Welcome America Inc.’s new interim CEO is local PR executive Nicole Cashman

Welcome America Inc., the nonprofit behind Philly’s Wawa Welcome America festival, has named Philly PR executive Nicole Cashman as its interim CEO.

The founder and CEO of communications firm Cashman and Associates, Cashman will take the reins from Michael DelBene, who served as CEO since 2019 and grew the July 4 festival and other large-scale events to new heights and a wider audience. DelBene left the organization earlier this year.

Cashman and Associates has worked with Welcome America Inc. for 25 years as its marketing and communications arm. This longstanding relationship and intimate knowledge of the organization led the decision to name Cashman as the new CEO.

“Nicole has spent her career helping tell Philadelphia’s story and bringing people together around the experiences that make our city extraordinary,” said Mayor Cherelle L. Parker, who chairs the Welcome America Inc. board of directors. “Nicole understands the important role Welcome America plays in our city, creating moments that bring together our communities, welcome visitors and showcase Philadelphia on a national and international stage.”

Cashman founded her agency in 2001 and has spent that time accumulating a portfolio of some of the city’s high-profile agencies and events, including Comcast, Adventure Aquarium, and Philabundance. She also previously served in leadership roles at Atlantic City Alliance and Visit Philadelphia.

The PR exec will join Welcome America Inc. as it transitions CEOs and prepares for the coming year’s slate of celebrated civic events and cultural experiences. Welcome America is a public-private partnership that receives city and state funding as well as corporate sponsorships. Parker and Councilmember Mark Squilla are board members.

“I have had the privilege of working alongside Welcome America for 25 years and have seen firsthand the extraordinary impact this organization has on Philadelphia and the region,” Cashman said. “ ...Welcome America means a great deal to me, and I’m excited to help guide it through this next chapter as we reimagine the organization for 2027 and beyond.”

Welcome America will look for a permanent CEO, Cashman said, as she will not fill the position longterm, just during the transition period between DelBene and the nonprofit’s next executive leader.

“Michael set the bar high. He was great to work with and I have enormous respect for what he accomplished — I want to build on that success,” Cashman said.

She will enter the role on the heels of the city’s decision this year to take over Philly’s Fourth of July concert and fireworks from Welcome America Inc. for the first time since 1993. The Parker administration ended up paying around $12 million more for its Fourth of July concert than Welcome America’s $3 million budget in years past. Parker’s “One Philly: Unity Concert for America,” in reference to her “One Philly: A United City” slogan, was slated to go much later into the night than previous years — a move some residents criticized as “not a family-friendly decision.”

Despite storm delays pushing the celebration into the early hours of July 5, ending around 2:50 a.m., the crowds that stuck through experienced Will Smith, the Roots, Meek Mill, and an extravagant fireworks display.

Cashman couldn’t say who would run 2027’s Fourth of July concert but did say Welcome America would surely be a part of the 16-day festival thrown each year.

Besides the Fourth of July festival, Welcome America also oversees the city’s official holiday tree in Dilworth Plaza. The 55-foot concolor firs, planted decades ago and brought into Philly each December, serve as a meeting place for holiday shopping and traditions, among the Christmas Village and other attractions scattered around City Hall.

This holiday celebration is what Cashman and Welcome America are moving full steam ahead on as planning is already underway, she said.

“We know how important this level of programming around the holidays is to the city, our partners, the public, and visitors,” Cashman said. “So, I’m really focusing on finalizing those plans, and that is our primary focus for the remainder of 2026.”