The First Hospital Foundation Board of Directors is comprised of the following 18 members:

Officers
Chair: Louis J. Mayer
Vice Chair: Jane G. Pepper
Vice Chair and Treasurer: Julia R. Dutton
Secretary: Suzanne Sheehan Becker

Board Members
Ijeoma B. Achara-Abrahams
The Rev. Ralph E. Blanks
R. Michael Buckley, Jr., MD
Morris Cheston Jr.
Helen L. Coons, PhD
Joanne R. Denworth
Gail W. Hearn
Bruce W. Herdman
Keith A. Kasper
Natalie Levkovich
Sueyun Pyo Locks
Lawrence T. Mangan
A. Scott McNeal, DO
Susan E. Phillips

Louis J. Mayer, Chair
Louis J. Mayer, EdD is vice president for financial affairs and treasurer at Saint Joseph's University in Philadelphia, where he is responsible for overseeing all areas of budgeting and forecasting, financial management, financial reporting, human resources, information technology, insurance risk management, investment management, purchasing and treasury and debt management. The University's annual operating budget is approximately $200 million and the endowment totals $170 million. Mayer serves as the primary management team liaison to the Board of Trustees Audit and Risk Committee, Finance Committee, Banking Sub-Committee, and Investment Sub-Committee.

Previously Mayer served as vice president for finance and investments & treasurer for seven years at The William Penn Foundation, a private grant making organization with assets of $1 billion and an annual grant budget of $60 million. Mayer also served as the chief financial officer for ten years at The University of the Arts in Philadelphia. He began his career in the audit division of Arthur Andersen LLP, where he was responsible for providing auditing services to a variety of corporate and nonprofit clients.

Mayer holds an EdD in Higher Education Management from The University of Pennsylvania, an MBA in executive management from West Chester University of Pennsylvania and a BS in accounting from Saint Joseph's University. He is a CPA and a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, the Pennsylvania Institute of Certified Public Accountants, the National Association of College & University Business Officers, and the Eastern Association

Jane G. Pepper, Vice Chair
Jane Pepper is past president of the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society, which she led from 1981 to June 2010.

A native of Scotland, Pepper is a trustee of Longwood Gardens, Inc., a director of The PNC Financial Services Group, the Fox Chase Cancer Center, Penn Press, University of Pennsylvania, Natural Lands Trust, and the American Public Gardens Association, a co-chair of the Economy League's World Class Greater Philadelphia Initiative and chair of the Selections Committee for the Eisenhower Exchange Fellowships Philadelphia International Leadership Initiative.

She holds a master's degree in public horticulture administration from the Longwood Graduate Program and a bachelor's degree in plant science from the University of Delaware. She also has an associate of science degree in landscape design from Temple University.

Julia R. Dutton, Vice Chair & Treasurer
Julia R. Dutton, PhD, is the former executive director of Stoneleigh Foundation, a Philadelphia-based foundation that supports policymakers, practitioners and researchers in developing and testing innovative ideas for helping the country’s most at-risk children and youth. Her combination of academic, business and nonprofit experience, coupled with a strong commitment to improving the lives of children and youth, has served her well in shaping the direction of the Stoneleigh Foundation since its founding in 2006.

Prior to her previous position as chief operating officer of The Philadelphia Foundation, she used her varied experience to help a number of Philadelphia area nonprofit organizations achieve operating stability. Her early academic career involved both research and teaching before she moved into the private sector. In addition to the First Hospital Foundation board of directors, she has served on the boards of several other Philadelphia nonprofit organizations including the Fleisher Art Memorial, Womens Way, and Family Planning Council. Born and raised in England, she has lived in the Philadelphia area for many years.

Suzanne Sheehan Becker, Secretary
Suzanne Sheehan Becker recently served as a consultant to Community College of Philadelphia, where she led the college's first comprehensive campaign. She has more than three decades of leadership, fundraising, marketing and communications experience in the nonprofit and higher education sectors.

Previously, she was director of development for Penn Museum, president of Women's Way and dean for institutional advancement at Philadelphia University (formerly Philadelphia College of Textile and Sciences). She also has been director of capital giving for The Franklin Institute Science Museum and held development positions at the University of Pennsylvania and its Wharton School.

