Helen Gym

Helen Gym
Councilperson-At-Large Helen Gym
Philadelphia City councilperson
Incumbent
Assumed office January 2016
Preceded by	Jim Kenney
Member of the Philadelphia City Council from the At-Large District
Personal details
Born	c. 1968 (age 48–49) Seattle, Washington, United States
Political party	Democratic

Helen Gym (born c. 1968) is a Philadelphia City councilperson, the first Asian American woman to hold that position. A second-generation Korean, Gym is also a community organizer, journalist, former school teacher, and is on the board of Asian Americans United, a racial-justice and advocacy group.

Gym was born in Seattle, Washington then raised in Ohio near Columbus. Her parents were born in Korea, who in the 1960s, immigrated to the United States. Her father was a computer engineer working for Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company. Her mother worked in the food services department at Ohio State University. Gym has a younger sister. When Gym was growing up, the family attended the Protestant Korean Church.

In 1993, Gym graduated from the University of Pennsylvania where she majored in history. After leaving college, she went back to Ohio and worked for the Mansfield News Journal as a reporter.

Around 1994, she worked as a school teacher.

In 1995, she married Bret Flaherty, a lawyer. They now have three children.

In 1996, Gym completed her language acquisition master's degree at the University of Pennsylvania.

In January 2016, Gym replaced Jim Kenney as a Democratic member of the Philadelphia City Council on a platform of housing reform and education. As councilperson, she intends to ensure that Philadelphia's communities have an equal voice to wealthy entities and lobbyists. She plans to fight for a decent quality of life, especially for schoolchildren, workers, and those who are struggling, to combat hunger, lack of housing, and poverty.