1. Phoenicia Wallace becomes executive director, the second in PLSE history.

Philadelphia Lawyers for Social Equity (PLSE) announced that Phoenicia D.W. Wallace has been appointed its new executive director. She is the second to hold the post, following Mike Lee, who was one of the organization’s founders and left PLSE to become director of legislation and public affairs for District Attorney Larry Krasner.

Wallace was most recently a deputy attorney general for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, serving in the Bureau of Consumer Protection. A lifelong Philadelphian, currently a resident of Germantown, she took part in the entrepreneurship program at Temple University’s Fox School of Business, the Peace Corps in Kenya, the district office of State Senator Anthony H. Williams and the legislative office of City Councilman Kenyatta Johnson. She also served four years as a staff attorney and law clerk within the Philadelphia Court System.

For two years, Wallace was the weekly host of “Universally Speaking” on WURD, and serves on the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency and the Federal Judicial Advisory Panel for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, and speaks Swahili and Spanish.

2. Philadelphia Foundation names Melissa Squarcia Fordyce the executive director of marketing and communications.

Melissa Squarcia Fordyce. (Courtesy)

The Philadelphia Foundation announced it has hired Melissa Squarcia Fordyce as its new executive director of marketing and communications. Fordyce, a respected marketing executive with a history of deep engagement in nonprofit and community leadership. joins the Philadelphia Foundation team during its pivotal centennial year.

Fordyce most recently served as the drector of communications for a local senior living community nonprofit, Presby’s Inspired Life. Her prior positions include special events and communications manager for the Catholic Leadership Institute, and assignment editor at WCAU NBC 10 Philadelphia. She is currently an adjunct professor at Temple University.

Fordyce attended Villanova University and graduated with a major in communications. She is a board member of the Villanova University Communication Affinity Network (VCAN) and an active member of the Philadelphia Public Relations Association (PPRA).

3. Zakiyyah Boone named chief program officer of Montgomery Early Learning Centers.

Zakiyyah Boone. (Courtesy)

Montgomery Early Learning Centers named Zakiyyah Boone its chief program officer. Boone will be responsible for the programmatic direction of the organization’s five high-quality early childhood education programs, its kindergarten program and its five out-of-school time programs.

Boone has served as an early childhood and youth development professional for the past 22 years. Most recently, she was vice president of early childhood at the Greater Philadelphia YMCA. She holds a bachelor’s degree in elementary education from Millersville University and a master’s in business administration from Kaplan University.

4. Lisa Washington becomes senior VP and chief legal officer of WSFS Bank in Delaware.

Lisa Washington. (Courtesy)

Lisa Washington, a longtime resident of Philadelphia, has been named senior vice president and chief legal officer of WSFS Bank. In this newly created role, Washington will oversee the enterprise-wide legal operations.

Washington joined WSFS Bank after 13 years at the Atlas Energy Group, where she served as vice president, chief legal officer, and corporate secretary. Prior to Atlas, she was a corporate associate with Blank Rome LLP, and began her career as a litigation associate at Fox Rothschild LLP, all located in Philadelphia.

Washington holds a law degree. from the University of Pennsylvania Law School, a master’s degree in public policy and finance from The Wharton School, and an associate’s degree in comparative literature from Princeton University.

She serves as vice-chair of the board of directors of JEVS Human Services, and is a member of the President’s Advisory Council of Princeton University and a member of the board of directors of the Rosenbach Museum and Free Library in Philadelphia.