Sheehan Becker also serves on the boards of the Fairmount Park Art Association, the Women's Law Project, Philadelphia Scholars/Philadelphia Education Fund and the Education Law Center.

Sheehan Becker earned a bachelor's degree in business administration from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and a master's of liberal arts degree from the University of Pennsylvania.

Ijeoma B. Achara-Abrahams
Ijeoma B. Achara-Abrahams, PsyD, is the former director of strategic planning for the Department of Behavioral Health and Mental Health Retardation Services of the Philadelphia Alliance. The alliance represents community providers to people with mental health, mental retardation and chemical dependency needs.

Previously she has served as an associate research scientist in the Department of Psychiatry of the Yale University School of Medicine. As a postdoctoral associate at Yale, she also provided consultation and research services to Connecticut’s Department of Mental Health and Addictions Services and served on a consulting team involved in a statewide school reform initiative aimed at decreasing ethnic and racial disparities in academic achievement.

Her clinical experience includes program coordinator for the University of Medicine and Dentistry in New Brunswick, New Jersey, and a fellow with Harvard Medical School’s Department of Psychiatry, as well as various clinical experiences in New Jersey and Massachusetts. She has additionally served as a consultant for state agencies, foundations and medical schools in California, Connecticut, Georgia and New Jersey; engaged in peer-reviewed research; and made numerous presentations to government agencies and professional organizations.

Achara-Abrahams earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Oral Roberts University, a master’s degree in counseling psychology from Boston College and a doctorate in clinical psychology from Rutgers University.

The Reverend Ralph E. Blanks
The Reverend Ralph E. Blanks is the managing director of the Korean Community Development Services Center, a community service organization that serves the needs of low and moderate income residents through a variety of comprehensive services and programs. He is the executive director of African American Interdenominational Ministries, a faith-based organization serving pastors, congregations and youth. A former pastor and district superintendent, he is an associate minister at the Vine Memorial Baptist Church.

As an advocate of a holistic ministry, Blanks has sought to enhance the quality of life for others by working with the following organizations: Black Clergy of Philadelphia & Vicinity, North Philadelphia Health System, Korean Community Development Corporation, Greater Philadelphia Health Action and the City of Philadelphia's Fair Housing Commission.

Blanks has been honored with the Community Spirit Award from the African American Interdenominational Ministries, Past President's Award from the Black Clergy of Philadelphia & Vicinity, the Human Rights Award from the Philadelphia Commission on Human Relations, the Preacher of the Year Award from the Black United Methodist Preachers, the Outstanding Service to Community and Church Award from Philadelphia City Council of Philadelphia and Philadelphia's Liberty Bell Award.

A Master of Divinity graduate from the Drew University School of Theology, Blanks has pursued post-graduate studies at Princeton University. He received a bachelor's degree from Hendrix College in Arkansas and a diploma in East Central European studies from the University of Graz, Austria. He has traveled extensively preaching, teaching and doing mission projects.

R. Michael Buckley, Jr., MD
R. Michael Buckley, Jr., MD has been a leader at Pennsylvania Hospital for over 30 years as an Internal Medicine and Infectious Disease physician, Chair of the Infectious Disease Section, and since 2000 has served as both Chief Medical Officer and Chair of the Department of Medicine, leading quality and patient safety initiatives for the hospital. In November 2010, Dr. Buckley became Executive Director of Pennsylvania Hospital.

Dr. Buckley received his undergraduate and medical degrees from Yale University, did his Internal Medicine residency at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill and his Infectious Disease fellowship at the University of Pennsylvania. He is a Fellow of the Infectious Disease Society of America, a former member of their Clinical Affairs Committee, and recently completed his tenure as the Chairman of that committee's Quality Improvement Task Force.

Morris Cheston Jr.
Morris Cheston, Jr. was a partner of Ballard Spahr LLP, a Philadelphia law firm, from 1971 through 2008, and is currently senior counsel. He is a member of the firm's Business & Finance Department and its Biotechnology/Life Sciences, Mergers and Acquisitions and Technology and Emerging Companies groups.

