Meet CCPC's New Board Member
Posted March 19, 2024
Each member of Chester County Planning Commission's Advisory Board brings an abundance of knowledge to the county, and we are excited to welcome CCPC's newest Board Member, Frank Furman!
While not from Chester County per se (though he currently lives in Willistown Township), Frank grew up just over Chester County's border in Newtown Square. In 2003 he left to attend the Naval Academy, which led to various opportunities and locations following his time there.
Frank was a Marine Corps Infantry officer (deploying twice to Afghanistan, but mostly stationed in California and DC), a management consultant with McKinsey in London, and most recently, a co-founder of a PropTech startup in Atlanta, GA., where he spent the last 7 years. Now, he works in Corporate Strategy for TE Connectivity, and notes, "I always wanted to move back home, and did this past summer. I currently live in Willistown with my wife Caelyn, and our four children."
Upon moving back to the area, Frank was looking for a way to get involved with the community and find out what's going on — which brought him to the CCPC Board!
"Honestly part of what drew me to the role is that having worked in a real-estate/real-estate-adjacent start-up, I've seen how the lack of competent and accountable planning can result in adverse downstream impacts: inefficient and inconsistent permitting, or under- and over-development," he noted. "Chester County is way ahead of most other places, so I'm mostly happy to learn and not screw things up."
In addition to the CCPC Board, Frank also serves on Willistown's Parks & Recreation Commission, and is a Start-up Mentor at Wilmington's Innovation Lab.
Though most of Frank's time is spent with his wife and four young children, he also enjoys running, reading, and cooking — as well as having a regular pickup basketball game — in his free time.
So far, his favorite places in Chester County include the Paoli Battlefield and walking into Malvern Borough to visit the local restaurants.
We look forward to working with Frank!