2024 Integrity Icon Adara Combs

The first-ever director of Philly’s Office of Victim Advocate has parlayed a decade in the DA’s office to bring dignity and much-needed help to victims and their communities Working at the District Attorney’s Office for 11 years will teach you a lot about the resources that exist — and don’t — for victims of gun violence in Philadelphia. Adara Combs can speak to the personal side of crime as well. “The prosecution is just one chapter in the victim or co-victim’s story,” Combs says. “The journe [...]

2024 Integrity Icon Adara Combs2026-01-28T12:32:26+00:00

2024 Integrity Icon Eric Kapenstein

The Deputy City Commissioner helping to oversee election integrity and efficacy cut his teeth in 2020 — and is ready to bring that fairness and accuracy to our next big election Eric Kapenstein joined the City Commissioners office — the department that runs our elections — six years ago as an entry level clerk. The Northeast Philly native was excited for the job: He was seeking a change from “the ugliness,” he says, of his government relations gig in Washington, D.C. Plus, he got to come home [...]

2024 Integrity Icon Eric Kapenstein2026-01-28T12:32:23+00:00

Who Are The Most Outstanding City Workers?

Written by Jessica Blatt Press at the Philadelphia Citizen Whatever your feelings about the new administration, you have to admit: The November presidential election in Philadelphia ran totally smoothly — no rumors of tampering, no threats of interference, no claims about corruption. It was an election success story — in no small part thanks to Deputy Commissioner Eric Kapenstein and his hardworking team. “Our staff did a phenomenal job under a big international spotlight, and I’m happy to have [...]

Who Are The Most Outstanding City Workers?2025-02-05T08:36:15+00:00

Introducing our 2022 Integrity Icon Philadelphia winners!

Article originally published in The Philadelphia Citizen  By Roxanne Patel Shepelavy Are you, like me, looking for a reason to find hope amidst what can often seem like the rubble of our public life? Well, I’m happy to say you’ve come to the right place. Because I am here with not one, but five reasons to be inspired.Namely, our 2022 Philadelphia Integrity Icons: Rebecca Lopez Kriss, a deputy commissioner in the City’s Revenue Department Lori Maple Hayes, director of urban forestry Stephanie Rid [...]

Introducing our 2022 Integrity Icon Philadelphia winners!2022-05-16T11:11:48+00:00

Integrity Icon Philly Awards Ceremony

We celebrated the public servants named the first-ever heroes of high integrity in Philly—and the country. See why they are role models for all of us. BY JESSICA BLATT PRESS What is Integrity? To the five local heroes we honored on Friday night as the first-ever Integrity Icons in Philadelphia—and the country—it means many things, all of them inspiring. “Integrity is not something you do, it’s who you are,” said Richard Gordon IV, the principal at Paul Robeson High School. Gordon, who was also n [...]

Integrity Icon Philly Awards Ceremony2022-05-16T11:11:57+00:00

Who Is Philly’s Integrity Icon?

BY JESSICA BLATT PRESS Remember March? Before the world imploded, back on March 2nd, The Citizen announced the launch of Integrity Icon, a contest in partnership SEAMAAC, WURD Radio, United Way of Greater Philadelphia and Southern New Jersey, and D.C.-based Accountability Lab to name the publicly-paid workers in Philly who show the highest amount of integrity in their jobs. We called for citizens to submit their nominations. Then, we asked a panel of judges to review them, and narrow down the ca [...]

Who Is Philly’s Integrity Icon?2022-05-16T11:12:07+00:00
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