Power moves: Leadership departures announced at the African American Museum and Public Interest Law Center

1. Patricia Wilson Aden, president and CEO of the African American Museum, announces her resignation.

The African American Museum in Philadelphia (AAMP) recently announced the resignation of its president and CEO, Patricia Wilson Aden, effective at the end of September.

Aden will become the president and CEO of the Blues Foundation, in Memphis, TN.

“My departure from AAMP is bittersweet,” Aden said in the emailed announcement. “I am proud to have worked with the board and the dedicated staff of the museum to implement a transformational strategy that has heightened recognition of AAMP as the Philadelphia region’s foremost African American cultural asset. As I leave to join the Blues Foundation, I am confident that that AAMP’s trajectory of success will only continue.”

Aden joined the AAMP staff in 2010 as senior vice president, and became the president and CEO of the museum in 2012. Prior to joining AAMP, she served as the executive director of the Rhythm and Blues Foundation; director of the Mid-Atlantic Regional Office of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, president of the Preservation Alliance of Greater Philadelphia; and executive director of the DC Preservation League.

She has also served on the boards of the Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance, the Pennsylvania Humanities Council, the Pennsylvania Abolition Society and the Smithsonian Affiliates Advisory Council, as well as a panelist for the National Endowment for the Arts.

Aden holds a bachelor’s degree from Spelman College, a master’s degree from Cornell University, and an honorary doctorate from Davis & Elkins College.

At the same time as AAMP announced Aden’s resignation, it announced that Sabrina Brooks, senior manager of workforce development at PECO, has been elected chair of the board of directors. In addition, three new members have been elected to the board:

• Alex Alston — senior VP, co-head of Private Placements, Macquarie Group
• Nicole Dye-Anderson — assistant VP, Media Relations, Barclays
• Greg Deavens – executive VP, chief financial officer, and treasurer, Independence Health Group (Independence Blue Cross)

2. Jennifer Clarke, executive director of the Public Interest Law Center, will step down at the end of 2020.

After a 14-year tenure, Jennifer Clarke, executive director of the Public Interest Law Center, has announced that she plans to step down at the end of 2020.

“It has been a deep privilege to lead this organization for the past 14 years,” Clarke said in the announcement of the decision. “Working with our supportive board, collaborating with an extraordinarily talented staff and building strong alliances in our local and national community have been the most fulfilling professional experiences of my career. I am proud of our record of success, and it is time to hand the baton to a new leader as I enter a new phase of my life in 2021.”

Clarke joined the Public Interest Law Center after 15 years as a partner, and four years as an associate at the law firm Dechert LLP. Prior to that she was an associate at the White and Case law practice.

She was a founding member of TakeActionPhilly; a founder and officer of the Caring Center; a trustee of the Women’s Law Project; a director of the Pennsylvania Innocence Project; a steering committee member and chair of The Spring Gardens; and a co-chair of the Civil Legal Justice Coalition.

Clarke holds a bachelor’s degree from Dartmouth College, and a law degree from Columbia University School of Law, where she was an editor of the Columbia Law Review.

The board of directors of the Law Center also announced it has appointed a seven-member search/transition committee to conduct the search for Clarke’s successor, and has engaged the national executive search firm of Isaacson Miller.