City Council Members

Santo Napoli was born in Reading, PA, to parents who immigrated from Sicily, Italy, in the late 1960s.  His mother was a seamstress and his father was a machine operator.  Santo learned from his parents to work hard and to be humble.  Santo became the first in his family to attend college, graduating from Alvernia University in 1995 with a degree in Marketing.

Santo has operated numerous retail stores in Allentown, Reading and Easton but quickly learned Downtown Allentown is where he wanted to be.  For a few years he operated 3 different retail locations on Hamilton Street and his latest creation assembly88 has won “Best Men’s Shop of the Lehigh Valley” four times.  Due to popular demand a women’s assembly88 is scheduled to open fall 2023 in a vacant storefront next door.

Santo serves on numerous boards across Allentown, which have given him exposure to a diverse array of community stakeholders.  Miriam Huertas recruited Santo to volunteer with the Downtown Allentown Business Alliance (DABA) in 2013, and he has been serving as chair of the board since 2017.  At DABA, Santo was instrumental in implementing the Allentown Merchant Program (AMP) card, which is a gift card that must be spent in Downtown Allentown. To date, the program has brought over $325,000 in revenue to downtown merchants. In 2015, DABA named Santo Volunteer of the Year for his role in creating the AMP card.  In 2018, Mayor Ray O’Connell appointed him to the Allentown Parking Authority Board, and in 2019, Santo was asked to serve on the Allentown Chamber of Commerce Board.  In 2023 Allentown City Council voted to appoint Santo to serve the remaining term of a vacated seat.

Santo lives in the Allentown West End with his wife, Jasmine and a 3^rd grader in the Allentown School District.  Santo feels a strong connection to his Sicilian roots, so he frequently travels back to Italy to see his family. He spends free time during the summer gardening and Sundays in the fall at Lincoln Financial Field with his childhood friends cheering on the Eagles.

Dr. Cynthia Mota is a graduate of Dieruff High School and an Allentown resident of Dominican descent.  Dr. Mota believes in the power of people and that Allentown’s power lies in the beautiful tapestry of our diversity.  Cynthia states “I serve the people, giving a voice to the voiceless.   We are a diverse community that can accomplish great things, when we all work together.” 

Cynthia received her Bachelor Degree from East Stroudsburg University, her Master’s Degree from Pacific Oaks College and received her Doctorate Degree in Clinical Psychology from Logos University.

Cynthia began her career in human services while in college, working as a mentor while studying in East Stroudsburg.  After receiving her Master’s Degree, she worked as a Peer and Youth Counselor and a tutor in the Highline School District in Seattle, Washington area.

Cynthia volunteers with many non-profits and neighborhood groups throughout the Valley.  She is on the Board of Directors for Valley Youth House and the Dominican Cultural Association of the United of America.  She has also served her community as a member of Allentown City Council since 2012.   Cynthia is currently the President of Allentown City council. Through her work at City Hall, she has established Allentown’s Hispanic Heritage Month, Black History Month, collaborated to help bring Women’s History Month to City Hall and introduced a proclamation to celebrate Indigenous People’s Day instead of Columbus Day.  She also provides free CPR training classes to the Community.  As the former Community Manager for Promise Neighborhoods Lehigh Valley, Dr. Mota led the organization in the development, implementation, management coordination, assessment and on-going administration of services provided by partners to children and families in the community. 

Cynthia is the CEO of CM Multiservice, a company that assists people in becoming US citizens, officiates weddings and helps people get adjusted to life in the US. Dr. Mota is the Executive Director of Light on the Horizon. Light on the Horizon is a nonprofit that is dedicated to serving the needs and hearts of the people.

Candida Affa is a small business owner who dedicates her free time to volunteering and knows what it takes for businesses to succeed and for Allentown to thrive.

The owner of Candida’s Bar in Old Allentown for 35 years.

Co-founded Fighting AIDS Continuously Together (FACT) of the Lehigh Valley in 1986 and has raised more than $2 million to support individuals and families affected by HIV.

Tutors and started programs that teach children how to keep their neighborhood clean and get good grades in school.

Vice Chair of the Allentown Parking Authority Board of Directors, serves as a member of the city’s Disruptive Conduct Board of Appeals and the Blighted Property Review Board.

