Power List
The CSPA 2024 Power of Diversity: Women 100
Meet the women who are powering change throughout the commonwealth
From left to right: Wendelynne Newton, Kendra Ross & Adrienne Straccione Jen Worley; Kitoko Chargois; Jared Gruenwald, Left Eyed Studios
Women have been doing great things in Pennsylvania since at least the days of Betsy Ross, Philadelphia’s iconic flag-maker. Yet what stands out most about City & State’s 2024 Power of Diversity: Women 100 is, well, the sheer diversity of ways that women now make their mark in the commonwealth. With leaders in fields from engineering and corporate litigation to health insurance, fine dining and energy production, this list calls attention to the increasingly broad spectrum of excellence demonstrated by Pennsylvania women – an array of professional achievements notably more diverse than would have been the case even a decade ago, let alone in Ross’ day.
1. Kim Ward
Kim Ward, a Westmoreland County Republican, was reelected last year as the chamber’s president pro tempore – and the Pennsylvania legislature’s first female majority leader. Her success stems from a collegial, bipartisan style and a focus on issues with broad relevance, especially health policy – a priority for this former respiratory therapist and breast cancer survivor. Ward has said she views November’s Republican electoral victories as vindication of her party’s approach to kitchen-table issues, from everyday prices to support for the state’s multifaceted energy industry.
2. Joanna McClinton
Joanna McClinton, the first female Speaker of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, has served her Philadelphia and Delaware County district in the chamber since 2015. She was also the first woman elected Democratic Caucus chair and Democratic Leader – and she was highly effective: During the last session, McClinton shepherded more than 400 pieces of legislation through the state House, many with bipartisan support. McClinton, a former public defender, is also proud of securing record state investments in education during her tenure.
3. Cherelle Parker
Whatever Philadelphians think about their first female mayor, Cherelle Parker, they can’t complain about her lack of initiative. In her first year, the former City Councilmember brought city employees back to the office five days a week, launched the first street-cleaning scheme in decades and booted stopped cars out of bike lanes – all measures intended to revitalize the city. Now Parker is betting on a controversial Center City arena complex, 76 Place, to further revive the city’s urban core.
4. Debra Todd
On display at the University of Pittsburgh School of Law, amid paintings of bygone men, is a cheerful portrait of Debra Todd – an alumna and, as of 2022, the chief justice of Pennsylvania. Todd, the first woman to lead the state Supreme Court, is the daughter of an Ellwood City steelworker and grew up to be an attorney for U.S. Steel. She is the Supreme Court’s longest-serving member, having joined in 2007 following a stint on the Pennsylvania Superior Court.
5. Leslie C. Davis
At UPMC, CEO Leslie Davis presides over a $23 billion health system that is Western Pennsylvania’s largest employer. She recently named Mary Beth Jenkins to be president and CEO of UPMC Health Plan and chief of the fast-growing insurance division – which, with more than 4 million members, is the region’s major insurer. Davis, who joined UPMC in 2004, has also grown the system through new facilities, including Mercy Pavilion, which houses UPMC’s vision and rehabilitation institutes, and a 1-million-square-foot flagship hospital.
6. Madeleine Dean
Fourth-term Democrat Madeleine Dean, a veteran of 2018’s congressional blue wave, sits on two of Capitol Hill’s most influential committees: the House Judiciary Committee and the Committee on Foreign Affairs. A former college English professor and longtime champion of women’s issues, Dean also serves on the Pennsylvania Governor’s Advisory Commission for Women and chairs the Congressional Bipartisan Fentanyl Prevention Caucus.
7. Chrissy Houlahan
Having served in the U.S. Air Force, Chrissy Houlahan makes sure Congress takes care of her military colleagues. The third-term Democrat from Southeast Pennsylvania recently sponsored legislation ensuring reproductive health care for servicemembers and secured 19 amendments in the latest National Defense Authorization Act, including support for veterans’ paid leave and small business contractors. Houlahan currently serves on the House Armed Services Committee and Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence and co-leads the House Bipartisan Working Group on Paid Family Leave, which she co-founded.
8. Mary Gay Scanlon
Mary Gay Scanlon, a Delaware County attorney, brings her lawyerly insights to the House Committee on Rules, as well as the House Judiciary Committee. Having previously led Ballard Spahr’s national pro bono program, Scanlon is known as a progressive voice for social justice in Congress, having championed LGBTQ rights and affirmative action. Most recently, she decried mass incarceration policies and applauded President Joe Biden’s decision to grant clemency to nearly 1,500 Americans – a single-day record for such action.
