Meet Our Board Members
Donna Perkins
Chair
Meghan O’Donnell Armani
Secretary
Katherine Ross
Treasurer
Nate Bronstein
Alexis Cocco
Brendan Lowe
Meghan O’Donnell Armani
Secretary
Hi Friends, my name is Meghan O’Donnell Armani and I currently reside in the Spring Gardens neighborhood of Philadelphia. I am Senior Director of Shareholder Services at Comcast Corporation. I got involved with the Friends of Waring as a community member that is passionate about public education and literacy. Being a part of building the school library is very exciting and I look forward to seeing the impact it will continue to bring to all at Waring! My favorite children’s books are Where the Wild Things Are, Stellaluna and the Kissing Hand.
Donna Perkins
Chair
Hi! I’m Donna Perkins and I’ve been a member of the Spring Garden community for almost 20 years. I’m a proud Temple University alum and I currently work as a consultant for healthcare and non-profit clients. I’m a Spring Garden Civic Association block captain and board member. Waring Elementary is critical to our neighborhood. I’m excited to help students discover their favorite books, love for reading and support their future success. A couple of my favorite children’s books are Giraffes Can’t Dance and Guess How Much I Love You, which were favorite bedtime reads with my boys.
Katherine Ross
Treasurer
Hello! I’m Katherine Ross, a college media advisor for The Daily Pennsylvanian, the non-profit independent student newspaper for the University of Pennsylvania. I’ve worked in student media for my entire career and have held positions in accounting, media sales, human resources, fundraising, and social media development. I live in Fairmount (20+ years) and have been looking for a way to give back to the community. I am excited to join Friends of Waring because I know the impact visiting the library and reading had on my life and want to share that experience with children in the neighborhood. As a child I was a fan of book series, especially Nancy Drew and as I got older I loved reading anything by Judy Blume!
Nate Bronstein
Hi! I’m Nate Bronstein, former science teacher and policy wonk turned public health advocate and education entrepreneur. I’m currently the founder and CEO of SmartTrack, LLC, a company dedicated to ensuring students get the resources they need to have an excellent education. I was living in the Waring neighborhood when we launched our app to provide the Waring school with a way to manage their library inventory and data. My favorite children’s book is the Thunder Cake, by Patricia Polacco.
Alexis Cocco
Hi! I’m Alexis Cocco and I’m a former Fairmount resident still living in the greater Philadelphia area. I’m currently an in-house privacy attorney. I got involved with the Friends of Waring because I believe every child deserves a great education and every teacher deserves support. Building the school library (and the other activities that FOW have planned) is a great, tangible way to make that happen. My favorite children’s books are Where the Sidewalk Ends and A Light in the Attic (the poems of Shel Silverstein); I still think of them from time to time now!
Brendan Lowe
Hi! I’m Brendan Lowe. I’m a former high school teacher, and I now lead Each Day Communications, a consulting shop that works with talented members of Gen Z to serve social impact organizations. I live in Spring Garden and am grateful for the chance to support the Waring school community. I’m a big fan of kids’ books, and picking a favorite is hard, but I do have a soft spot for Ada Twist, Scientist and its sibling books as well as Munsch classics like Paper Bag Princess and Love You Forever.
friendsofwaringelementary@gmail.com
Laura W. Waring Elementary School
1801 Green Street
Philadelphia, PA 19130
