Joann Leszczynsky (Digitas Health) – President
Since 1983, Joann Leszczynsky has applied her writing talent to the needs of health communications and marketing, working for such local institutions as the Albert Einstein Healthcare Foundation and Crozer Health Systems. Joann is a graduate of the University of Delaware with a B.A. in Political Science/Journalism. In her first years out of college, Joann wrote for a number of daily and weekly newspapers. As a volunteer, she also has helped Women’s Way, captained a team for the AIDS Walk and tutored in a literacy program.
Bryn Michaels, Esq. (Penn Virginia Corp.) – Vice President/Secretary
Bryn L. Michaels, Esq., is an attorney at Penn Virginia Corporation, an independent oil and natural gas exploration and production company. Prior to joining Penn Virginia in 2007, Michaels was an associate in the Business & Finance Department atBallard Spahr Andrews & Ingersoll, where she was a member of the Hiring Committee, Securities Group and Investment Management Group. She is a graduate of the University of Maryland and the University of Pennsylvania Law School, where she served as Associate Editor and Articles Editor for the Journal of International Economic Law.
Jovan T. Goldstein, CPA (JTGoldstein Accountants & Business Advisors) – Treasurer
Jovan Goldstein is principal at JTGoldstein Accountants and Business Advisors. Previously, he was with Milligan & Company, one of the largest minority-owned CPA firms in the United States. He worked for the firm’s Audit & Assurance Department. Mr. Goldstein has more than a decade of audit, assurance and consulting experience, assisting small, medium and large-sized companies in areas such as management advisory, tax-credit partnerships and employee benefit plan services. Mr. Goldstein graduated with honors and received a B.S. in Accounting from Cheyney State University in Cheyney, Pa. He is a licensed Certified Public Accountant in Pennsylvania and a member of the American and Pennsylvania Institute of Certified Public Accountants.
Myra Brown (Consultant)
Myra Brown serves as a consultant to organizations using her expertise in family stabilization, parenting-skills enhancement, music and mentorship. She also has extensive human-resources and training experience and has done research on cultural competency and diversity-related issues. She earned her M.B.A. from Temple University and was a journalist earlier in her career.
Gregory Davis, CLU, ChFC, CFP, CPA (Lincoln Benefits Group)
Gregory Davis, CEBS, is Vice President of NFP Lincoln Benefits Group, where he helps solve individual and group problems through financial analysis and risk management. He attended Drexel University.
Courtenay R. Dunn, Esq. (Phelan Hallinan & Schmeig)
Courtenay Dunn, an attorney with the law firm of Phelan Hallinan & Schmeig in Philadelphia, joined our board as a full member in January 2013 after spending a year as our board observer. She attended West Chester University of Pennsylvania and Villanova University School of Law. Courtenay also sits on the board of the Villanova Law Alumni Association.
Avi Eden, Esq. (Retired)
Avi D. Eden is former Vice Chairman, Executive Vice President and General Counsel of Vishay Intertechnology, Inc., a leading manufacturer of electronic components. He was with Vishay since 1973 and served on its Board of Directors and Executive Committee. He also has worked in private law practice. Eden received a Bachelor of Arts and Economics from the University of Cincinnati in 1969, and a J.D. from Harvard Law School in 1972.
John J. Franchini, Esq. (Morgan, Lewis & Bockius, LLP)
John Franchini is a lawyer with the international law firm of Morgan, Lewis & Bockius. His practice focuses on a broad range of complex commercial litigation matters, with a particular emphasis on bankruptcy litigation and disputes relating to the value of assets, businesses, and real estate. Franchini regularly advises clients with regard to business development, litigation strategy, and bankruptcy matters. His practice also includes representation of professional firms on issues relating to bankruptcy retention and fee collection. Within the community, he serves as a member of the Board of Trustees of Lehigh University, the Board of Trustees for Saint Joseph High School, and is on the Board of Directors for the Will Rogers Washington Comedy Foundation. Franchini has authored professional legal articles and has been asked to address various audiences on issues ranging from success in the workplace to handling grief. Franchini recently addressed a high school student body following the tragic death of a student, and has been the keynote speaker at numerous commencement ceremonies and awards convocations. He is a graduate of Lehigh University and the University of Virginia School of Law.
Ronda B. Goldfein, Esq. (AIDS Law Project of Pennsylvania)
Ronda B. Goldfein, Esq., executive director of the AIDS Law Project of Pennsylvania, is a nationally recognized advocate for people living with HIV/AIDS. In December 2010, she was listed among the top 100 HIV/AIDS activists in theUnited Statesby POZ magazine and its website. In 2007, Goldfein was named “Policymaker of the Year” by the Penn Center for AIDS Research, a joint project of the University of Pennsylvania, the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and the Wistar Institute. In 2006, she was honored by Philadelphia FIGHT’s Jonathan Lax Treatment Center for chairing FIGHT’s Institutional Review Board, receiving a citation from the Pennsylvania House of Representatives noting “her exemplary record of service, in keeping with the highest ideals of this Commonwealth.” In 2005 she was voted a “Super Lawyer” in a poll of more than 36,000 Pennsylvania attorneys published jointly by Law & Politics and Philadelphia Magazine. Goldfein volunteers in a wide range of public service. In 2010, Mayor Michael Nutter appointed her to the Philadelphia Police Advisory Commission, the civilian oversight agency for the city’s police department. She is a vice president and member of the board of directors of the American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania, and a member of the board of directors of the ACLU’s Philadelphia chapter. A graduate of the University of Miami, she received her J.D. from the Shepard Broad Law Center of Nova Southeastern University in Fort Lauderdale and is admitted to the Bars of Pennsylvania, New Jersey and New York.
