This week 215PA welcomes Caitlin Fritz, as the new Managing Director. Caitlin first came to 215 People’s Alliance as a volunteer, canvassing in Northeast Philadelphia for a progressive slate of candidates for city-council at-large. Now, she will be overseeing the daily operations and implementation of 215PA’s mission. Caitlin is a passionate advocate for education justice, with a history of working with public schools in Philadelphia. Prior to coming on board with 215PA, Caitlin was the Manager of K-16 Partnerships at PHENND (Philadelphia Higher Education Network for Neighborhood Development) at the University of Pennsylvania, where she supported the development of university and K-12 partnerships across the city. Through this work Caitlin joined the Community Schools Task Force of PCAPS (Philadelphia Coalition Advocating for Public Schools) and is currently a co-researcher in the Philadelphia Education Justice Research Collaborative.

A native VIrginian, Caitlin came to Philadelphia as an undergraduate at Saint Joseph’s University (B.S. Environmental Science) and went on to Massachusetts where she received a M.A. in Community Development and Planning from Clark University. While in graduate school as a community organizer, Caitlin started a garden with middle school youth that not only transformed her relationship with vegetables, but led to a passion for community gardens as organizing spaces. Besides organizing for social change, Caitlin loves cooking, gardening, Philadelphia sports, and painting, despite being colorblind.