2017 Board Nominees
Institutional Directors:
Jamie J. Brunson, Executive Director, First Person Arts
Jamie J. Brunson is the executive director of First Person Arts and producer, host and co-writer of the monthly radio hour on WHYY, Commonspace. She is also member of the strategic planning committee for the City of Philadelphia Department of Behavioral Health and Intellectual disABILITY Services’ Engaging Males of Color Initiative. Over the past 25 years, she has fused a business acumen that combines not-for-profit leadership experience with the insights of a practicing artist within different spheres of the arts and cultural community. Her administrative resume includes senior management positions at not-for-profits including: New Freedom Theatre, the Providence Black Repertory Company and the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts. She is also a performing storyteller, memoirist, published poet whose work has appeared in numerous journals and anthologies; four-time NEA grantee for playwriting and an award-winning playwright who was named a “New Voice in American Theatre” by the Edward Albee Theatre Conference. Her plays have been produced across the country from New York to Alaska. Her community service includes a Mayoral appointment to the Philadelphia Cultural Fund Board of Directors where she was vice-chair; board memberships on the Mental Health Association of Southeastern Pennsylvania, Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance’s Groundswell, First Person Arts, Inc, (Board Member Ex Officio), Rhode Island Citizens for the Arts, Philadelphia Avenue of the Arts and Theatre Alliance of Greater Philadelphia. She has also served as a peer panelist for: Delaware Division of the Arts, Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, and Connecticut Council on Arts & Tourism. Ms. Brunson holds a Master of Fine Arts Degree in Theatre from Sarah Lawrence College and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Radio-Television-Film from Temple University. She thanks God for the ability to serve the community.
Stacy Dutton, Executive Director, Lantern Theater Company
Stacy Maria Dutton was named Executive Director of Lantern Theater Company in 2016, after serving on the theater’s Board of Directors for a decade. Her prior career in investment management spanned 25 years, including serving as the Managing Partner of Brandywine Global Asset Management and as Co-Founder and Chief Operating Officer of Hygrove Partners.
Ms. Dutton has served on the Board of Directors of the Philadelphia Orchestra Association since 2007; she currently chairs their Audit Committee and previously chaired the Investment Committee from 2009 to 2016. She also serves on the Board of Intercultural Journeys.
In 2011, Ms. Dutton was named Business on Board Member of the Year by the Arts & Business Council of Greater Philadelphia. She earned an MBA from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, a BA in philosophy from the University of Chicago, and pursued graduate studies at the Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) of Johns Hopkins University. She lives in the west Mt. Airy neighborhood of Philadelphia.
Elizabeth Warshawer, Interim Executive Director, Pennsylvania Ballet Association
Elizabeth Warshawer brings more than thirty years of successful experience leading and managing organizations in the corporate, non-profit, and academic arenas. With experience working inside organizations in leadership positions and as an external consultant, Elizabeth has a track record of success creating and implementing strategic plans, improving organizational success through effectiveand efficient human capital management, developing organizational capability through executive education and coaching, and working across constituencies to achieve outstanding results. Elizabeth is Principal of EBW Consulting, LLC working with a diverse group of clients in and beyond the Philadelphia area.
In 2014, Elizabeth co-founded ArtistYear, an initiative of Aspen Institute’s Franklin Project, to bring the arts to Title I schools in underserved communities in America through one year of paid service. The program, designed to bridge national service and the arts, has recently received a grant from AmeriCorps National Direct that will enable the program to be replicated in an increasing number of cities over the next several years.
From 2007 until May, 2015, Elizabeth served as Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer, Chief Operating Officer, and Chief Advancement Officer for the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia. In this role, Elizabeth directed all non-musical functions of the Institute including, finance, development, external affairs, communications and marketing, facilities operations, human resources, legal affairs, information technology, and digital initiatives. She successfully led two strategic planning processes for Curtis and managed the Institute’s physical expansion with the construction of Lenfest Hall; a $65 million mixed use building that opened in August 2011.
Elizabeth served as Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer for The Philadelphia Orchestra from 2000 – 2007 during which time she also agreed to serve as Interim Executive Director and Chief Operating Officer for one year. Her responsibilities included labor relations, all human resource functions for the staff and musicians, media and technology, financial controls and operating procedures, shared services with the Kimmel Center, and interdepartmental coordination. Her initial work with The Philadelphia Orchestra was as co-founder and principal consultant of The Alliance for Effective Organizations Inc. (AEO), a firm specializing in a full array management consulting services.
Her consulting and design activities have included a focus on strategic planning - helping organizations to align the competencies of their existing workforce with the strategic demands of emerging business challenges, with particular focus on organizational operating models, culture change, human capital management, and leadership development. She provided consulting services to the Aresty Institute of Executive Education, The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, for clients of their Custom Programs and was selected as one of fifteen senior strategy and organization effectiveness practitioners from around the world to form the initial partnership network for the Center for Organizational Fitness founded by Mike Beer of the Harvard Business School.