9. Summer Lee
Before she handily won reelection to Congress in November, some observers remained skeptical of Summer Lee’s durability as a Pittsburgh progressive in Washington, D.C. Lee has proven them wrong, demonstrating significant support – including from House Democratic leadership – as the first Black woman elected to Congress from Pennsylvania. The former state representative has most recently championed legislation around the handling of Pennsylvania’s abandoned oil and gas wells, and is pushing to establish AI civil rights offices across government agencies.
10. Stacy Garrity
In November, Pennsylvania Treasurer Stacy Garrity broke state records for the most votes received in an election. Suffice it to say that commonwealth voters approve of the job the Republican U.S. Army veteran is doing as the state’s fiscal watchdog, protecting over $160 billion in state assets; to date, her office has also set records by returning over $4.5 billion in unclaimed property. Under her leadership, Pennsylvania’s Rainy Day Fund has grown to its highest level ever, exceeding $7 billion.
11. Lisa Baker
State Sen. Lisa Baker, a Luzerne County Republican now in her fifth term, serves as majority caucus administrator and is in her third term as chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee. Known as a fighter for victims’ rights, she co-chairs Pennsylvania’s Juvenile Justice Task Force and recently championed two key Senate bills reforming the state’s juvenile justice system based on the task force’s findings. Baker is also vice chair of the Senate’s Aging and Youth committee.
12. Judy Ward
State Sen. Judy Ward, a Republican from Blair County, currently serves as chair of the Senate Aging and Youth Committee, working alongside Minority Chair and fellow nurse-by-training Maria Collett. Ward has recently championed increased funding for frontline health workers, as well as for hospitals and health facilities throughout the commonwealth. She has also supported reforms around nurse credentialing and led efforts in the General Assembly to pass major legislation covering cancer treatment.
13. Michele Brooks
At the helm of the Pennsylvania Senate’s Health and Human Services committee, Michele Brooks crusades for the rural health issues affecting her constituents in Mercer, Crawford and Lawrence counties. The three-term Republican has promoted funding for community health services, home care for seniors, measures to ease the state’s health labor shortage and greater awareness of tick-borne diseases. Brooks, who also serves as vice chair of the Senate Finance Committee, has also co-sponsored legislation to establish the Women, Infants, and Children State Advisory Board.
14. Tracy Pennycuick
As co-chair of the Pennsylvania Senate’s Communications and Technology Committee, Republican state Sen. Tracy Pennycuick co-sponsored the recent bipartisan bill prohibiting AI interference in elections. Pennycuick was elected to the Senate in 2022 to represent the Philadelphia suburbs after serving one term in the state House of Representatives. She previously served 26 years with the U.S. Army, including overseas deployment; more recently, she worked as the director of veterans affairs for Montgomery County.
15. Mary Jo Daley
State Rep. Mary Jo Daley serves as chair of the House Tourism and Recreational Development Committee, where she has pushed for legislation around wildlife conservation and the environment. Daley, who was previously the former longtime president of the Narberth Borough Council, has represented Montgomery County in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives since 2013. She is also the co-founder of Emerge Pennsylvania, an organization that prepares women to run for and serve in elected positions.
16. Camera Bartolotta, Lisa Boscola, Morgan Cephas, Maria Collett, Sheryl Delozier, Carol Hill-Evans, Patty Kim, Anita Astorino Kulik, Kristin Phillips-Hill
Women may still be a minority in the state legislature—currently occupying 80 of 253 seats, or just under one-third – but they hold increasingly powerful positions, with women leading both chambers.
Camera Bartolotta, a Western Pennsylvanian, is the Republican caucus secretary. Her recent priorities have included measures to reduce juvenile recidivism and granting nurse practitioners professional autonomy.
Lisa Boscola, a lifelong resident of the Lehigh Valley, is a five-term Democratic senator who has affiliated with the centrist Forward party. She is the minority chair of the Senate Consumer Protection & Professional Licensure Committee.
Maria Collett, a Montgomery County Democrat, is the minority chair of the Senate Aging and Youth Committee and the Minority Caucus chair.
York County Republican Kristin Phillips-Hill, who chairs the Majority Caucus, also serves as secretary of the Pennsylvania Broadband Development Authority. There, she has long led efforts to expand internet access to rural parts of the Commonwealth.
They will be joined this January by Democrat Patty Kim, the first Asian American woman to serve in the Pennsylvania Senate. Kim previously served on the Harrisburg City Council and, until recently, in the state House; she also chairs the Capitol Preservation Committee.
In the House, Democrat Morgan Cephas has led the House’s Philadelphia delegation, championing recent efforts to shore up SEPTA by securing $150 million in federal funding to avert fare hikes and service cuts.