Cheston also serves as chairman of the Board of Managers of Pennsylvania Hospital and is a trustee of Hall-Mercer Hospital; a council member of The Pennsylvania Horticultural Society; a trustee of The Garden Conservancy; a trustee and member of the Executive Committee of Penn Medicine; a trustee of Les Quatre Vents Foundation; and a trustee emeritus of Chestnut Hill Academy. He also serves as a director of Orthovita, Inc., a publicly-held orthobiologics and biosurgery company, and formerly was a director of various other corporations.

He previously has served as: chair of The Pennsylvania Horticultural Society and the Philadelphia Flower Show; chairman and director of the Zoological Society of Philadelphia; director of the New Jersey State Aquarium; chairman of the board of Chestnut Hill Academy; trustee of Springside School; director of Kings College; director of Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pennsylvania; and director and major gifts chairman of United Way of Southeastern Pennsylvania.

Cheston earned a bachelor's degree in economics from Princeton University and a JD degree from Harvard Law School. He also served as officer in the U.S. Navy.

Helen L. Coons, PhD, ABPP
Helen L. Coons, PhD, ABPP is the President and Clinical Director of Women's Mental Health Associates in Philadelphia. Dr. Coons is a board certified Clinical Health Psychologist who specializes in women's health and mental health. She is also a Clinical Associate Professor of Psychiatry, Drexel University College of Medicine, and is Adjunct Faculty, Department of Psychiatry, Pennsylvania Hospital, University of Pennsylvania Health System.

Coons' prior positions were in the Department of Psychiatry, MCP Hahnemann University (1989-1994), and at the Health Federation of Philadelphia (1994-2000). For the past eleven years, her practice has rotated to women's primary care, obstetrics, gynecology, reproductive endocrinology, oncology, and urogynecology settings at MCP Hahnemann, Pennsylvania Hospital, Penn Medicine at Radnor, and Bryn Mawr Women's Health Associates.

Coons is a fellow of the American Psychological Association and the Pennsylvania Psychological Association. She is known nationally for her interactive presentations to community and corporate audiences, and to psychologists, physicians and other health and mental health providers on issues affecting women and families. Coons also routinely serves as a source expert on women's health and mental health for the media.

Coons earned a PhD in Clinical Psychology from Temple University in 1990 after interning in Medical Psychology at the Duke University Medical Center.

Joanne R. Denworth
Joanne Denworth is an attorney, who has worked primarily in land use, environmental, community development, infrastructure and municipal governance areas of law and policy. From 2003 to 2010 she served in Pennsylvania Governor Rendell's Office of Policy working on legislation, regulation and policy issues with state agencies responsible for these subjects.

Prior to her work in Harrisburg, she practiced law with several firms, served as president of the Pennsylvania Environmental Council for 12 years, and in 1999, became cofounder and president of 10,000 Friends of Pennsylvania, an organization dedicated to revitalizing cities and towns, conserving rural lands and reducing sprawl. Her varied experience includes serving as a judge on Pennsylvania's Environmental Hearing Board, working as a township solicitor, and teaching environmental law at the University of Pennsylvania's Graduate School of City and Regional Planning. She co-authored and edited two books on planning, development, and conservation for municipal officials: Planning Beyond Boundaries (2000) and Guiding Growth (1993).

Having served on the Board of Managers of Pennsylvania Hospital for many years, Denworth was the founding board chair of the First Hospital Foundation, serving from 1997 to 2008. She continues to serve as a board member. She also serves on the board of the Athenaeum of Philadelphia. She has served on the boards of the William Penn Foundation, the Union Benevolent Association and the Pennsylvania Audubon Society.

She earned a bachelor's of arts degree in philosophy from Vassar College and a JD from the University of Pennsylvania Law School.

