Bill Johnson

Secretary

Bill Johnson has worked in the non-profit sector for three decades. He’s held development and leadership positions in higher education, the arts, and public media. He is currently general manager of WRTI, Greater Philadelphia’s classical music and jazz public media institution. In this role he leads local and national efforts to strengthen public service through the power of music and public media.

Bill currently serves on the boards of Eastern Region Public Media, Jazz Philadelphia, Greater Public, the Station Resource Group, the noncomMUSIC Alliance Advisory Council, and “Play On Philly”. He holds a B.S. in Policy Analysis from Cornell University.

Gianna Tripodi-Bhise

Board Chair

Gianna Tripodi-Bhise, MBA, CFRE is WHYY’s Director, Foundation and Corporate Relations. She has 36 years of experience leading the development efforts of a variety of nonprofit organizations. Prior to joining WHYY in 2013, she spent seven years as Director of Development for Parkinson’s Action Network in Washington, DC. She also led development efforts for the Metropolitan Center for Assault Prevention, National Center for Policy Research for Women and Families, Easter Seals/Southeastern Pennsylvania, World Game Institute, and Radio Bilingue. Her areas of specialization include corporate and foundation giving; individual giving; special events management; and public relations. A native of Philadelphia, she holds a BA in English Literature from Saint Joseph’s University and an MBA from Drexel University. She is active in many children’s charities including Play On Philly, where she serves as Board Chair, Autism Speaks, Philadelphia Walk Committee and the Spark program of the Philadelphia Education Fund, where she serves as a mentor and Corporate Ambassador.

Mike Schuldt

Director

Michael Schuldt is a Managing Partner at Freeman Clarke, the largest and most experienced team of fractional CIOs and CTOs for the mid-market. His areas of focus include strategic planning, business development, strategic alliances and partnerships, and project planning and execution while leading a team of technical experts to deliver digital service offerings. He is experienced in founding and managing venture-backed companies and is actively involved as an equity partner and advisory board member for two dynamic tech start-up companies. Michael also serves as an advisory board member for Temple University’s Professional Science Master’s in Geographic Information Systems. As a lifelong musician, former percussion instructor and former full-time performer, Michael remains actively engaged and performs with various local bands and ensembles.

Carole Haas Gravagno

Co-Founder and Emeritus Director

Carole Haas Gravagno is the proud mother of two sons and several grandchildren. She considers herself a passionate supporter and enthusiast of the arts (theatre and music in particular), education, arts education and education through the arts. Carole is a parenting educator, as well as an impassioned advocate for parenting education – a discipline designed to give the most vulnerable among us the kind of nurturing that can transform an individual, a community and a society. She actively works with parenting educators, social workers and prisoners. Sharing these passions with John C. Haas, Carole was encouraged to help vision the Stoneleigh Foundation, where she continues to provide guidance and support. Carole enjoys classical music, travel, theater, singing, and skiing.

Kimberly C. Fields

Director

Kimberly C. Fields, MBA is a purpose-driven leader with 30+ years in the biotech/pharmaceutical industry. Her diverse experience covers the gamut from finance, training, sales, marketing, and sales leadership. She specializes in strategic plan implementation, leading change management and coaching for outstanding outcomes. She is inspired and thrives on inclusion thus she has collaborated with all levels of management and diverse personalities on cross-functional teams and matrix organizations within the Johnson & Johnson family of companies, GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) and other fortune 100 companies.

Kimberly has been passionate about music from her 1st exposure as a young child as her mother was a trained contralto thus, music has always been ever present. Kimberly is a proud member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated, which is an organization of college educated women committed to the constructive development of its members to public service. Various initiatives and programs are focused on education, economic development, political awareness, and social issues primarily in the Black community.  She considers herself a lifelong learner who is willing to share what she knows and is willing to grow.

Mitchell L. Bach, Esq.

Director

Mitchell L. Bach graduated with honors from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, in 1968, where he returned to lecture in business law. He received his law degree, also with honors, from the Law School of the University of Pennsylvania, in 1971. Before entering private practice, he served as a law clerk to the Honorable Thomas A. Masterson, United States District Judge for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. Mr. Bach is a Member of the law firm of Eckert Seamans Cherin & Mellott, LLC, and former Chair of the firm’s Commercial Litigation Practice Group in Philadelphia. He was Chair of the Business Law Section of the Philadelphia Bar Association in 2005, and also formerly chaired the Association’s Business Litigation Committee. Mr. Bach is also the former Chair of the ABA Section of Business Law’s Committee on Corporate and Business Litigation, is currently Co-Chair of its Diversity Clerkship Committee, and was the former Chair of its Business Courts Subcommittee. Mr. Bach served as a member of the Council of the ABA Section of Business Law, and was the Co-Chair of the Section’s Leadership Development Committee. He also formerly served as the Section’s Co-Chair of the Ad Hoc Committee on Judges Initiative. Mr. Bach played a key role in the organization and development of the Commerce Case Management Program of the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas in 1999; and is actively involved in the creation of other specialized business courts throughout the United States, a subject on which he writes and speaks about frequently. He served as President of Society Hill Synagogue from 2005 to 2007, and is actively involved with a number of other non-profit organizations in the Philadelphia area. Throughout his life, Mr. Bach has been passionate about music, and was singer-songwriter in the 60’s and 70’s, when he also played with a number of bands as rhythm guitar and lead singer.

Dr. Thomas Vernon

Emeritus Director

Dr. Tom Vernon is a retired public health physician who joined the POP board in 2015 and became board chairman in October 2018. Tom is a graduate of Duke University and Harvard Medical School and completed internal medicine training at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center. He spent several years with the Centers for Disease Control as an epidemiologist, including two years in Nepal in the global malaria eradication effort. In 1972 Tom joined the Colorado Department of Health as State Epidemiologist and was appointed cabinet level Executive Director of the department in 1983. After more than seven years as Executive Director, Tom moved to Philadelphia to become Director of Health and Human Services for the Pew Charitable Trusts. In 1993 he joined Merck as the Vaccine Division’s Vice President for Policy, Public Health and Medical Affairs. Tom is a member of the board of the Philadelphia Chamber Music Society and chair of its Audience Engagement Committee. He serves on the Development Committee of the Curtis Institute of Music. He and his wife Pat West Vernon are avid skiers, bikers and travelers and are devotees of classical music, social justice, and good government. They live in Center City and have a second home in Colorado where live two children and four grandchildren.