Staff
Joan L. Benso, President and CEO
Diane P. Barber, Early Childhood Education Director
William J. Bartle, Youth Policy Director
David Callahan, Executive Vice President
Suzanne Henning, Assistant to the President
Todd Lloyd, MSW, Child Welfare Director
Sandra J. Moore, KIDS COUNT Director
Brian Morgan, Fiscal Manager
Kathy Geller Myers, Communications Director
Kelli Thompson, Government Affairs Associate
Alyshea Santos, Secretary
Joan
L. Benso, President and CEO
717-236-5680, extension 205
president@papartnerships.org
Joan L. Benso is President and CEO of Pennsylvania Partnerships for Children (PPC). Since 1995, Ms. Benso has been responsible for the organization's daily administration and effective functioning. She is directly involved in the organization's interaction with state-level public policymakers, Pennsylvania's congressional delegation, the news media, the children's advocacy community, funders and service sectors.
Pennsylvania Partnerships for Children is a strong, effective and trusted voice to improve the health, education, and well-being of the Commonwealth's children.
In Harrisburg and Washington, D.C., PPC voices policy solutions proven to guide Pennsylvania's children toward lifetime success and away from failure. PPC's vision is to move Pennsylvania into position as one of the top 10 states in the nation to be a child and to raise a child. PPC utilizes research and analysis, government relations, strategic communications, and grassroots and grasstops mobilization as core strategies to drive change.
Ms. Benso's leadership in child advocacy has had a profound impact on the well-being of Pennsylvania's children. PPC has championed many issues and led a broad array of coalitions during her tenure including those which had yielded the passage of state universal children's health insurance law, creation of a state pre-kindergarten program and a more rationale funding system for public education. Ms. Benso's work has lead to landmark investments in early childhood education including child care subsidy, quality, Head Start and pre-K, state support for full-day kindergarten, reduced elementary class, high school reform, dual high school/college enrollment, youth development programs and the implementation of tax strategies that allow low-income working families to keep more of their wages to raise their children.
Ms. Benso has served on various state and national boards addressing health care, school readiness, youth development, college and career readiness and other critical children's issues.
Diane P. Barber, Early Childhood Education Director
717-236-5680, extension 210
dbarber@papartnerships.org
Diane P. Barber joined PPC in 2005 as Early Childhood Director. Diane has more than 20 years of experience in human services and programs for children and youth. At PPC, Diane helps analyze and set both state and national ECE advocacy priorities. Diane is a member of numerous state planning and advisory committees related to early childhood education quality, access, and professional development. She has provided training and technical assistance at local, state, and national levels on issues affecting programs for children and youth. Diane has authored and collaborated on numerous articles, publications, and training programs on afterschool programming. She is the chair of Quality Committee of the Pennsylvania Statewide Afterschool/Youth Development Network. She has also served as Treasurer of the National AfterSchool Association, co-chaired the NAA professional journal, School-Age Review, and is a certified endorser for NAA’s program improvement and accreditation system. Diane earned her Bachelor's degree from Cedar Crest College in Allentown, PA.
William J. Bartle, Youth Policy Director
717-236-5680, ext. 209
bbartle@papartnerships.org
Bill Bartle joined Pennsylvania Partnerships for Children in March 2006 as Youth Policy Director. In this role, Bill will lead the Pennsylvania Ready By 21(tm) initiative which is committed to youth-centered public policies and programs designed to ensure that all Pennsylvanians aged 12-21 have equitable access to high quality education and support services that prepare them for school, work and beyond. Prior to joining PPC, Bill was the Executive Director of the Lehigh Valley Business/Education Partnership and has over 20 years of communications and community relations experience in the electric utility industry. Bill holds a BS degree in business administration and marketing from Susquehanna University.
David Callahan, Executive Vice President
717-236-5680, extension 213
dcallahan@papartnerships.org
David Callahan is PPC’s Executive Vice President. He provides leadership for PPC’s public policy development, mobilization, and advocacy efforts in Harrisburg and Washington, DC. He also supports the President and CEO in daily operations of the organization, including budget development, board relations, funder relations and staff goal setting and performance reviews. David has worked for the past 17 years representing a wide array of interests before the Pennsylvania General Assembly and commonwealth agencies. He has built and maintained strong non-partisan relationships with state and federal legislative officials to assure PPC’s effectiveness and success at promoting an agenda for Pennsylvania’s children. A resident of Mechanicsburg, he holds a master’s degree in political science from the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University and a BA in political science from Indiana University of Pennsylvania.
