Work, respect and caring for your community

West End Profile: Korinne Gerhart

When we learned that Korinne Gerhart is the new president of the Little Bohemia Neighborhood Association, knowing that she had also been elected to the board of the West 7th/Fort Road Federation as an Area 1 Coordinator, we felt it was time for the wider community to know more about just the kind of community member we hope for — concerned, informed and active in community life.

Korinne was born in Philadelphia, where she grew up in a challenging childhood of many moves, family concerns, and dangers from all around — but she had dreams, and seemed to be aiming for a life of community service from an early age. She loved to read and was determined to be her family’s first college grad. She recalls being a Junior Block Captain, working on her neighborhood’s annual party and street cleanups, and later running for treasurer in high school. Volunteering was second nature. In high school, she received mentoring from the Philadelphia Futures, a college access and success program, from Pauline Abernathy, who believed in her and celebrated her along her journey.

As a freshman at Temple University, Korinne was offered a role with the Philadelphia Eagles’ Youth Partnership program, in its efforts to provide eyeglasses and books to youth in the Greater Philadelphia community. After graduating from Temple, she became the full-time coordinator of the program. Korinne met her husband-to-be, Micah, in the Eagles’ organization, as he worked as an athletic trainer for the team. She had advanced into the role of program manager for the Eagles Charitable Foundation.

In the spring of 2020, Micah needed to explore new opportunities in sports medicine, and strong possibilities in the Twin Cities emerged. He landed a job as an Athletic Trainer with Twin Cities Orthopedics. In July 2023, Korinne joined the University of Minnesota Foundation as a senior development officer on the heart, medicine, and surgery team, securing funding for research and patient assistance. She also volunteers with ACES — Athletes Committed to Educating Students — as a member of their Advisory Board and Save-A-Bull Rescue.

A year after arriving, they were ready to find a more permanent place to live, and the West End attracted them with its older, blue-collar feeling reminiscent of Philadelphia. They found a house in Little Bohemia and moved in December 2021. 

Korinne continues to take inspiration from her grandmother’s emphasis on work, respect, and caring for your community. She’s excited to be here and is working to meet, and be met, by her neighbors.