On the Boards

Marilou E. Watson

, a partner in the Intellectual Property Practice Group at Fox Rothschild L.L.P., Blue Bell, has been appointed by

Gov. Rendell

to serve on the

Pennsylvania Early Childhood Investment Commission

. The commission advocates for public investment in early education. Watson also is a registered pharmacist who holds degrees in pharmacy and biology.

Marilyn Heine has been elected vice president of the Pennsylvania Medical Society, Harrisburg, and will become president of organization in 2011. Heine, an emergency-medicine specialist and hematologist/oncologist, is on the faculty of the Drexel University College of Medicine and the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine.

The Earle Mack School of Law at Drexel University has appointed three Philadelphia businesspeople to its advisory board.

Brian R. Ford is the chief executive officer of Washington Philadelphia Partners L.P. He had been a partner in the Gaming Practice at Ernst & Young L.L.P.

Donna Gentile O'Donnell, CEO and chairwoman of Targetbiotics, Philadelphia, also was managing director of the Eastern Technology Council and deputy health commissioner of policy and planning for the City of Philadelphia in the Rendell administration.

Stephen A. Sheller is the founder and managing partner of Sheller P.C., a Philadelphia plaintiff's personal-injury and class-action law firm that recently helped the federal government win settlements in off-label marketing cases against Eli Lilly & Co. and Pfizer Inc.

Stephanie Denise Chochla Griffin and Mark Francis Miller have been named to the board of trustees of the Rosemont School of the Holy Child, an independent school in the Catholic tradition. Chochla Griffin is chairwoman of the capital campaign of the Hope Partnership of Philadelphia. Francis Miller is president of Biddle & Co. Insurance Brokers Inc., Newtown Square.

James Wentling has been elected president of Habitat for Humanity Philadelphia, a nonprofit organization committed to building affordable homes by partnering with families in need. He is an architect with James Wentling.

Seven new directors were elected to the board:

Brian Alessi is an accredited sustainability consultant with The Sheward Partnership.

Greg Hagin is vice president at CCS.

Julius Jackson is pastor at St. Mary's Bainbridge.

Jerry Kreider is a retired architect.

Michael McTigue is director of communications for GlaxoSmithKline P.L.C.

Damon Roberts is a real estate and land-use lawyer with Damon K. Roberts & Associates L.L.C., Philadelphia.

Frank Siefert is a retired architect.

Speaker Emeritus Robert W. O'Donnell was recently appointed to the Tobacco Settlement Investment Board by Keith McCall, current speaker of the Pennsylvania House. The board invests the proceeds of litigation against tobacco companies and funds public health programs in Pennsylvania. He is chief counsel to Weaver Barksdale Associates, an investment advisory firm, and maintains a law practice specializing in government relations.

The Philadelphia Cultural Fund, which supports the cultural life of the city of Philadelphia by offering grants, has elected Sara Garonzik president of the board. She is producing artistic director for the Philadelphia Theatre Company. She also serves on the board of Arts & Business Council of Greater Philadelphia.

David Young and Matthew Braun were mayoral appointments to the board with four-year terms. Young is executive director of Cliveden, a historic site of the National Trust for Historic Preservation in Germantown. Braun is executive director of the Fleisher Art Memorial.

Appointed officers for 2009-10:

Patricia Wilson-Aden, executive director of the Rhythm & Blues Foundation, is vice president.

Sean Kelley, program director of Eastern State Penitentiary Historic Site, Philadelphia, is vice president.

Craig Hamilton, director of development of the Philadelphia Orchestra Association, is treasurer.

Germaine Ingram, assistant director of the Philadelphia Folklore Project and former trial lawyer, is secretary.

Michael L. Magerman, president and CEO of Quickie Manufacturing Corp., Cinnaminson, has been elected to the board of the International Housewares Association, a trade association.

Alan B. Gubernick, a shareholder of St. Clair CPA Solutions, Merchantville, and its subsidiary, St. Clair CPAs P.C., has been elected to the Muhlenberg College Board of Observers for a four-year term.

Volunteers of America Delaware Valley, a regional nonprofit human-services agency in Collingswood, has named Melissa C. Prince to its board. She is a litigator at the business boutique law firm of Kleinbard, Bell & Brecker, Center City.

The Pennsylvania Horticultural Society Council, Philadelphia, has named the following new members to three-year terms:

Aaron Belitsky is the director of internal audit at the Pennsylvania Real Estate Investment Trust, Philadelphia, and serves on the PHS Audit Committee.

J. Earl Coffman is director of engineering for Peco Energy Co.'s electrical-delivery system and is a member of the PHS Green City Strategy Committee.

Edward M. D'Alba is president and CEO of Urban Engineers Inc., Philadelphia, and serves on the PHS Flower Show Executive and Preview Reception & Dinner Committees.

Robert C. Fell is an assurance partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers L.L.P., Philadelphia, and serves on the PHS Audit Committee.

Nicholas J. Kovich operates Kovich Capital Management, West Conshohocken, and serves on the PHS Finance and Investment Committees.

Barbara E. Meyers has served as a volunteer with the Episcopal Academy Parents Association and Philadelphia Antiques Show.

Paula Solomon received her landscape architecture degree from Temple University and with her husband, Mark, introduced the Solomon Challenge, which has drawn new members to the PHS 1827 Society this year. She serves on the PHS Search Committee.

John J. Soroko is chairman and CEO of the Duane Morris L.L.P. law firm in Philadelphia and is a member of the Green City Strategy Committee.

Darwin R. Beauvais was elected to the board of the Ronald McDonald House, a nonprofit organization that provides a home for families of critically ill children being treated at local hospitals. He is an associate in the Real Estate Department at the Philadelphia law firm of Klehr, Harrison, Harvey, Branzburg & Ellers L.L.C.

Ronald J. Patterson, a partner in the Real Estate Department at Klehr, Harrison, Harvey, Branzburg & Ellers L.L.C., was appointed to the Board of Trustees of West Catholic High School, Philadelphia.

- Mike Zebe