Board of Directors

President

Aaron V. Skrypski is a lawyer who has represented clients in complex commercial disputes, mass torts, class actions, government investigations, consumer fraud actions, and patent disputes.  While he has worked across a broad range of industries, much of his practice has focused on the healthcare, insurance, and manufacturing industries. He maintains an active pro bono immigration practice, having represented a foreign national couple in a successful petition for political asylum and other foreign nationals at various stages in the asylum process.  He received his J.D., cum laude, from Cornell Law School in 2008, where he served as a managing editor for the Cornell International Law Journal. While in law school, he interned for Judge Richard C. Wesley of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. Aaron received his M.Div., summa cum laude, from Yale University Divinity School in 2005 and his B.A., with high honors, in English and classical studies from the College of Wooster in 1997. Aaron is admitted to practice in Pennsylvania and before U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.

Aretha Marshall is the president of Lincoln Drive Inc a boutique production company specializing in unique content development across multi-platforms. Prior to launching Lincoln Drive Inc in 2019, Marshall enjoyed a distinguished career at NBCUniversal including the start up of Peacock Productions where she was a vice president and senior executive producer. Her role included talent development and executive-in-charge of documentaries, specials and series.

Prior to Peacock Productions, Marshall served as a senior executive producer working across many of the divisions of NBCUniversal to create  exclusive programming including interviews with newsmakers like Anita Hill, George Clooney and Angelina Jolie.  She  joined NBC News in 1994 as a producer with the award winning news magazine DATELINE where she reported on law and social justice issues.

Over her career Aretha Marshall’s work has been honored with numerous Emmys, the  I. DuPont-Columbia University for A Pattern of Suspicion a three-year investigation into racial profiling and the NAACP Image Award for Angela’s Story with Tom Brokaw – an investigation into New York’s mandatory drug sentencing which resulted in the pardon of a young mother.  She is a graduate of Harvard University and holds a Master’s degree from Northwestern.

Treasurer

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. Avi received a Bachelor of Arts and Economics from the University of Cincinnati in 1969, and a J.D. from Harvard Law School in 1972.

Vice President/Secretary

Bryn Michaels, Esq. (UGI Corporation) — Vice President/Secretary
Bryn L. Michaels, Esq., is Chief Commercial Counsel, Natural Gas at UGI Corporation, a company that, through subsidiaries, operates natural gas and electric utilities in Pennsylvania, distributes propane both domestically and internationally, manages midstream assets and engages in energy marketing in the Mid-Atlantic region. Prior to joining UGI in 2014, Bryn served, from 2007 to 2014, as Associate General Counsel at Penn Virginia Corporation, an independent oil and natural gas exploration and production company and was an Associate in the Business & Finance Department at Ballard Spahr from 2002 to 2007, 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 (cum laude), where she served as Associate Editor and Articles Editor for the Journal of International Economic Law.

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, Darlene began serving as a consultant to Positive and Friends, an HIV/AIDS outreach, education, advocacy and testing project located in Pittsburgh. Darlene 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. Darlene 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.

Finesse Ross has performed and competed in pageants throughout the tri-state area as Diana Ross and Grace Jones. She got her start in the business in the early 1990s appearing with the legendary Paris DuPree, a performer featured in the 1990 documentary Paris is Burning. Finesse also volunteers with two nonprofit groups that offer support to LGBT youth. Her many awards include Miss Pennsylvania North America 2006, Miss Pennsylvania North America Supreme 2007 and Miss Philly Black Gay Pride 2009. She also received the Philly Trans March Artist Achievement Award 2013, among other honors.

Esq. (Temple University James E. Beasley School of Law)

Frank M. McClellan, JD, LLM is a Professor of Law Emeritus of the Beasley School of Law of Temple University, where he concentrates on health care law.  He is the author of a recent book titled Healthcare and Human Dignity:  Law Matters (Rutgers University Press). Professor McClellan has published numerous law review articles on subjects related to health care law, tort law and civil rights, and an award-winning book entitled “Medical Malpractice: Law, Tactics and Ethics” (1995). He is the co-author of a casebook on tort law published through five editions.

At Temple he teaches courses on bioethics, medical malpractice, and supervises students writing on health law topics. Professor McClellan has lectured regularly in interdisciplinary courses at Temple Medical School from 1981 to the present. He has taught comparative law courses and lectured internationally in Ghana, Greece, Japan, China and Cuba. 

He earned an AB from Rutgers University, a JD  from Duquesne University and an LLM degree from Yale University. Following graduation from law school he served as a law clerk to Chief Judge William H. Hastie of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit and as an associate attorney with the law firm of Wilmer, Cutler and Pickering.  

