Joan L. Benso, President and CEO
Robert E. Feir, Director of Education Initiatives
Suzanne Henning, Assistant to the President
Karen R. Liebel, Fiscal Manager
Kathy Geller Myers, Communications Director
Diane P. Barber, Early Childhood Education Director
David Callahan, Executive Vice President
Tameka Rice, Secretary
William J. Bartle, Youth Policy Director
Sandra J. Moore, KIDS COUNT Director
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.
Joan’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 yielded the passage of universal children’s health insurance, 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.
Robert
E. Feir, Ph.D., Director of Education Initiatives
rfeir@edstrat21.com
Robert Feir provides guidance to PPC on its education policies, which seek a strong foundation of learning for all Pennsylvania children, helping them enter school ready to learn and assuring supports through high school graduation to build and sustain their academic potential. He also provides guidance on school finance issues to assure all students have the opportunity to achieve the state’s academic standards. He is president of EdStrat21, a Harrisburg-based education consulting firm. He holds a Ph.D. in political science from The Pennsylvania State University.
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.
Karen
R. Liebel, CPA, Fiscal Manager
717-236-5680, extension 202
kliebel@papartnerships.org
Karen Liebel processes PPC's financial transactions, maintains cash
flow, and oversees the organization's fiscal health. During her
career, she has applied her skills largely in the health care and
insurance fields, and she has consulted for Harrisburg-area firms
seeking expertise in resolving backlogs and streamlining procedures.
Ms. Liebel holds a bachelor's degree in accounting from Elizabethtown
College.
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.
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.
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.
Tameka Rice, Secretary
717-236-5680, extension 201
trice@papartnerships.org
Tameka Rice is PPC's secretary. She hails from Schuylkill County where she earned an Associate's Degree in Business Administration. Tameka has five years of work experience in the nonprofit sector.
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.
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.
This Page Last Modified
March 28, 2008