Before co-founding AEO, Elizabeth was Vice President of Human Resources for NovaCare, Inc., a $1.7 billion rehabilitation and professional employer services company. While serving as the senior human resource generalist for the Outpatient Businesses, she was also responsible for the planning, design, implementation and evaluation of corporate-wide training and development programs. As part of a major business redesign effort and operating model shift, Elizabeth led a strategic planning process to align the development of all systems, processes, staffing, and training efforts to support the transformation of the Outpatient business in response to the changes in healthcare reimbursement.
Prior to her work with NovaCare, Elizabeth served as Director of Human Resources for Scott Paper Company’s North American operations. She directed Scott Paper Company’s Center for Organizational Learning, serving the company’s domestic and global business units focusing on the selection and development of global business leaders and in conjunction with that effort, served on the Thunderbird International Consortium Advisory Board of The American Graduate School of International Management.
Elizabeth holds a BA from Washington University in St. Louis with Phi Beta Kappa distinction, and an MA also from Washington University.
Patricia Wellenbach, President & CEO, Please Touch Museum
Patricia D. Wellenbach was named Strategy Advisory to the CEO of Please Touch Museum in November of 2015 as part of a planned leadership succession, and in March 2016, she assumed the helm of the Museum as its President and CEO. Founded in 1976, Please Touch Museum is an internationally recognized leader in integrating play and early childhood learning. She was selected as the incoming CEO based on her demonstrated experience in managing complex organizations undergoing transformational change and creating a business model that assures long-term sustainability for the business.
In 2013, Wellenbach was appointed CEO of Green Tree School & Services (GTSS), an Approved Private School and Behavioral Health Agency serving over 350 children age 5–21, diagnosed with a severe emotional disturbance or on the autism spectrum. In 2015, after restructuring the business, she completed a merger with a multi- state, mission-aligned organization with an annual budget of $85MM.
Prior to joining GTSS, Wellenbach served as President and CEO of Sandcastle Strategy Group, LLC, which she founded in 2007. The company provided management consulting services to clients primarily in the nonprofit sector. The company’s areas of expertise included strategic planning and strategy implementation, organizational realignment, capacity building, succession planning, and governance.
From 2005–2007, Wellenbach was Managing Director for Business Development and Strategy for Granary Associates, an international master planning, architectural design, and project management company, focusing on health care facilities and higher education. A member of senior management reporting directly to the CEO, her responsibilities included corporate strategy, business development and marketing, recruitment and retention, evaluation of emerging markets, and developing national and international expansion opportunities. Prior to joining Granary Associates, she was the Executive Director of The Wellness Community of Philadelphia (TWCP), and held a concurrent position as the Vice President of Corporate and Community Relations for The Wellness Community National (now the Cancer Support Community).
Wellenbach serves on numerous boards, including Thomas Jefferson University where she is an officer of the board and member of the executive and compensation committees, and chairs the clinical affairs committee. She was the lead director representing Abington Health in the 2015 merger with Thomas Jefferson University, which resulted in the creation of a health system with $2.5B in annual revenue. She is a board member of the Reinvestment Fund, where she chairs the audit committee and is a member of the executive and governance committees. In September 2016, Philadelphia Mayor James Kenney appointed Wellenbach to the Mayor’s Cultural Advisory Board.
Wellenbach has been honored with multiple awards, in 2016 she received the Women of Tomorrow Distinguished Leader award and the Girl Scouts Take the Lead award, and was named a Philadelphia Business Journal Woman of Distinction. She was the 2003 recipient of the St. Francis Medallion for excellence in service to the community. In 2000, she received the Benjamin Rush Award from the Philadelphia Medical Society, which recognizes laypersons from the Philadelphia region who have made outstanding contributions to the health and welfare of citizens of the United States. She is a member of the National Association of Corporate Directors, Women Corporate Directors, the Forum of Executive Women, and the Pennsylvania Women’s Forum.
A cum laude graduate of Boston College School of Nursing, Wellenbach also holds a certificate from the UCLA Anderson School of Management’s Healthcare Executive Program. She is frequently invited to speak on topics including leadership, organizational change, and governance.
