Power moves: Two new board chairs, and a whole lot of board changes in the past few months

1. UWGPSJ appointed John Salveson as regional board chair, named four new board members, and changed its regional board’s structure and practice.

John Salveson, the cofounder and principal of the Salveson Stetson Group, Inc, in October became the new regional board chair of the United Way of Greater Philadelphia and Southern New Jersey. He is set to serve for a two-year term.

According to the UWFGSNJ statement, in addition to the new chair’s association with the Salveson Stetson Group, he is the president of Salveson Leadership Advisors LLC, “which works with nonprofit CEOs and their boards on issues related to strategy and governance.”

Before cofounding Salveson Stetson in 1996, he served as VP and director of client services at Right Management Consultants, and holds both bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Notre Dame.

Salveson, who has been a member of UWGPSNJ’s regional board since 2009 and served as vice chair, led a governance task force to review the regional board’s structure and practices which resulted in bylaw changes that were adopted in September, including:

• adoption of a competency model to select and evaluate board members
• reduction in the size of the board
• realignment and streamlining of committees
• establishment of norms of engagement

“We’ve been diligently working to evolve our approach and build a regional board that better reflects the communities we serve.” Bill Golderer, CEO and president of UWGPSNJ said about the changes. “Strengthening our regional board’s recruitment efforts is a significant step towards creating a more inclusive culture.

In addition to Salveson, four new members of the regional board were recently appointed:

L to r: Dennis Pullin; Sarah Harris; Claire Marrazzo Greenwood; Mike Kerlin. (Courtesy photos)

• Dennis Pullin, president and CEO of Virtua Health, New Jersey
• Sarah Harris, VP of social impact at Entercom
• Claire Marrazzo Greenwood, executive director of the Chamber of Commerce for Greater Philadelphia’s regional CEO Council for Growth
• Mike Kerlin, partner at McKinsey & Company in Philadelphia

2. Susan Jacobson became the board chair at the Chamber of Commerce for Greater Philadelphia.

Susan Jacobson, the president of Jacobson Strategic Communications, became the Chamber of Commerce for Greater Philadelphia‘s board chair in October.  The last time a woman served as the chair for the organization’s board was in 2002.

According to the statement announcing her appointment, before launching her company in 2010, Jacobson served as deputy chief of staff in the administration of former Philadelphia Mayor Ed Rendell, and for 10 years served as the Executive VP at Tierney Communications.

Jacobson is the vice chair of the National PBS Foundation Board and is a commissioner on the Governor’s Pennsylvania Commission for Women. She is also a contributor to Forbes.com.

“We are thrilled Sue Jacobson will lead the Greater Philadelphia business and civic community at this critical juncture in our region’s history,” Chamber President and CEO Rob Wonderling said in the statement. “Her tremendous insight, intelligence and keen understanding of our region are critical as we forge a path to recover and reenergize the economy for all people in all neighborhoods.”

3. Five new members joined Musicopia’s and Dancing Classrooms Philly’s shared board of directors in October.

L to r: Kelley Arredondo; Dennis Creedon; Joshua Cruz; Scott Fast; Tim Kardish. (Courtesy photos)

Musicopia and Dancing Classrooms Philly announced in October that they had appointed five new members to their 31-member shared board of directors:

• Kelley Arredondo, director of human resources, Erickson Living
• Dr. Dennis W. Creedon, retired superintendent Mahopac Central School District
• Joshua Cruz, teaching artist, Musicopia Drumlines
• Scott Fast, general counsel, Day & Zimmermann Maintenance and Construction
• Tim Kardish, CEO, Gerard Daniel Worldwide

According to the statement about the appointments, “Musicopia’s mission is to provide opportunities for children to experience, learn, perform, and appreciate music. DCP’s mission is to foster self-esteem, social awareness and joy in children by providing the opportunity to learn and perform ballroom dance. Musicopia has served more than 350,000 students since its founding in 1974, and DCP has served more than 30,000 students since its founding in 2007.”

New member Joshua Cruz said via the announcement: “I’m so glad to be a member of the board. The love of music and being able to spread it in places I’ve grown up in is what brings me and keeps me going with Musicopia.”

4. Pathways to Housing PA named six new members to its board of directors in September.

L to r: Kelly A. Galardi; Lisa E. Griffin; Mark Salzer; Megan  Gibson; Jeff Gibbard; Pamela Vasquez. (Courtesy photos)

Six local professionals from across nonprofit and for-profit sectors became part of the 21-member board of directors of Pathways to Housing PA, an organization that uses the Housing First model to end chronic homelessness in Philadelphia.

New members:

• Kelly A. Galardi, owner, Kelly A. Galardi CPA LLC
• Lisa E. Griffin, senior VP for Patient Access, Thomas Jefferson University Health System
• Mark Salzer, professor of Social & Behavioral Sciences, Temple University
• Megan  Gibson, realtor, Coldwell Banker Welker
• Jeff Gibbard, strategist, speaker and founder of The Superhero Institute
• Pamela Vasquez, certified recovery specialist, ProAct. Recovery Overdose Survivor Engagement Program