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.).

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.

Dominique B. E. Ward is an Assistant Vice President and Senior Counsel at Lincoln Financial Group in Retirement Plan Services based in Radnor, PA. In her current role, she primarily provides legal guidance to Lincoln’s business partners responsible for providing retirement plan products and services.

Prior to joining Lincoln Financial, Ms. Ward served as an Associate Attorney at Jennings Sigmond, P.C., a boutique law firm specializing in multiemployer benefit plans, and worked on an assortment of employee benefits and tax law issues. She also served as a Deputy City Solicitor in the Major Tax Unit at the City of Philadelphia Law Department, where she handled tax litigation regarding the Internal Revenue Code, City of Philadelphia Code, and associated regulations.

Ms. Ward has served as faculty for various professional training programs and continued learning education seminars on assorted topics ranging from “Tax Controversy” to “The Women, Diversity & Law: Awareness into Action Summit.”

Recently, she was appointed to the Board of Trustees of the Community of College of Philadelphia and currently serves on several other boards, such as: the City of Philadelphia Labor Standards Board and Tax Review Board, the Foundation of the National Bar Association Women Lawyers Division – Philadelphia Chapter, and as a Board of Director of Philadelphia VIP. Lastly, she is a former president of The Barristers’ Association of Philadelphia, Inc., an organization founded to address the professional needs of Black lawyers in the City of Philadelphia, and past member of the Philadelphia Bar Association Judicial Commission and the Board of Governors.

At Lincoln Financial Group, she also serves as co-lead of the Radnor/Philadelphia African American Business Resource Group chapter.

Previously, Ms. Ward was awarded the Outstanding Young Lawyer Award from the Barristers’ Association of Philadelphia, Inc. In 2021, Ms. Ward was named as a 2020 Lawyer on the Fast Track by the Legal Intelligencer and as one of Philadelphia’s 2020 Most Influential Leaders by The Philadelphia Tribune.

Ms. Ward received her LL.M in Taxation and Certificate in Employee Benefits from Temple University Beasley College of Law, J.D. from Florida International University College of Law, and Bachelors in Business Administration from the University of Miami, where she majored in International Finance and Marketing and minored in Accounting.