LOCAL CANDIDATES
Molly Perrin, Supervisor
Molly Perrin is the current chair of the Willistown Board of Supervisors. She is an attorney with over 20 years working for local companies and law firms. Known for gaining consensus and enacting change, Molly’s 30+ years of volunteering has shaped her personality; she believes in fairness, transparency and a voice for all residents.
Transparency: Responsiveness and transparency are essential in local government. Molly fought for supervisor meetings to be posted to YouTube and agendas and recordings be posted to the township website.
Sewer Issue: Since elected, Molly has been opposed to the sale of the sewer to Aqua and has worked tirelessly on this issue.
Invested: Molly’s family has lived in Willistown for 17+ years and her extended family also lives here and in Malvern Borough. Watching the township landscape change, the need for proactive planning has never been clearer. Molly listens to the needs of all residents to enact meaningful change that will improve all of Willistown.
Lynne Frederick, Borough Council
Lynne Frederick is a graduate of Colorado State University in Fort Collins, Colorado and is currently the owner of Malvern School of Music, located in the Borough on King Street.
Lynne has volunteered extensively for the Borough of Malvern over the past 23 years. She is a 22-year member of the Malvern Historical Commission and held the positions of Co-Chair and Chair from 2006-2014, during which time she spearheaded the creation of the Historic Ordinance. She is also a 5-year member of the Malvern Planning Commission, having completed her Master Planner Certificate in 2016. She has served on other ad-hoc committees, including the Comprehensive Plan Task Force (2009), the Eastside Flats Task Force, and the ARPA Committee. Most recently, she was appointed to fill an open seat on Borough Council in August of 2022. Lynne believes that her knowledge of the history of the borough as well as her training for the present, along with her skills as a therapist, make her uniquely qualified as a candidate for Malvern Borough Council.
Lynne has 2 adult daughters and lives in the Borough with her 2 cats, Kaylee and Sophie.
Brendan Phillips, Borough Council
Good government starts here at home. A responsible, responsive local government can have a positive impact on our day-to-day lives.
Brendan has served on Borough Council for the last four years and helped usher the borough through the covid-19 crisis and our Malvern businesses thrive.
Brendan values the parks and schools and wants to preserve the neighborhood feel where he is raising his young children.
Safe streets, thriving local businesses, parks and open space are among the goals for Brendan Phillips moving forward. Malvern Borough is a diamond of the Upper Mainline and we need to preserve its heritage while allowing it to grow and thrive.
Mark Niemiec, Borough Council
Mark Niemiec has proudly served on Malvern Borough Council for the past term and is especially excited about his work to preserve Randolph Woods. He applied for and received grants to improve Malvern's open space and develop parks for our children.
Not only will the trails be maintained for our residents, but additional spaces will be developed for the children of our community to enjoy. Mark believes we need to ensure that all of Malvern's beautiful parks and wooded areas are preserved for future generations to enjoy.
Mark lives in Malvern with his wife and raised his family in Southeast PA. His years of management experience has helped him navigate working on the council and with his peers.
Joe Bones, Borough Council
Joe Bones has served on Borough Council over the last four years where he has had to handle the unprecedented challenges facing our community. With many years of service to our community, Joe would like to continue to bring his many years of management experience in the planning and problem-solving process to assist our community in adapting to change.
Zoe Warner, Borough Council
Zoe was appointed to Borough Council in August 2023. Additionally, she is Vice-Chair of the Malvern Planning Commission and Chair of the Environment Advisory Council. She also served on the Comprehensive Plan Task Force, chaired the task force's Future Land Use Sub-Committee, and was a member of the Randolph Wood Master Plan Committee.
Zoe has a Ph.D. in City and Regional Planning from the University of Pennsylvania with a concentration in Environmental Planning. She believes planning is key to a strong community.
In response to Malvern’s ongoing stormwater management issues, she became a Penn State Master Watershed Steward. With this training, she has assisted the Borough with stormwater issues.
Recently, she led the effort to plan and plant the Borough Hall monarch/pollinator garden in support of the Mayors Monarch Pledge and the Quann Park rain garden. In early 2023, she led the effort to make Malvern the 41st Bird Town of Pennsylvania.
Zoe has lived in Malvern most of her life and looks forward to using the tools of planning to celebrate Malvern’s small-town country charm, manage change sustainably, and support a vibrant downtown.
Scott Lambert, Supervisor
Scott Lambert joined the Board of Supervisors in 2018, board chair since 2020, and has experience managing projects to enhance East Whiteland township.
Goals: Scott's goals for the township are to enhance open space, continue to maintain a financially sound township, scrutinize planned growth, improve township outreach channels to enhance communication with the community and improve community collaboration in township development decisions.
Invested in the Community: Scott and his wife have been township residents for almost 20 years and their two sons are GVHS graduates.
Experienced: Scott has years of experience on the township board and has used his professional experience in management to help foster community support for projects as well as manage personel and budgets.
Volunteer Work: Scott has volunteered for various organizations including Spring Mill Farms Civic Association, Learning To Lead, Main Line Animal Rescue, and coaching hockey.
Board of Supervisors' Achievements: CLICK HERE for the East Whiteland Board of Supervisors' 2022 Iniatives and Accomplishments
Rachel Gallegos, GVSD
Charlestown & East Whiteland Precincts 4, 5, 6
Longtime Malvern resident with two children attending Great Valley schools, attorney Rachel Gallegos is the current Vice Chair of the Great Valley School Board.
Invested in Malvern: Rachel Gallegos resides in Malvern, with her husband and two boys who attend K.D. Markley Elementary. Rachel received her J.D. from Villanova University School of Law and her B.A. from Clemson University where she played Division I soccer for the Tigers.
