Philadelphia Fed Appoints New Members to Economic and Community Advisory Council

For immediate release

Contact: Joey Lee, Media Relations Representative, 215-574-3840

Philadelphia, PA — The Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia has appointed two new members to its Economic and Community Advisory Council (ECAC), a committee that informs the Bank’s senior leadership team about emerging issues and market conditions in the Third Federal Reserve District and nationwide. The new members are Tony Allen, president of Delaware State University, and John E. Harmon Sr., founder, president, and CEO of the African American Chamber of Commerce of New Jersey.

Rochelle Cameron, CEO of the Philadelphia International Airport, has been appointed as chair of ECAC for 2021.

Created in 2008, the ECAC is composed of up to 15 leaders representing businesses of varying sizes and in different industry sectors as well as nonprofit organizations, philanthropic organizations, academic institutions, the public sector, and organized labor. The ECAC extends partnerships with organizations from the private and public sectors and fosters greater integration and collaboration to have a broader impact on the Third Federal Reserve District and to encourage economic growth.

As president of Delaware State University, Allen is committed to leading the university to become the most diverse and contemporary historically Black college or university (HBCU) in the nation. He previously served as the university’s executive vice president and provost. In this role, he reorganized the university’s academic colleges and the professional advising unit and developed new impact-oriented organizations, including the Center for Neighborhood Revitalization and Research and the Center for Global Africa.

Before joining Delaware State University, Allen worked at Bank of America as managing director of corporate reputation. Allen was the founding president of the Metropolitan Wilmington Urban League and cofounder of Public Allies Delaware. He also served as chair of the Wilmington Education Improvement Commission, chairperson for the United Way of Delaware’s $20 million annual charitable campaign, and chair emeritus of the National Urban Fellows.

Harmon has served as the founder, president, and CEO of the African American Chamber of Commerce of New Jersey (AACCNJ) since 2007, a role in which he is responsible for establishing, implementing, and executing the organization’s mission and for its fiduciary oversight and governance. He previously was the president and CEO of the Metropolitan Trenton African American Chamber of Commerce.

He is a board member and former board chairman of the National Black Chamber of Commerce, a board director at the United States Chamber of Commerce, a member of the United States Chamber of Commerce Committee of 100, and a founder and chairman of the New York State Black Chamber of Commerce.

The Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia helps formulate and implement monetary policy, supervises state member banks, bank holding companies, and savings and loan holding companies, and provides financial services to depository institutions and the federal government. It is one of the 12 regional Reserve Banks that, together with the Board of Governors in Washington, D.C., make up the Federal Reserve System. The Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia serves eastern and central Pennsylvania, southern New Jersey, and Delaware.