Brian Clinton is a Deputy Chief of Staff for Mayor James F. Kenney where he serves as a liaison between the administration and a portfolio of departments including Planning & Development; Finance; Transportation, Infrastructure & Sustainability; and General Services, Arts, & Events. In addition to the interdepartmental liaison role, Brian represents the administration in planning sessions for long-term, region impacting projects such as FIFA World Cup 2026.

Brian began his public service career in 2017 as an intern and Constituent Services Representative with 9th District Councilmember Cherelle Parker while pursuing a Master of Public Policy degree at Temple University. In February 2019, he joined the Mayor’s Office as an Assistant Chief of Staff and was promoted to Deputy Chief of Staff in September 2021. Brian is civically active in his Grays Ferry neighborhood where he works alongside a coalition of community groups to improve public safety, beautify the area, perform constituent services, and provide resources.

Over the last 30 years, Valarie has used her experience working in business, economic development, and supplier diversity to drive opportunities for businesses in the supply chains of corporate, government, and institutional partners. A creative thinker with invaluable experience in contract negotiations, strategy development and opportunity identification, she is a connector, skilled at advancing new relationships and opportunities, while broadening existing ones. In September 2023, Valarie joined Carr & Duff, LLC’s executive leadership team responsible for corporate and government relations, business development, relationship management, and marketing. Valarie is focused on Carr & Duff’s strategic growth in the utility, government, telecommunications, technology, commercial, industrial, institutional, and life sciences market sectors in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware.

Valarie serves on numerous Boards and committees, but she is most proud of the ten years she served as a Girl Scout Leader. She is the 2022 recipient of the Mann Center’s Voices of Hope, Innovation for Community Advancement Award and was named a 2022, 100 Women Advancing Women honoree by WE USA.

She is an alumnus of Franklin & Marshall College, where she earned a Bachelor of the Arts (B.A.).

Daisy Cruz oversees the Philadelphia office of 32BJ of the Service Employees International Union, which represents more than 12,000 janitors, security officers, airport workers and other property service workers in the Delaware Valley and more than 175,000 workers nationwide.

Cruz began her career in the labor movement in 1998 as a receptionist and worked her way up to Director. Born and raised in Philadelphia, Cruz spent her childhood in Kensington. She is passionate about giving back to Philadelphia, the city she loves.

Cruz is an active member of Liberty Baptist Church in Kensington. On the weekends, she can often be found volunteering with the church’s bus ministry which travels the community and encourages children and community to learn about faith.

The oldest of nine children in a traditional Puerto Rican family, Cruz has stayed close to her roots and strives to help the community through her work with the union.

32BJ SEIU is one of the largest unions in the country representing immigrant workers from over 60 countries. Through her work to achieve strong contracts for janitors and security, she has helped lift thousands of workers out of poverty.

Cruz’s many accomplishments at 32BJ include her leadership in the union’s successful campaign to raise the minimum wage for subcontracted airport workers.

She currently lives in Mayfair with her two children and granddaughter.

Patrick J. Eiding retired after serving his 5th term as President of the Philadelphia Council AFL-CIO. Prior to first being elected President of the Council in January 2002, Eiding served for over 25 years as Business Manager and Financial Secretary of the Insulators and Asbestos Workers Local 14 covering Philadelphia and Southern New Jersey where he has been a member since 1963.

Eiding has risen through the ranks of leadership throughout his career and currently serves asSecretary-Treasurer of the Philadelphia Building Trades Council; as a member of the Executive Council of the Pennsylvania AFL-CIO; and on the General Board of the National AFL-CIO representing Central Labor Councils in the Northeast.

Eiding also represents the interests of working families by serving as an active member of numerous boards and commissions including the Philadelphia Area Labor Management Committee (PALM), the United Way of Southeastern Pennsylvania (UWSEPA), National Multiple Sclerosis Society (NMSS), the Urban Affairs Coalition, and the National Association of Workforce Boards (NAWB). He also sits as a Commissioner on the Philadelphia City Planning Commission and was appointed to the newly created Philadelphia Works, Inc.

Eiding, recently remarried, lives in Northeast Philadelphia. In his spare time he enjoys the Phillies, the shore, and spending time with his 2 daughters and 3 grandchildren.