Committee Members

MLK Center at Old Main Committee

March 2026

Stefan Roots

Chester City Mayor

Bill Dennon

Upland Borough Mayor

Justin Tibbels, MPA

Special Assistant to the Mayor and Constituent Affairs Manager

Patrick Parr

Professor and Author of The Seminarian: Martin Luther King, Jr. Comes of Age

Janet Lloyd Murphy

Committee Founder

Shakia Hutt

Author, CEO of Yan Money Matterz Entertainment, Management & Consulting, Blockchain Founder of Yan Money Coin, and Committee Executive Secretary

Paul Steinke

Executive Director of the Preservation Alliance of Greater Philadelphia

Hanna Stark

Director of Policy and Communications of the PAGP

Gerald Miller

Retired CEO of the Crozer Keystone Health System

Lisa R. Gaffney

Executive Director, Riverfront Alliance of Delaware County, a program of the Chester Economic Development Authority

John Franke

Pastor, Community Activist

Robert Keller

Media Attorney

Dr. Sam Lemon

Historian, Author, and Retired Neumann University Professor

Dr. Mark Wallace

Professor of Religion, Swarthmore College

Dr. Keith Reeves

Professor of Political Science; Faculty Director, Program on Urban Inequality and Incarceration, Lang Center for Civic and Social Responsibility; Founder and Lead Instructor, Inside-Out Prison Exchange Program, Swarthmore College

Emilie Moyer

Writer and Editor

Cynthia Jetter

NAACP President of the Media Branch PA; Former Staff, Lang Center for Civic and Social Responsibility, Swarthmore College

Carol Fireng

Upland Resident; Historian and Preservationist

Niyonu Spann

Owner and Principal of Niyonu Spann Associates; Founder and President of 4 Circles Beyond, Inc.

Twyla Simpkins

Retired CUSD Teacher; Curator of the The Travelin' Black History Museum; Founder, CEO, and Board President of the Yes We Can Achievement and Cultural Center; and Interim Executive Director of The Nia Center, Inc.

Bettie McClairen

Educator, Chester-Upland School Board Member; Pupil Services Committee Chair

Intelligence plus character—that is the goal of true education.

— Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.