In 2009, the Temple Law Alumni Association awarded Professor McClellan the Shusterman Faculty Award for excellence in teaching. During his tenure at Temple Professor McClellan has been awarded: The Beck Chair in health care law, the Lindback Award for outstanding teaching; the I. Herman Stern Chair for excellence in teaching; and the Friel-Scanlon Award for excellence in scholarship. In 2016 the Legal Clinic for the disabled in Philadelphia honored him with a special recognition award for contributions in advancing the interests of the disabled, and the Rutgers African-American Alumni Association inducted him into their Hall of Fame for his achievements as a lawyer and a law professor.

For more than two decades he has served on the Boards of The Aids Law Project of Pa., and To Our Children’s Future With Health, Inc., He is a former board member of Philadelphia Fight and a former member of the National Institutes of Health, Heart, Lung and Blood Institute. He is currently a board member of the Philadelphia Clef Club of Jazz.

As a practicing lawyer, he has served as lead trial or appellate attorney in more than thirty medical malpractice and product liability cases. In recognition of his accomplishments as a trial lawyer, the American Board of Trial Advocates inducted him as a member in 2016. He is a lifetime member of the American Law Institute and currently serves as an adviser on the drafting of the Restatement of Torts (Third), focusing on provisions governing medical malpractice law.

Access Professor McClellan’s papers at: http://ssrn.com/author=359366

Kenny Jung-Taek Oh, Esq., a 2007 graduate of the Temple University James E. Beasley School of Law and a 2004 graduate of Swarthmore College, joined the board in 2012 as an observer under a program sponsored by the Philadelphia Bar Association. He became a full member in 2014. Kenny previously worked as a judicial law clerk for the First Judicial District of Pennsylvania and as a research coordinator for Asia Catalyst, a nonprofit that works with marginalized communities in East and Southeast Asia that promote the right to health. In 2014, Kenny enrolled in Temple University School of Medicine in the Doctor of Medicine and Master of Public Health programs, with a concentration in biostatistics and epidemio

Kim Silverman first encountered the AIDS Law Project when it represented her brother in a lawsuit. After he passed away in 1994, she stepped in as his power of attorney in the case. In honor of her brother, she began volunteering for the organization to thank it for “giving him back his dignity.” Kim has had a long career in the food business, including as a chef, the owner of a catering business and in food service sales. She has helped organize numerous events for the AIDS Law Project, including catering many of them.

Waheedah Shabazz-El is an African American Muslim woman and retired postal worker who was diagnosed with AIDS in 2003. She serves as a board member for the AIDS Law Project, board member of City of Phila Spiritual Advisory and an advisory board member for Sero-Project. She is employed by Phila FIGHT as its Goodwill Ambassador. Waheedah is a founding member of Positive Women’s Network – USA. Currently Waheedah is the Interim Program Director for The Reunion Project where she is leading a Long-Term Survivor Alliance. Waheedah’s areas of expertise include HIV criminalization, Trans Justice, Faith and HIV, Women and girls living with HIV and Electoral Organizing.

William J. Freshwater is a retired C.P.A. who resides on Maryland’s Eastern Shore. Prior to retirement Bill and his husband lived in Washington, D.C. and Philadelphia. While in Philadelphia, Bill was a member of the Boards of the AIDS Law Project, and of the AIDS Walk. He was an active volunteer with Prevention Point’s needle exchange program. He was recently a member of the BEAT-HIV Community Advisory Board in Philadelphia, on which he served as Secretary and Co-Chair. He is on the Anchor Study Community Advisory Board in Washington, D.C. Bill recently completed his participation in a one-year ATI Cure Study at the National Institutes of Health. Bill graduated, with Distinction, from the University of Virginia. Following graduation he practiced international taxation in Washington, D.C., Philadelphia, Los Angeles, Paris and Amsterdam.

Executive Director

Ronda has led the AIDS Law Project of Pennsylvania since 2000. She is listed among the top 100 HIV/AIDS activists in the United States by POZ magazine and website. She was voted a “Super Lawyer” in a poll of more than 36,000 Pennsylvania attorneys published jointly by Law & Politics and Philadelphia Magazine. In 2010, Goldfein was appointed by Mayor Michael Nutter to Philadelphia’s Police Advisory Commission, the official civilian oversight agency for the city’s police department. She was elected to chair the commission in 2012. She chairs Philadelphia FIGHT’s Institutional Review Board and is a member of the board of directors of the American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania’s Philadelphia chapter. A graduate of the University of Miami, she holds a J.D. from the Shepard Broad Law Center of Nova Southeastern University in Fort Lauderdale, and is admitted to practice law in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and New York.