Contact: Tameka L. Altadonna, Pennsylvania Bar Foundation, 888-238-3036, info@pabarfoundation.org

Pennsylvania Bar Foundation Names 2023-24 Officers and Board Members

HARRISBURG, Pa. (July 13, 2023) — The Pennsylvania Bar Foundation has named 22 lawyers and judges from across the commonwealth to assume 2023-24 leadership roles as officers and directors.

The following members began their positions at the close of the Pennsylvania Bar Foundation Annual Meeting on May 4.

Officers

Michael B. Jones, McMillen Urick Tocci Jones, Aliquippa, has been named president. He is an Advocacy Club Fellow level supporter of the foundation. He is co-chair of the Pennsylvania Bar Association (PBA) Bylaws Committee, and a member of the Civility in the Profession, and Cybersecurity and Data Privacy committees, and Municipal Law Section. He is a current Zone 10 delegate, former Zone 10 governor to the PBA House of Delegates and treasurer of the Conference of County Bar Leaders.

Larry E. Coploff, Coploff, Ryan & Houser, Lock Haven, has been named vice president. He is a Keystone Society Fellow level supporter, and his firm is a Liberty Club Law Firm Fellow supporter of the foundation. Coploff is a member of the PBA House of Delegates. He is also a member of the Business Law; Elder Law; Municipal Law; Real Property, Probate and Trust Law; and Solo and Small Firm sections. He is a former Zone 11 governor to the PBA House of Delegates.

Jeffrey M. Bower, Bower Law Associates PLLC, State College, is the immediate past president. He is a Commonwealth Club level supporter, and his firm is a Liberty Club Law Firm Fellow supporter of the foundation. He is a member of the PBA Aeronautical and Space Law, and Solo and Small Firm sections. He is a Zone 11 delegate to the PBA House of Delegates and a past member of the PABAR-PAC Board.

Christine Hall McClure, Knox McLaughlin Gornall & Sennett PC, Erie, has been renamed secretary. She is a Keystone Society Fellow level supporter and previously served as vice president of the foundation. McClure has served as a voting member of the PBA House of Delegates and secretary of the Pennsylvania Bar Trust & Insurance Fund. She is a member of the PBA Education Law and Municipal Law sections, and Commission on Women in the Profession.

Helen L. Gemmill, McNees Wallace & Nurick LLC, Harrisburg, has been named treasurer. She is a Keystone Society Fellow level supporter of the foundation. She is a member of the Civil Litigation Section and the Commission on Women in the Profession. Gemmill previously served as a Zone 3 delegate to the PBA House of Delegates.

Elected Directors

The following board member was elected to his first three-year term.

James P. Valentine, Rosenn, Jenkins & Greenwald, LLP, Wilkes-Barre, was elected to a three-year term through May 2026. He is a Life Fellow level supporter of the foundation. Valentine is a former Zone 5 governor to the PBA Board of Governors. He is a member of the PBA Labor and Employment Law Section and the Gaming Committee.

The following board members were elected to their second three-year terms.

Sara A. Austin, Austin Law Firm LLC, York, is a Keystone Society Fellow level supporter of the foundation. She is a past president of the PBA, a member of the PBA House of Delegates and a past chair of the PBA Solo and Small Firm Section. She is serving as co-chair of the PBA Statewide Electronic Filing Task Force.

Bernadette M. Hohenadel, Nikolaus & Hohenadel LLP, Lancaster, is a Life Fellow level supporter of the foundation. She is a member of the Law-Related Education and Quality of Life/Balance committees, Municipal Law Section and Commission on Women in the Profession. Hohenadel is a former chair of the PBA Editorial Committee and former member of the PBA House of Delegates and Board of Governors.

Jonathan D. Koltash, Governor’s Office of General Counsel, Harrisburg, is a Life Fellow level supporter of the foundation. He is co-chair of the Legal Career Transitions Committee, co-chair and graduate of the PBA Bar Leadership Institute, former chair of the PBA House of Delegates and a member of numerous PBA committees. Koltash is also the current president-elect of the Dauphin County Bar Association.