Darlene Harris (City of Philadelphia)
Darlene E. Harris has been involved with AIDS advocacy over the past 15 years through professional and volunteer affiliations with the U.S. Conference on AIDS, the HIV/AIDS Housing Advisory Committee, Circle of Care Pediatric AIDS, Family Planning Council of Southeast Pennsylvania and Spectrum Health Service’s community outreach and health care advocacy efforts. Most recently, Harris began serving as a consultant to Positive and Friends, an HIV/AIDS outreach, education, advocacy and testing project located in Pittsburgh. Harris is employed as an independent contractor in the areas of education and behavioral health through the Philadelphia Departments of Human Services and Behavioral Health. She also serves as a marketing and public relations associate with Denise Goring Artwear of New York City. She is an apprentice with the Good Shepherd Mediation Program seeking certification in the field of mediation. Harris earned a B.A. in communications and a graduate degree in public administration from the University of Pittsburgh. She is a native of Pittsburgh who now resides in the East Mt. Airy section of Philadelphia.
Mike Ippoliti (Knoll, Inc.)
Mike Ippoliti has been a sales representative at Knoll, Inc., a worldwide manufacturer of commercial furniture based in Pennsylvania, since 1999. Before that, he was a facilities manager for the former CoreStates Bank. He has a degree in interior design from the Art Institute of Philadelphia. Ippoliti, a Philadelphia native, was a volunteer at ActionAIDS when he became aware of the AIDS Law Project’s services, and met Executive Director Ronda Goldfein. He was invited to join the board in 2010, and accepted. Ippoliti is an avid traveler, having visited Spain, Egypt, and The Netherlands, among many other destinations.
Aretha Marshall (Dateline NBC)
Aretha Marshall is responsible for all aspects of casting and talent development for non-fiction programming and content at Peacock Productions. She also serves as an Executive Producer. Marshall is a 16-year veteran of NBC having worked as Managing Editor for the award winning prime time magazine Dateline. She has been awarded some of the industry’s most prestigious honors including the Alfred DuPont, Sigma Delta Chi, Murrow, IRIS and the National Association of Black Journalists awards. She is a graduate of Harvard University and holds a Master’s degree from Northwestern University.
Frank M. McClellan, Esq. (Temple University James E. Beasley School of Law)
Frank McClellan is Professor of Law Emeritus of the Beasley School of Law of Temple University, and serves as the Beck Chair Professor of Law. He is the Co-Director of the Center for Health Law, Policy and Practice and teaches courses on bioethics, medical malpractice, a law and medicine writing seminar, and torts. McClellan has lectured regularly and taught in interdisciplinary courses at Temple Medical School from 1981 to the present. He earned his J.D. degree from Duquesne, where he was a member of the law review, his A.B. Degree from Rutgers University, where he was in the Honors English Program, and his L.L.M. degree from Yale University, where he was awarded the Felix S. Cohen Prize in Jurisprudence. He served as a law clerk to Chief Judge William H. Hastie, of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, and an associate attorney with the Washington, D.C. law firm of Wilmer, Cutler and Pickering. Throughout his academic and professional career, McClellan has worked to protect the civil rights of marginalized groups and promote diversity and opportunities for minorities in academia, business and government.
Waheedah Shabazz-El (Philadelphia FIGHT)
Waheedah Shabazz-El is a Community Organizer and Trainer with the Community HIV/AIDS Mobilization Project (CHAMP). Shabazz-El is a retired postal worker who was diagnosed with AIDS in 2003. Since her diagnosis, she has become a fervent member of the social justice movement and an AIDS activist, advocate, educator and community organizer. Certified in HIV prevention, she is also an organizer and spokesperson for ACT-UP Philadelphia. Shabazz-El is a graduate of Project TEACH Outside and Project TEACH, educational advocacy programs at Philadelphia FIGHT. She is employed by Philadelphia FIGHT as an HIV counselor and tester and volunteers as a peer educator. She is an organizer for the Philadelphia County Coalition for Prison Health-Care, an editor of Prison Health newsletter, and a member of the PRHCN (Prison Re-Entry Health-Care Network). Shabazz-El is also a member of the Ryan White Positive Committee for Philadelphia’s Office of HIV Planning.
AIDS Law Project of Pennsylvania Board Observer: Kenny Oh (First Judicial District of Pennsylvania)
Kenny Oh is a member of the Board Observation Program, an initiative of the Philadelphia Bar Foundation, the Young Lawyers Division of the Philadelphia Bar Association, and the association’s Delivery of Legal Services Committee. The program gives young lawyers the opportunity to learn more about legal-service organizations and leadership skills needed to serve on the board of nonprofit organizations. Participants are observers, and not full voting board members of the organizations with which they are paired.
