Charleston City Council member Jennifer Pharr never planned to move back to her

hometown. She lived in Los Angeles, Cincinnati, Charlotte, and most recently, Atlanta before
moving back with her son, then eight years old.
“We thought we were coming here for a summer, and he fell in love with rabbits, deer, and
squirrels… and so we stayed,” she said. Her life here in Charleston was almost unplanned, but
it all worked out nevertheless. Now she is making a difference in the city of Charleston.
Just as her transition to Charleston was unplanned, Pharr also faced an unplanned
obstacle. She faced and battled major health problems years ago.
“When I was nineteen I developed a tumor in my brain… and it was like every three to
five years I had to deal with the circumstances,” she said.
She battled these health issues for many years, and the pain became so terrible at times
that it took her eighteen years to get her degree because she was only able to take two or three
classes at a time. She was told she would not be able to have children in the future, but she was
lucky enough to have a son. In hindsight, if it were not for her son, she might not even be in
Charleston. With these obstacles thrown her way, she persevered and is now helping the city of
Charleston improve and thrive.
While she is a proud member of the city council, she also has a love for real estate.
When she lived in Atlanta she wanted to do something on the side, and decided to get involved
with real estate after hearing about a program offered at Georgia State. The courses she took
opened her eyes to a world of different business opportunities linked with community
development. She enjoys walking into a building and imagining what it could become twenty or
thirty years later. She helped transform an old gym in Charleston to a bakery called Rock City
Cake Company, and was involved throughout the whole development process. "You could text
her any hour of any day and she would be there instantly with an answer or with help," says the
manager for Rock City Cake Company. She took what she knew the company loved and
connected it to the space she found, and explained her vision to the owners. Today, they are not
only a bakery, but a music venue as well. It is evident that Pharr goes the extra mile for the city
of Charleston. “What is so great about her is she is thorough… She is one of those council
people who are out there talking to the neighbors, talking to the business owners, trying to make
sure this is the right decision...not everyone does that,” says Chairperson Mary Beth Hoover.
Her vision and plans for the future of the city of Charleston is simple. "My future plans
include more economic development and revitalization. I would like to see Charleston become
less of a vehicular transportation type community and more of something that involves walking,
biking, or some other form of public transportation," says Pharr.