Wesley R. Payne IV, White and Williams LLP, Philadelphia, is a Commonwealth Club Fellow level supporter of the foundation. He is a member of the PBA Civil and Equal Rights, Large Law Firm and Minority Bar committees. Payne is a Zone 1 delegate to the PBA Board of Governors, former treasurer of the PBA Conference of County Bar Leaders and former chancellor of the Philadelphia Bar Association.

Designated Directors

The following designated directors are serving one-year terms.

Michael J. McDonald, McDonald and MacGregor PC, Scranton, is a Keystone Society Fellow level supporter of the foundation. He is the current president of the PBA. McDonald is a member of the Task Force on Statewide Electronic Filing and member of the PBA Aeronautical and Space Law, Civil Litigation, Solo and Small Firm, and Workers’ Compensation sections. He also is a member of the Bylaws, Finance, Health Care Law, Investment, Law-Related Education, Membership Development and Minority Bar committees. McDonald established a law student scholarship with the foundation in honor of his father: The Joseph T. McDonald Memorial Scholarship. The $3,000 annual scholarship is awarded to a full-time, third-year law student who is a Pennsylvania resident in the Penn State Dickinson Law trial advocacy program.

Karen Grethlein, Chubb Insurance, Wilmington, Delaware, is a Young Lawyer Life Fellow level supporter of the foundation and is the current secretary of the PBA Young Lawyers Division (YLD). She is a Zone 1 YLD delegate to the PBA House of Delegates and graduate of the Bar Leadership Institute. She is a member of the Civility in the Profession, Cybersecurity and Data Privacy, and Insurance Staff Attorney committees.

Charles Eppolito III, White and Williams LLP, Philadelphia, is a Commonwealth Club Fellow level supporter of the foundation and a past president of the PBA. He is a former chair of the PBA House of Delegates, chair of the Judicial Evaluation Committee and former PBA delegate to the American Bar Association House of Delegates. Eppolito is a member of the Cybersecurity and Data Privacy, Health Care Law, Membership Development, Minority Bar and Unauthorized Practice of Law committees, and the Commission on Women in the Profession.

Melinda C. Ghilardi, Munley Law, Scranton, is a Life Fellow level supporter of the foundation. She is co-vice chair of the PBA Federal Practice Committee and a member of the PBA House of Delegates, Executive Council of the Civil Litigation Section and Commission on Women in the Profession (WIP). She serves on the WIP’s Annual Conference Committee and its Awards, Executive Council and Report Card subcommittees.

  1. Joseph Landy, Landy & Rossettie PLLC, Sayer, is a Life Fellow level supporter of the foundation. Landy’s practice includes civil and commercial litigation, family law matters, Orphans’ Court litigation, and personal injury and workers’ compensation cases. He serves on the Board of Directors of First Citizens Community Bank, Sayre Incubator Inc. and Tuscarora Wayne Insurance Company.

The following previously elected directors are continuing their terms.

Chester C. Corse Jr., Williamson Friedberg & Jones LLC, Pottsville (2021-24)

Christopher G. Gvozdich, Gvozdich Law Offices, Ebensburg (2022-25)

Anne N. John, John & John, Uniontown (2021-24)

Stephanie F. Latimore, Legislative Reference Bureau of Pennsylvania, Harrisburg (2022-25)

Brian J. Lindsay, Lindsay & Hatheway, Meadville (2021-24)

Judge A. Michael Snyder, The Dispute Resolution Institute, Philadelphia (2022-25)

Rhodia D. Thomas, MidPenn Legal Services, Harrisburg (2022-25)

For a full list of the Pennsylvania Bar Foundation Board of Directors visit https://www.pabar.org/site/Foundation/Who-We-Are/Board.

The Pennsylvania Bar Foundation, the 501(c)(3) charitable affiliate of the Pennsylvania Bar Association, was incorporated in 1984 in response to the organized bar’s desire to become more involved in public service. The foundation works to increase the public’s understanding of the law and its appreciation of democracy and strives to ensure that Pennsylvania’s citizens have full access to the legal system.

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Source: Pennsylvania Bar Foundation, 100 South Street, Harrisburg, PA 17108