Gail W. Hearn
Gail W. Hearn, PhD, is a professor in Drexel University’s Department of Biology, where she teaches courses in ecology and animal behavior. Her research interests focus on the conservation of tropical biodiversity, specifically the animals and ecosystems of Bioko Island, part of the Republic of Equatorial Guinea located in Africa’s Gulf of Guinea. She is the founder and director of the Bioko Biodiversity Protection Program, an academic partnership which encourages the preservation of the monkeys and nesting sea turtles of Bioko Island through a program of education, research and conservation.

Hearn serves on the board of PENN Medicine (University of Pennsylvania), Pennsylvania Hospital and The Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia.

She earned a bachelor’s degree in biology from Bryn Mawr College and obtained her doctorate in protein biology from Rockefeller University. After a post-doctoral fellowship at the Zoological Society of Philadelphia, Hearn taught for many years at Arcadia University before joining Drexel University in 2007.

Bruce W. Herdman
Bruce W. Herdman, PhD, MBA, is Chief of Medical Operations for the City of Philadelphia Prison System. He is responsible for managing comprehensive clinical and behavioral health services delivered to a prison population of 7,500 inmates.

Previously he has served as an officer and Senior Vice President for provider network management for the Keystone Mercy Health Plan in Philadelphia; an officer and Vice President for risk arrangements and ancillary services, and Vice President for medical delivery for Independence Blue Cross in Philadelphia; vice president and then Senior Vice President for psychiatry and behavioral health services at Pennsylvania Hospital; and as a consultant with Gerald Katz and Associates while serving as executive director of the Philadelphia Mayor's Commission on Health.

He is a member of the board of directors of The Carrier Clinic in Belle Meade, New Jersey and previously served on the board of directors of Salem Health and Wellness Foundation, United Way of Salem County, Magee Rehabilitation Hospital and Federally Qualified Health Center(s).

Herdman earned a bachelor's degree in industrial psychology from Pennsylvania State University, an MBA in health care administration, a master's degree in management and a doctorate in economics, all from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. Prior to graduate school Herdman served as an officer in the U. S. Coast Guard.

Keith A. Kasper
Keith A. Kasper, MBA, is the senior vice president and chief financial officer for the University of Pennsylvania Health System (UPHS). In his role he is responsible for leading the health system's capital and operating budget process, providing financial support in the development of strategic and operating plans, integrating financial services to support UPHS business objectives and missions, leading the implementation and oversight of efficient customer-focused financial processes and systems, and providing appropriate management controls and stewardship of assets.

He joined UPHS as associate vice president of financial operations and budget in 2004 and more recently held the position of vice president of operations, finance and budget. Prior to coming to UPHS he was the CFO of Hahnemann University Hospital in Philadelphia and spent 14 years in senior financial roles with hospitals around the country.

Kasper earned a bachelor's degree of science in accounting from Saint Joseph's University and a MBA in business administration from the University of Phoenix. He is a member of the Healthcare Financial Management Association and was recently named the 2010 CFO of the Year by the Philadelphia Business Journal.

During this tenure, she has led development of a number of community-oriented, collaborative initiatives, including a home visiting program that has been replicated, expanded and widely accepted as an effective service delivery strategy for at-risk women, children and families; a unique, health-focused AmeriCorps program, known as the National Health Corps, which operates in five cities and brings volunteer community members and health professions students together in communities to deliver health promotion services while providing formative leadership experiences for the volunteers; a training agenda that supports capacity building and quality improvement within both public and nonprofit organizations that deliver public health services; an innovative language access program that provides technical assistance, policy development and training for interpreters in health and human service settings; a new model for implementing and sustaining delivery of behavioral health consultation integrated in primary care; and capacity and resource expansion strategies that respond to the changing health care policy, technology and competitive financing environment affecting safety net healthcare providers.

Sueyun Locks
Sueyun Locks is the owner and director of Locks Gallery in Philadelphia, a vital venue for the exhibition of art by living, Philadelphia and nationally known artists.

Locks is a member of the Mayor's Cultural Advisory Council. She is a board member of Pennsylvania Hospital, the Curtis Institute of Music, the University of the Arts, and the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts. As a trustee of the Locks Foundation, she has endowed fellowships and contemporary art initiatives in the region's leading arts schools and institutions including: PennDesign at the University of Pennsylvania, The Philadelphia Museum of Art, The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Moore College of Art, Princeton Art Museum, Institute of Contemporary Art at the University of Pennsylvania, Curtis Institute of Music, and the Opera Company of Philadelphia.