Affa has lived in the City of Allentown for over 45 years and married her partner, Kim Danish of 25 years in December 2014.

Jeremy was born in Allentown and raised in the Trexlertown area. He was a member of one of the last classes to graduate from the older Parkland High School. He attended Eastern University in Philadelphia before transferring to Full Sail University in Florida, where he graduated with an A.S. in Show production.

He worked for Vistacom, a global audio and video integrator early in his career before pivoting to the field of information technology. His career took him to Boston in 2008, where he met his partner, Dr. Sherri Brokopp Binder. After working several years in Boston, he followed Sherri to Hawai‘i where she was pursuing her PhD. Jeremy and Sherri relocated to Allentown in 2013, where Jeremy served as Director of IT for a local security firm. He moved into security consulting in 2018 and is now the owner and managing director of Concentric Solutions, a security consulting firm located in Allentown.

Jeremy has been active in community groups and organizations throughout his life and is focused on how local communities can work to support each other and make a difference. He has volunteered with multiple political campaigns both locally and nationally. These experiences gave him an appreciation of the importance of ensuring local communities have a voice and ultimately motivated him to run for City Council.

Jeremy is an avid road cyclist and enjoys working on house projects and helping others leverage technology to make life easier.

Pronouns She/Her

Ce-Ce currently works for the Pennsylvania Justice Alliance as a Facilitator. She has worked in the Lehigh Valley as a therapist, teacher and mentor at various non-profits. Ce-Ce also served 8 years on the Allentown School Board prior to her service on City Council. 

Ce-Ce believes that people closest to the pain should be closest to the power. As a working-class first-time homeowner who has experienced homelessness, Ce-Ce's number one priority is housing. Housing is a human right. 

Ce-Ce is a social justice activist and organizer. She has supported and led campaigns focused on housing justice and criminal justice. Ce-Ce proudly marched with Black Lives Matter in 2020 and called for local reform. Recently, she supported organizers working to start a community response team to help people in a mental health crisis. She also helped lead an effort to end solitary confinement in Lehigh County Jail. 

Ce-Ce enjoys listening to people's challenges and then addressing them through policy. She understands that systems and institutions fall short far too often and as a legislator it is her responsibility to address those areas of failure. 

Ce-Ce is the first person in her family to finish high school and graduate from college. In 2008, she earned her degree from Cedar Crest College. She lives in Center City with her three cats, a dog and her Mom who recently moved in with her. 

Cristian was born and raised in Allentown and is a first-generation Latino American. Growing up as the son of immigrant parents, he learned early on the value of hard work, responsibility, and giving back to the community.

He graduated from William Allen High School, where he saw firsthand the challenges facing Allentown’s public schools. Support from teachers, mentors, and community involvement helped shape his path after high school.

After graduating in 2016, he attended Temple University in Philadelphia, where he earned a degree in Construction Engineering Technology. His college experience was not traditional and included stepping away from school for a period before returning to complete his degree. That experience helped shape his perspective on perseverance and the importance of creating opportunities for students from working-class and first-generation backgrounds.

During college, he completed an internship with Alvin H. Butz, Inc. in Allentown, which led to a full-time role as a Project Engineer. In this role, he has worked on secondary education and healthcare construction projects, gaining practical experience in how development and infrastructure affect communities.

He is actively involved in the community and serves on several nonprofit boards, including the United Way Emerging Leaders Cabinet, the William Allen Arts Alliance, and the William Allen Enhancement Project. Through this work, he supports mentorship, education, and career exposure opportunities for local students.

His professional background and community involvement inform his work and reflect a continued commitment to Allentown and its residents.

Born in Bronx, New York and raised mostly in both Bethlehem and Allentown, Natalie has lived in Allentown since 2010. She graduated from Dieruff High School in 2018. Santos graduated from Kutztown University of Pennsylvania in December of 2021 with a Bachelor of Science in Psychology with minors in Spanish and Sociology. Natalie is of Dominican descent and is bilingual. In 2020, she was inspired to take action and run for council by the Black Lives Matter protests she participated in hosted by local organizations. She understood that one of the most effective ways to create change is by being in a position of power and inspiring other young voices to do the same. Natalie hopes to start her career in therapy and eventually become a licensed ABA therapist for people on the autism spectrum. Natalie is the youngest person so far to be elected on to Allentown City Council at the age of 21 years old.