Emily Stine (Ward 4, above right) and Emily Cheramie-Walz (Ward 6, above left) are Cheltenham Township’s newest board members.

Glenside Local reached out to each commissioner for their thoughts as they begin their first terms.

Emily Stine

Stine, part owner and operations manager of Monitor Data Corporation in Glenside, is a Cheltenham native and a lifelong resident (minus four years after college). She credits her husband and her Ward 4 predecessor, commissioner Ann Rappoport, for convincing her that the work she was already doing could be useful from a commissioner standpoint.

“I had the flexibility to do it, and the timing was right. Commissioner Rappoport has been amazing and I completely appreciate her diligence and persistence in asking difficult questions and following up with action. I hope to be able to continue in that same vein,” she said.

What do you hope to accomplish as commissioner?

“My area of interest tends to be in zoning and land use. I hope to help fill empty storefronts in Elkins Park and Wyncote that can and should be filled with uses that fit in the locations where they’re at. Whatever we can do to enhance and increase our native planting, solar, and stormwater management. We want to see what we can do to move things in the right direction in terms of sustainability,” Stine said.

“We should be working to make Easton Road a continuous, walkable area all the way from Arcadia to the train station. It’s the same thing around the Elkins Park train station. I’d like to see a nice, walkable area,” she said.

Stine is also the vice chair of the Building and Zoning Committee and said her focus will lie in those areas.

“I’ve been very pleased to see the township finally acknowledging the problems that we have, specifically related to stormwater. The hurricanes we’ve experienced in the past exposed flooding issues,” she said. “The sentiment at the time was that these were flukes, and it took at least 10 years, but it does seem as though we’re starting to plan proactively for the next big storm. Sometimes progress has felt slow, especially to affected residents.”

What do you love about Cheltenham Township?

“I love the township’s diversity in terms of people, housing, and businesses. We have mini malls all the way down to smaller stores, we have estates, small homes and new homes,” she said. “There’s economic diversity and the history is rich. I wouldn’t want to live anywhere homogenous in those areas. I like the variety, and I appreciate being able to walk a lot of places.”

Emily Cheramie-Walz

Commissioner Cheramie-Walz started off her tenure on an odd foot: Following the recent operation in Venezuela, she and her family of five were stuck in Saint Martin earlier this month due to flight cancellations. She ended up swearing in virtually.

“I’ve never been so happy to come back to the Philadelphia weather. It’s beautiful down there so it seems silly to complain, but the situation was kind of terrifying,” she said. “We woke up Saturday, and my husband asked me if I had seen what happened in Venezuela. We saw that our flight was cancelled and then there was a mad rush to see if we could get rebooked.”

She said she told her three boys—each of whom attend a different Cheltenham Township school—that they would try to make the best of it together.

“We went to the beach every day and I swore in virtually, which I had been really looking forward to. Part of the reason I’m doing this is because I want to be an example to my three boys. I think them seeing their mom in this role is critical right now,” she said.

Why did you decide to get involved?

A New Orleans/Washington DC native who moved to the Philadelphia area in 2001, Cheramie-Walz said she comes from “a very politically-engaged family.”

“My father is a Cajun chef who moved to DC to start a catering business for southern politicians, so I was always going to Washington. I’ve always been in that environment,” she said. “My goal in my younger years was to be the White House correspondent. I ended up doing that work for a matter of weeks and decided it wasn’t for me.”

“We’re a politically and socially active family, but I didn’t think I’d ever do this. I woke up after the election in November and I was completely despondent,” she said. “I felt inundated with sadness for weeks after. I knew I had to do something. I was involved with the local democrats and my husband encouraged me to go for it.

“I’m going to the pools, I’m using the libraries, I’m going out to dinner and shopping here. I want to live and work and play in my township and its facilities. I thought what better person to steer the direction than a family that’s already engaged in those ways,” she said.

In addition to her role as commissioner, Cheramie-Walz is also serving as liaison to the library board and as vice chair for the Finance Committee. Professionally, she is the director of development and partnerships for the Reading Terminal Market, which she said lends itself well to budgeting and raising money for the township.

What types of impacts are hoping to be able to make in your ward and in the township?

“A big priority for me is developing our economic corridors. I think we have a real opportunity to bring in new businesses and support those that are already here,” she said. “I’m also interested in sustainability and our environment. I think there are some best practices that we can start to incorporate. I think we have an opportunity to right the ship, and I’m hoping that the new energy will help.”

Cheramie-Walz said she and commissioner Stine have been connecting through weekly walks through the neighborhoods they serve.

“Emily is a multi-generational resident of Cheltenham and has a wealth of knowledge about the township. I’ve always been out and about, but she brings historical knowledge,” she said. “When we met, I told her that I wanted to walk every neighborhood in the township. We’ve taken one- to two-hour walks talking about the issues of the day, and I think we’ve covered the majority of the township on foot. We want to see first-hand what’s going on in the community.

“We noticed that decisions have been made in the past without folks getting on the ground and seeing the effects of various projects,” she said.

Commissioners Stine and Cheramie-Walz are replacing recently retired commissioners Rappoport and Mitch Zygmund-Felt. You can read their outgoing reflections on their tenures here.

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Photo: Emily Stine