Mayor Ed Pawlowski
Mayor Pawlowski is a leader with skills honed by experience. A center-city Allentown resident for nearly a decade, Ed knows first-hand both the challenges and the potential of Allentown, and he cares passionately about the future of the city he has made his home.

Arriving in Allentown with an already impressive resume, Ed went to work as President/CEO of the nonprofit Alliance for Building Communities, resuscitating a dormant agency and transforming it into a regional force for the creation of affordable housing and stable neighborhoods. Ed takes pride in having helped thousands of people fulfill the American dream of home ownership and having assisted a dozen or more Lehigh Valley communities foster economic development and investment.

Moving to City Hall as director of Community and Economic Development, Ed oversaw five municipal departments, reorganized the Bureau of Permits and Licensing to make it more customer-friendly, and marshaled more than $100 million in private-sector investment for the city while consistently operating his department under budget.

Prior to settling his young family in Allentown, Ed ran a college ministry, worked as a community organizer on Chicago's south side and held jobs with Lutheran Social Services of Illinois and Windows of Opportunity, an affiliate of the Chicago Housing Authority. He received his master's degree in urban planning and public policy from the University of Illinois and his bachelor's degree from the Moody Bible Institute in Chicago, where he met his wife, Lisa. They have two young children, Mercy and Alex.