Suzanne
Henning, Assistant to the President
717-236-5680, extension 205
shenning@papartnerships.org
Suzanne F. Henning joined PPC in June 2003. Originally from Connecticut,
she has extensive experience in administrative positions with insurance,
engineering, and manufacturing firms.
Todd Lloyd, MSW, Child Welfare Director
717-236-5680, extension 204
tlloyd@papartnerships.org
Todd Lloyd joined Pennsylvania Partnerships for Children in August 2008 as Child Welfare Director. In this role, Todd will lead PPC's Porch Light Project: Forever Family for Every Child. The goal of this initiative is to enhance child welfare public policy in order to strengthen Pennsylvania families, reduce instances of child abuse and lessen the numbers of children experiencing the foster care system. Prior to joining PPC, Todd engaged in program administrative work through the University of Pittsburgh, School of Social Work, Pennsylvania Child Welfare Training Program. His previous work included the management of statewide training and technical assistance provided to state-funded Family Centers, Title IV-E Independent Living Programs and county child welfare agencies. Todd has 10 years of child welfare direct service and social work administration experience, and holds a MSW from Temple University.
Sandra J. Moore, KIDS COUNT Director
717-236-5680, extension 214
smoore@papartnerships.org
Sandy Moore came to PA Partnerships for Children as KIDS COUNT Director with 29 years of experience working for the Commonwealth of PA. Most of that time was spent at the Department of Public Welfare doing research, evaluation and data analysis. She served as an affiliate to the PA State Data Center and US Bureau of the Census, sat on many interagency workgroups and provided technical assistance to DPW staff, counties and other agencies on data-related issues.
Brian Morgan, Fiscal Manager
717-236-5680, extension 202
bmorgan@papartnerships.org
Brian M. Morgan, CPA, CFE, joined PPC in May 2009 as the Fiscal Manager. His primary duties include managing all aspects of the financial operations of PPC. He was previously employed by McKonly & Asbury, LLP in Camp Hill and Deloitte & Touche, LLP in New York. Brian has served clients in a variety of industries including audits of for-profits and family-owned businesses. A graduate of Franklin and Marshall College, he holds a degree in Business Administration with a focus in Accounting.
Kathy Geller Myers, PPC Communications Director
717-236-5680, ext. 208
kgmyers@papartnerships.org
Kathy Geller Myers joined PPC in 2005 as Communications Director. Kathy has more than 15 years of public relations experience in the nonprofit, corporate and agency sectors. She has secured dozens of news and editorial placements in publications including Forbes, Men's Health, the Philadelphia Inquirer, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Harrisburg Patriot-News, and the Washington Times and has booked clients on news programs such as CNN's "American Morning" and NBC's the "Today" show. Kathy holds a Bachelor’s degree in communications from St. Bonaventure University.
Kelli Thompson, Government Affairs Associate
717-236-5680, extension 211
kthompson@papartnerships.org
Kelli Thompson joined PPC in June 2008 as Government Affairs Associate to represent PPC interests before the Pennsylvania General Assembly, state agencies, regulatory bodies and the Pennsylvania Congressional delegation. Prior to joining PPC, Kelli worked as an assistant to the Secretary of Planning and Policy in Governor Rendell’s office and later represented the Pennsylvania School Boards Association (PSBA) for three years. While with PSBA, Kelli worked on a variety of school-related issues, including property tax reform, cyber charter school funding/accountability, statewide health care for school employees, and PSERS-related issues. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from Susquehanna University.
Alyshea Santos, Secretary
717-236-5680, extension 201
asantos@papartnerships.org
Alyshea Santos joined PPC in March 2009 as the staff Secretary. She previously served as a Youth Ambassador with the Child Welfare Training Program, and most recently, worked for the Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency (PHEAA). Alyshea is currently studying Criminal Justice at Harrisburg Area Community College. She resides in York.
This Page Last Modified
September 30, 2009