Experienced: Rachel was elected to the Great Valley School Board in 2019 and now serves at the Vice-President. She and her fellow board members have been instrumental in furthering the districts DEI efforts, funding and commencing construction on the new 5/6 center, and safely navigating the district through the
COVID-19 pandemic, all while keeping a balanced budget.
Attorney: Rachel is an attorney at Community Legal Services in Philadelphia (“CLS”), representing low income clients in a variety of homeownership matters. Prior to joining CLS, Rachel got her start in the
homeownership space as a law clerk for the Honorable Annette M. Rizzo (Ret.) in the Philadelphia Court
of Common Pleas. She assisted in the creation of the nationally renowned Mortgage Foreclosure
Diversion Program and went on to become the administrator of the Program.
Service: Rachel is a past board member for the Public Interest Law Center of Philadelphia, past chair of the Real Property Section of the Philadelphia Bar Association, and past president of the Hispanic Bar Association. Presently. Currently Rachel is the president of her attorney Union, Philadelphia Legal Services Union, at Community Legal Services.
Wendy Litzke, GVSD
Malvern Boro & East Whiteland Precincts 1, 2, 3
Wendy Litzke has been a member of the Great Valley community since 2014 when her husband and two children moved to the area from Baltimore, Maryland. She was elected to the Great Valley School Board in 2019. Originally from Bucks County, Wendy attended Boston College, earning a BA in Spanish and later pursuing an MA in International Communication at American University in Washington DC.
Wendy has spent much of her career first in politics having worked as special assistant to the director of a federal agency, on Capitol Hill as the communication director for a Congresswoman and on a presidential campaign. In addition, she has spent almost the last two decades in higher education for Goucher College in the President’s Office and at Villanova University as an assistant vice president. Wendy’s husband is an architect and partner at Precis Engineering & Architecture and they reside in East Whiteland Township with their children and two rescue dogs.
Neha Mehta, GVSD
Malvern Boro & East Whiteland Precincts 1, 2, 3
Dr. Neha Mehta has been a Chester County resident for the past 20 years and is a leader in the community. Aside from currently serving on the Great Valley School Board, she is a pediatrician, cultural educator, and mother of 3 children in the elementary, middle, and high schools. She is also the founding director of a youth group by which she actively mentors teens throughout Chester County. Her combined background, along with her experience over this last term on the Great Valley School Board, make her uniquely suited for re-election.
Neha has met the challeges of serving on the Board during unprecedented times head on. Her medical background and training in the developmental health of school aged children was an asset in educating our students through the COVID-19 pandemic. However, she feels her greatest impact during this phase was keeping the Board focused on moving the district forward and ensuring that our district was ready to face its non-COVID related challenges after the pandemic. As a result, Great Valley’s new 5/6 center is well under construction to accommodate the district’s burgeoning community. Diversity and equity work has progressed. Best practices in education and student experience are being evaluated and implemented.
Neha is active in her committee work on the Board. She is the representative to the district’s Special Education committee and the newly instituted Wellness committee. She also sits on the Policy committee and is Great Valley’s representative to the National School Board Association. Most importantly, Neha believes in keeping the Board accountable in it’s own conduct. During her time, she implemented a process by which the Board could evaluate its effectiveness as a team, identify areas of improvement, and set goals for growth in leadership. She believes in listening, with the full understanding that she is a representative to an entire constituency. Her role on the board is one of objectivity, even when it conflicts with or differs from her personal opinions.
Neha remains humbled by the confidence which appointed her to the Great Valley School Board 4 years ago, privileged to have had the opportunity to serve her community during a difficult time, and hopeful to carry out another term with the same commitment and integrity.
Becky Spiess, GVSD
Willistown Township
Becky is a parent of two children in Great Valley, a longtime GVS volunteer, with a professional background working with schools and universities on spending and costs.
Invested In Our Schools: Becky Spiess is a longtime Willistown resident with two boys in Great Valley schools, one in middle school and the other in high school. A long time volunteer for our school district, she served for 2 years on the PTO board at Sugartown and has served on numerous committees.
Economics of Schools: Becky’s 25 years working with Vanguard and extensive experience on their non-profit team has given her a deep understanding of the economics of schools and universities. Costs matter, and Becky has experience helping schools find solutions for the lowest costs while increasing educational opportunities for the students and the prestigiousness of the schools.
Foundational Learning: Becky's experiences with an IEP for one of her children has given her insights into how well our school district works with each child to help them excel. Becky is committed to the safety of our kids as well as their mental and physical health believing that this is the basis by which learning can happen. Becky Spiess will work hard to ensure that every child in Great Valley schools will be given a safe and supportive learning environment that will allow them to be academically challenged and grow.
Tom Richards, GVSD
Willistown Township
Tom Richards is a lifelong educator who has served as a teacher, administrator, coach and educational entrepreneur for several decades.
Lifelong Educator: After earning a master’s degree in Education from The University of Pennsylvania, Tom began his teaching career in various educational settings as an instructor in Mathematics, English, Latin and History at the elementary and secondary levels. Deciding to pursue the administrative path, Tom became an athletic director, upper school principal and eventually head of an elementary Quaker school in the local area.
Educational Entrepeneur: Tom founded a day camp for grades K-6 children, a camp that he also directed for twenty years. He began a soccer camp for children, ages 6-12, an afterschool program and a study skills workshop for those children who needed support and guidance in how to prepare, organize and study. Tom also was the founding Board Chair of Arch Street Preschool, a city school founded more than ten years ago.
Non-profit: Currently, Tom is founder and executive director of Nellie’s Schoolhouse, an organization he created eight years ago that connects therapy dogs to children and young adults with autism, depression and anxiety. Through learning how to approach, pet, groom, feed and walk a dog, participants improve their socialization and communication skills and increase their self-confidence.