Community Directors:
Jennifer Bohnenberger, Chief Operating Officer & Director of Programs, Independence Foundation
Jennifer T. Bohnenberger serves as Chief Operating Officer & Director of Programs for Independence Foundation, a Philadelphia-based independent private foundation committed to supporting organizations that provide services to people who do not ordinarily have access to them and expanding opportunities for enrichment for all people. Her responsibilities include providing oversight and management to all the Foundation’s grant programs, including two special funding initiatives, the Fellowships in the Arts program and the New Theatre Works Initiative, she designed and implemented. She has extensive background in business and human capital management. Before joining Independence Foundation, Ms. Bohnenberger served in a variety of positions with Staples, the Office Superstore, including operations and sales manager, general manager, human resources coordinator and regional management recruiter. Prior to her current position with Independence Foundation, she was the assistant regional director for Staples in the Philadelphia area. Ms. Bohnenberger currently serves as Vice President of the Board of Directors of FringeArts, is a Board Member of Pig Iron Theatre Company, and recently completed her six-year tenure on the board of Philanthropy Network of Greater Philadelphia. A Philadelphia native, she earned a Bachelor’s in Policy Analysis/Management Studies and Psychology from Dickinson College, and a Master’s degree in History from West Chester University. Ms. Bohnenberger, her husband Robert and their three children, twin daughters Catherine and Anne, and son Steven, reside in Folsom, Pennsylvania.
Lee Huang, MPA, Senior Vice President and Principal, Econsult Solutions Inc.
Lee Huang is Senior Vice President & Principal of Econsult Solutions, Inc. With an undergraduate degree from the Wharton School and a master’s degree from the Fels School of Government of the University of Pennsylvania, Lee provides an excellent perspective for public, private, and non-profit clients. Lee has led projects examining commercial corridors, affordable housing, neighborhood change, transportation financing, MWBE procurement, real estate development, economic development, tax policy, economic and fiscal impact, transit-oriented development, financial modeling, tax increment financing, waterfront development, discrimination in lending practices, higher education, workforce development, technology, historic preservation, and recreational amenities. In his recent work, he led an analysis of the relationship between Philadelphia and its higher educational institutions regarding their economic impact and whether a PILOTs (payment in lieu of taxes) system would be appropriate for the City, examined the significant positive impacts that historic preservation efforts have in Pennsylvania, and studied what City government can do to create and retain private sector jobs for City residents in Philadelphia’s Jobs Commission Report.
From 1995 to 2005, Lee was employed at The Enterprise Center, an entrepreneurial center in West Philadelphia where he acquired extensive experience in day to day management as well as strategic decision making. He most recently served as Executive Vice President, where he was responsible for all programs and operations, and helped manage fifty staff and interns and a $1.2 million budget. He was also Founder of The Enterprise Center’s YES (Youth + Entrepreneurship = Success) Program and Director of Cities Beyond, The Enterprise Center’s consulting department.
In 2006, Lee earned his Masters of Public Administration at the University of Pennsylvania’s Fels Institute of Government, where he also received certificates in Public Finance and in Economic Development and Growth. Lee received his Bachelor of Science degree in Economics in 1995 from the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania, with a dual concentration in Accounting and Management.
Lee serves on the boards of Community Design Collaborative, Sustainable Business Network of Greater Philadelphia, and Welcoming Center for New Pennsylvanians. He serves on the advisory board of American Communities Trust, and Asian American Chamber of Commerce, and is a member of the City of Philadelphia Water, Sewer, and Storm Water Rate Board. He also teaches a graduate-level course called “Quantitative Tools for Consulting” at the Fels Institute of Government of the University of Pennsylvania.
Priscilla Luce, President, The Albert M. Greenfield Foundation
Since 2003 Priscilla Luce has advised arts, cultural and other non-profit organizations facing times of challenge and transition in developing high-leverage strategic plans designed for growth. This work has included mission evaluation and goals identification, operational planning, capacity building, fund-raising analysis and planning, constituency development, organizational positioning, communications strategy and interim in-place operations management.
Her broad background covers virtually all aspects of arts and non-profit management, philanthropy and volunteerism. In January 2017 she ended a nearly four-year assignment as full-time executive managing director of Philadelphia Theatre Company (PTC) where she managed administrative functions and staff reporting directly to the board of directors. PTC produces and presents an annual season of plays, musicals and other performances in its own 365-seat venue, the Suzanne Roberts Theatre, as well as a broad range of youth education and patron programming.
She served as vice president of a national non-profit fund-raising consulting firm guiding the boards of directors and staff of more than 50 cultural and other organizations in raising annual, capital, endowment and deferred gifts for their institutions. Previously she held public relations positions at the Philadelphia Museum of Art and Mount Holyoke College.
Priscilla’s long career in corporate communications with TRW Inc., a Fortune 100 global aerospace, automotive and information systems company headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio, involved working with more than 200 locations around the world. As vice president corporate communications, she directed the company’s corporate media relations, employee communications, crisis management, marketing communications and issue communications activities.
She left TRW in 2003 following the company’s acquisition by Northrop Grumman Corporation and returned to Philadelphia in 2006 where she continued her consulting work. Priscilla joined the board of directors of Philadelphia Theatre Company in 2007, subsequently spearheading the creation of a new strategic plan for the company. She served as president of the theatre company from 2010 to 2014. In 2013 the board asked her to assume a full-time staff role as executive managing director to help the company navigate an increasingly challenging financial environment.
