconita

Toconita grew up in the Hudson Valley, N.Y., and attended the University of Delaware. Upon graduating, she relocated to the greater Philadelphia area for her career and for the past nine years, she has been proud to call the magical place that is Chestnut Hill her home. After spending more than a decade in financial technology sales for a global banking institution, Toconita now co-owns Lock & Key Group, which is a boutique collective of like-minded Keller Williams real estate agents serving Philadelphia and the surrounding areas. One of her favorite parts of her job as a real estate agent is touring all of the unbelievable homes in and around the neighborhood, and getting to know the people who live in them. Toconita’s children currently attend Norwood-Fontbonne Academy, where she served as the treasurer of the Parent’s Association. Raising two children with her husband Marcus in this community is an absolute joy and now in her second term as a board member, she looks forward to continuing as one of the voices that make our community so special.

Beth Wright

Elizabeth “Beth” Wright has lived in Chestnut Hill with her husband, Fabrizio Franco, for 19 years. She has served on the CHCA Board of Directors for two years and an additional three-year term will allow her to continue her work on quality of life issues facing the community.

Neighbors may know her best as the coordinator of the Highland Station Native Gardens initiative, where she led neighbors, SEPTA and the Chestnut Hill Community Association in creating a garden oasis for pollinators and the enjoyment of the community. The Chestnut Hill West Station is next on the line!

Wright’s advocacy work in Chestnut Hill began with the 30 W. Highland Neighbors Steering Committee, a neighbor-led effort that worked to address community concerns about the size and scope of the eight-townhome development whose owner was seeking approval of a variance by the Zoning Board of Adjustment (ZBA).

A former professional fundraiser, her career in Philadelphia has included leadership development roles with the University of Pennsylvania’s School of Arts and Sciences and the Curtis Institute of Music.

New Appointed Institutional Director

Sarah Louise Hale

Sarah Louise Hale serves as the manager of annual giving at Chestnut Hill College. In this role, Hale leads the Griffin Fund (unrestricted annual giving program) for the College, emphasizing participation and donor engagement at all giving levels. In addition, Hale is focused on developing external relationships and finding creative partnerships to elevate the CHC brand and strengthen community engagement.

With more than 30 years of experience, Hale has an extensive background in fundraising, communications and marketing. Prior to joining Chestnut Hill College, Hale held positions as managing director of philanthropy for Carson Valley Children’s Aid and, most recently, as director of institutional advancement at Archbishop Wood Catholic High School in Warminster, Pa. Hale began her career in marketing in New York City, working with Nancy J. Friedman Public Relations and then MKPR Public Relations before serving as affiliate sales and marketing manager for both Showtime Networks and Comedy Central.

Hale is proud to say she was “raised” in the Woodmere Art Museum as her mother is an artist and was very active at the Woodmere and in the Philadelphia art community.