‘A tremendous honor’: Winder begins journey as Montgomery County commissioner
Human services, employee compensation priority subjects for Winder as she starts job
NORRISTOWN >> Jamila Winder made it through her first board meeting as a Montgomery County Commissioner, and she’s ready to hit the ground running.
The 44-year-old former East Norriton Township supervisor was selected to fill a seat left vacant by former Chairwoman Val Arkoosh. Winder was sworn in February 1.
“I’m feeling really grateful and blessed. It’s just a tremendous honor to be able to be a part of Montco history, and be able to give of myself to this great county,” she said in an interview Thursday afternoon.
Winder joined the now complete trio of county commissioners for their first time on Thursday, Feb. 2, as they convened as a team. Sitting with Democrat Ken Lawrence Jr. and Republican Joe Gale, the meeting began with a reorganization. Lawrence was elected chairman, Winder, also a Democrat, became vice chairwoman and Gale remained the minority commissioner.
“When you’re on a board, it requires teamwork,” Winder said. “You’re not always going to agree on the things that you need to accomplish —whether it be your fiduciary responsibilities, or setting policies, or working on certain contracts— but my ability to build consensus, to work together as a team, I think lends itself well.”
Priorities for job
Employee recruitment, finance and social services are just some of the areas Winder said she hopes to explore further as an elected county official.
When learning of Arkoosh’s resignation from county government to serve as human services secretary in Gov. Josh Shapiro’s cabinet last month, she decided to apply for the job. populations: our seniors, our children, those that are struggling with addiction and mental health, those that are being reoriented coming out of our criminal justice system, and I believe my upbringing, my values, coupled with my professional experience and my governing experience, I was like why not raise my hand and see if they picked me,” Winder said.
Winder was one of 22 candidates when the application window closed on Jan. 23. She treated the experience “like any job interview,” stressing the importance of preparation, which she said involved research to get a better understanding of “some of the challenges that existed, (and) talking to key stakeholders so that when I put my best foot forward.”
Montgomery County Court of Common Pleas President Judge Carolyn Tornetta Carluccio presided over the appointment process, and a board of judges interviewed candidates and ultimately chose Winder.
“I was thrilled when I got the call,” Winder said, recalling she “was sitting in a Starbucks parking lot and getting ready to go in and order” her favorite iced caramel macchiato.
Packed house of support
The Montgomery County Courthouse courtroom was filled with friends, family members, staff, and elected officials on Wednesday, Feb. 1, watching Carluccio oath of office to Winder as she agreed faithfully to serve the county’s roughly 860,000 residents. Winder had one hand raised with the other placed on a Bible held by her husband, Kevin Mitchell.
Winder has been a resident of East Norriton Township for more than four decades. Her family came to Montgomery County in 1983 by way of Philadelphia. Her father was a deputy warden at the former Pennsylvania Correctional Institute at Graterford, now SCI Phoenix, and her mother an educator at the School District of Philadelphia.
After graduating from Norristown Area High School in 1997, Winder went on to receive a bachelor’s degree in communications from Penn State in 2001, and an MBA in management from Eastern University in 2008. Winder has a son and two stepchildren.
Winder’s interest in public service grew with her involvement in local government. She was first elected to the Norristown Area School Board in 2017. After serving there for three years, she moved on to the East Norriton Township Board of Supervisors in 2020 where she was elected as the township’s first Black supervisor. She held her post for three years and was promoted to chairwoman of the board prior to her appointment to county commissioner.
Winder currently works as the vice president of the U.S. Market for Lecturio, an online medical education resource firm. It’s a role she’ll continue throughout her time in office.
Balancing roles
Working in her management position remotely, Winder said she plans to balance being “a good civil servant, while still doing the things that I enjoy in terms of working at an education technology company.”
Winder calls herself a “lifelong learner,” and as she gets her newfound footing in county government, she stressed the importance of cultivating relationships.
“Regardless of the things that I come to the table with from my past 20 years of governing and private sector experience, I’m going to lean on my colleagues that have been here before me, but also not be afraid to challenge the status quo, bring my own point of view, bring my own perspectives,” Winder said.
The historic appointment made Winder the county’s first Black female commissioner. She reflected on an excerpt from Dr. Martin Luther King’s “I have a dream” speech in her opening comments at her first commissioners’ meeting.
“‘I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character,’ she said of King’s speech. “And so yesterday Dr. King’s dream was alive and well, and I was so honored to celebrate with county staff, leaders from the county, my family, my friends, this amazing moment.”
Strengths and assets
When asked about her strengths, Winder’s answers ranged from personal to professional experiences that she said she feels will be assets to the board.
“Certainly just bringing that diverse perspective,” she said. “Not in terms of the color of my skin or that I’m a woman. Those things are important to have representation on boards, but also my lived experiences I think lend itself well.”
As a “working mom,” Winder also cares for her disabled, senior parents. She added that her brother had his own “struggles with addiction,” but she said his affiliation with the IBEW Local 98 electricians union has been a positive influence.
“I’ve seen it in my brother’s transformation,” Winder said. “Someone that has dealt with addiction, and was a college grad, and unfortunately got caught up in addiction, and the union gave him a second chance.”
Observing the multitude of contracts brought up for review at the meeting, as well as other large scale county projects in the works, Winder stressed she wants “to make sure that we’re hiring responsible contractors, that we’re partnering with our friends in labor to give residents in Montgomery County an opportunity … to build a skill and to have a livable wage, and then be able to become part of that American dream.”
While the county employees more than 2,800 people, addressing mounting vacancies is top of mind for Winder.“We’re in a war for talent, and sometimes government roles don’t pay as much as the private sector,” she said. “So I want to make —in partnership with my colleagues— make people want to come to work here, and that requires a really thoughtful human resources strategy.
“That requires culture that honors diversity. It requires thoughtfulness around how we compensate people, but that is certainly a priority,” she continued. “Because if we don’t retain good talent, we won’t be able to provide the wide range of services and supports to our residents.”
Human services need
“At the core of everything I will do will be focus on ensuring that we’re supporting our residents, and that the most vulnerable populations — whether they’re homeless, or they’re seniors living on a fixed income, or they’re coming out of Montgomery County Correctional Facility — that our Health and Human Services, and our programs continue to get supported, both financially, and thoughtfully, coming up with new programming and partnerships,” she said.
Winder is also looking to the budget cycle in the months ahead. Montgomery County adopted a $530.7 million general fund budget for fiscal year 2023, which included an 8 percent real estate tax increase.
“So really getting deep in how we’re spending our money. Are there areas where we can make adjustments because at the end of the day you’ve got seniors, you’ve got people that are living paycheck to paycheck, and tax increases affect them in unfortunate ways,” Winder said.
“I certainly can only imagine the challenge that our commissioners office and our finance people faced in terms of doing the budget this past year … but I just think I’ll bring a different voice, and try to think through some ways, alternative ways, to alleviate some of that,” she continued.
As Winder gains experience, November isn’t far from her mind. She intends to hit the campaign trail to hold onto her seat in the upcoming general election.
“I don’t plan on only being here for 11 months, and (I) hope as the months go by that I’ll earn the voters’ confidence — because I recognize I’ll have to run for election that I’m the right person for the job,” Winder said.