Priscilla has been volunteer president and executive director of The Albert M. Greenfield Foundation in Philadelphia since 2000. Under her leadership this family foundation has developed a leading-edge grant-making style that emphasizes collaboration with arts and other non-profit partners to implement innovative programs that address Philadelphia’s evolving cultural and community needs.
While in Cleveland, Priscilla served in numerous board leadership roles (including president) for organizations such as the Ohio Chamber Orchestra, New Organization for the Visual Arts, WCPN/90.3 FM (later merged with WVIZ/PBS to form Ideastream) and Business Volunteers Unlimited which she helped found. She also served as chair of the Cleveland State University Foundation, a 501(c)3 volunteer-led organization that raises private funds and manages the University’s endowment which during her tenure doubled to $40 million.
Priscilla is currently a member of the Board of Visitors of the Division of General, Thoracic and Fetal Surgery of Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.
She is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania with a degree in English and attended executive marketing programs at the Fuqua School of Business, Duke University; the London Business School and the J.L. Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University. She is an Albert Nelson Marquis Lifetime Achievement honoree in Who’s Who in America.
Ivy Silver, Founder, Sparkplug Innovations
Ms. Silver is a founder of two creative economy based companies. Sparkplug Innovations, founded in 2013, is a pragmatic futurist consulting firm where she advises organizations, governing bodies and investors on opportunities and planning for socially responsible and culture-based businesses. She is also a creative partner and founder at Mily-on, an architectural design firm specializing in product design and fabrication at the intersection of technology and art. In 1987 Ivy founded and served as CEO of The Commonwealth Consulting Group, Inc. which advised businesses and non-profits, including Longwood Gardens and the APGA, in strategic benefits consulting. Ms. Silver sold her company in 2007 to AJG, a publicly traded international firm, where she worked until 2013.
Ms. Silver is an independent director of the publicly traded Fulton Bank Board and a member of its Trust Committee whose oversight includes investment advisory services. She currently serves on the boards of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University and The Oda Foundation of Nepal, and is the immediate past Chair of the Board of the Abington Health System Foundation where she led two governance reviews and the development of an Accountable Care Organization. Ms. Silver is the founder of A Chance to Heal, an internationally recognized non-profit which now resides at the Harvard School of Public Health and where she currently acts as an advisor.
Ms. Silver graduated from the University of Pennsylvania, Wharton School of Business after earning a certificate in Non Profit Management from Columbia University while she was the Executive Director of The Children’s Museum of Northeastern PA.
Ms. Silver is a 2006 Pennsylvania’s Best 50 Women in Business honoree, the Women’s Way Leadership Award winner in 2006, and a member of the Pennsylvania honor roll of Women Leaders for 1996. She is currently a member of Women Corporate Directors and the Forum of Executive Women. Ms. Silver is an open water swimmer, gardener, mentor to young woman and an avid traveler in search of unique food and street art.
Angela Val, Chief Administrative Officer, Philadelphia Convention & Visitors Bureau
As an external community builder and broad strategic planner, Angela Val strives to lead by example with an approachable and earnest executive style. In her current role as chief administration officer (CAO) at the Philadelphia Convention & Visitors Bureau (PHLCVB) she is responsible for government and external affairs and managing the day-to-day operations of the PHLCVB.
Prior to joining the PHLCVB Angela served as the deputy executive director of Philadelphia 2016 Host Committee for the 2016 Democratic National Convention (DNC). In that role she was tasked with mobilizing internal resources and community partners to successfully prepare for, implement and host the DNC.
Angela was also a member of the award-winning Visit Philadelphia team for 16 years. During her time there she worked her way up from executive assistant for the president and CEO, to vice president and chief external affairs officer (CEAO). As a member of the executive staff, Angela helped to establish the organization as a powerhouse that builds the region’s economy and image through destination marketing and branding. In her role as CEAO she served as liaison to the Visit Philadelphia Board, advocacy agencies, elected officials and other stakeholders. Angela also directed, supported and executed some of Visit Philadelphia’s most successful campaigns and initiatives, including With Art Philadelphia, Philly 360, Philadelphia Neighborhoods, the Philly Overnight Hotel Package and the implementation of a hotel booking engine.
She is committed to building Philadelphia’s business and cultural communities and currently serves on the board of Franklin’s Paine Skatepark Fund, dedicated to strengthening communities and empowering youth through advocacy. She is a past board member of the 3rd Century Initiative (3CI); PHL Diversity; Rittenhouse Row Association; the Philadelphia Music Alliance; the Philadelphia Chapter of the Black Alliance for Educational Options and the Professional Women’s Roundtable.
A native of Maryland, Angela received a Bachelor’s degree from Drexel University. She began her career with Hospitality Partners as a Catering and Sales Manager.