Locks earned a bachelor's degree in fine arts from Seoul National University, Korea and an MFA from Boston University, Massachusetts.

Lawrence T. Mangan
Lawrence T. Mangan is President of LTM Consulting Group, LLC, a firm dedicated to providing independent, high quality, experienced-based, investment, finance, accounting, tax and operating consulting services to private family and independent foundations, independent schools and other not-for-profit organizations on a global basis.  Clients include the John Templeton Foundation, Joyce Foundation, Benedum Foundation, Public Welfare Foundation, Saint Joseph’s University, North Penn Community Health Foundation, ABIM Foundation, Project HOME, Public/Private Ventures (PPV) and the Philadelphia Cultural Alliance.

Prior to founding his own firm in 2008, Mangan was Chief Financial Officer of The Rockefeller Foundation, a global $4.2 billion private foundation in New York.  Before his experience at Rockefeller, he served for eleven years as Vice President, Finance and Treasurer of the Connelly Foundation, a $250 million private foundation in West Conshohocken, Pennsylvania.  Prior to joining Connelly in 1995, Mangan served as CFO for two private, independent secondary schools in Pennsylvania and New Jersey, managing all relevant investment, financial, facilities and IT issues.  He started his career in commercial banking with the former Philadelphia National Bank.

He currently serves as chair of the Audit Committee of the Delaware Valley Grantmakers. He is a past President of the Foundation Financial Officer's Group (FFOG), an international association of senior level investment and financial professionals at large private foundations.  He has served various non-profits including director of the Delaware Valley Grantmakers,  Board and Finance Committee of the JRS Biodiversity Foundation and Finance Committee of the Dorothea vanDyke McLane Association. 

Mangan earned a BS in Finance from The Pennsylvania State University and an MBA from La Salle University. 

A. Scott McNeal, DO
Scott McNeal is the Vice President and Chief Medical Officer for Delaware Valley Community Health, Inc. (DVCH), which operates four federally qualified health centers in the Philadelphia region. DVCH provides high quality, culturally appropriate, primary care services to underserved communities. Dr. McNeal is also the Senior Vice President of Medical Affairs and Director of Medical Education at North Philadelphia Health Systems (NPHS). NPHS operates St. Joseph's Hospital and Girard Medical Center: Two community hospitals that provide both acute care and behavioral medicine services.

Dr. McNeal maintains staff privileges at hospitals in and around Philadelphia and sits on many community, hospital, university and managed care boards and committees. He is an associate professor at The Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine, and holds a teaching position of clinical advisor at the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing and Temple University School of Medicine. He is a member of the Philadelphia Board of Health. He is active in many organizations including the AOA, POMA, NMA, NOMA, PSR, AODME, the Domestic Violence Alliance, and the Institute for Safe Families.

Dr. McNeal earned a bachelor's degree in biology from Hofstra University, and earned a medical degree from Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine. He performed his Internship and Family Practice Residency at St. Joseph's Hospital in Philadelphia and completed additional training at Harvard University School of Public Health in managing Community Health Centers. He is Board Certified in Family Practice.

Susan E. Phillips
Susan E. Phillips, MPA, is the senior vice president for public affairs and chief of staff of PENN Medicine and secretary to the board of trustees. PENN Medicine is comprised of the University of Pennsylvania Health System and the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine.

Her previous positions include senior vice president and chief operating officer, as well as vice president and dean for external relations, of the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York City; senior vice president of public and government affairs for the City of Hope National Medical Center and Beckman Research Institute in Duarte, California; and director, then vice president, of government and public affairs for the University of Chicago Hospitals.

She also served as executive director of private markets for the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association and, on behalf of the federal Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA), served as special assistant to two HCFA administrators and, on behalf of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, was the director of health programs for the Fort McCoy Refugee Camp.

Phillips has a bachelor’s degree in political science from Indiana University and a master’s degree in public administration from the University of Southern California.