Former York City Council president Carol Hill-Evans was a founding leader of the House’s Central Pennsylvania Delegation and currently is its vice chair. She also chairs the chamber’s State Government Committee and the Committee on Committees.
Pittsburgh native Anita Astorino Kulik, an attorney from Allegheny County, brings her deep local roots and legal perspective to the House Game and Fisheries Committee, where she has served as majority chair since 2019.
On the Republican side is Sheryl Delozier, a nine-term representative from Cumberland County. Delozier is known for prioritizing criminal justice reform and has represented the House on the Pennsylvania Commission of Crime and Delinquency.
17. Neeli Bendapudi
Penn State is prospering under the leadership of Neeli Bendapudi, who arrived in 2022 as the university’s first female leader and first president of color. Under her leadership, research expenditures are way up – $1.2 billion last year – and the Penn State board has repeatedly indicated their approval of her pragmatic management approach. Bendapudi, who was born in India, is a marketing scholar who has emphasized data, transparency and inclusivity to balance the needs of 90,000 students across multiple campuses.
18. Nancy A. Walker
Nancy Walker leads the commonwealth’s Department of Labor and Industry, having previously worked in the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s newly created Fair Labor Section. Under Walker’s leadership, L&I has prioritized the health, safety and welfare of Pennsylvania minors, investigating 43% more child-labor cases year-over-year. The veteran labor and employment lawyer has also refined the state’s unemployment compensation system, offering in-person assistance at PA CareerLink offices statewide and enrolling 11,000 Pennsylvanians in 66 new registered apprenticeship programs through L&I’s Apprenticeship and Training Office.
19. Val Arkoosh
Anesthesiologist Val Arkoosh was appointed as the commonwealth’s secretary of Human Services by Gov. Josh Shapiro, a fellow Montgomery County politician. She oversees the state’s efforts to address the mental and behavioral health crisis and cover as many Pennsylvanians as possible at a moment of fluctuating post-pandemic Medicaid eligibility and record Pennie signups. Arkoosh previously chaired the Montgomery County Board of Commissioners; prior to that, she began her career working in Philadelphia hospitals and as an activist with the nonprofit National Physicians Alliance.
20. Debra Bogen
Pediatrician Debra Bogen is the commonwealth’s top public health official, appointed by Gov. Josh Shapiro to head the state Department of Health. Bogen previously directed the Allegheny County Health Department, where she coordinated public services through the COVID-19 pandemic and spoke out for paid sick leave. She has also been a professor of pediatrics at the University of Pittsburgh, vice chair of education at UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh’s Department of Pediatrics and the co-founder and volunteer medical director of the Mid-Atlantic Mothers’ Milk Bank.
21. Jacqueline Romero
While she handles top-level cases, Jacqueline Romero, Pennsylvania’s U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District, typically toils out of the headlines – until recently, when she handled both a highly visible antisemitic harasser and was scrutinized by House Republicans for her involvement in a colleague’s investigation of Hunter Biden. Romero, a longtime former assistant U.S. Attorney, is the first woman and the first openly LGBTQ person to hold her position. She also teaches at Temple University’s James E. Beasley School of Law.
22. Nina Ahmad, Cindy Bass, Kendra Brooks, Jamie Gauthier, Rue Landau, Quetcy Lozada, Katherine Gilmore Richardson
Although women hold only seven of the 17 seats on Philadelphia City Council, they lead the city’s chief governing body, holding both the majority and minority leadership roles (and collaborating, for the first time ever, with a female mayor).
At just 39, Democrat Katherine Gilmore Richardson was selected to be Council’s majority leader earlier this year – the youngest-ever person and the first at-large member to do so, having already been the youngest-ever Philadelphian elected citywide, in 2019.
She is joined by Minority Leader Kendra Brooks, the first non-Republican to hold that position. Brooks, an at-large member, made history in 2019 as the first Working Families Party candidate to win a Council seat.
Democrat Quetcy Lozada, who succeeded her longtime boss and mentor, Maria Quiñones-Sánchez, has also served on the governor's Advisory Council on Latino Affairs.
Cindy Bass, the deputy majority whip, has represented her Northwest Philadelphia district since 2012 and serves on the Parks, Recreation, and Cultural Affairs and Public Health and Human Services committees.
West Philadelphia’s Jamie Gauthier, chair of the Committee on Housing, Neighborhood Development, and the Homeless and the Committee on the Environment, exerts significant influence over the city’s civic infrastructure.
The chamber’s newest female members, elected last year, include Nina Ahmad, a Bangladeshi American scientist, former deputy mayor, and the Council’s first South Asian and Muslim woman. She was joined by prominent civil rights and housing attorney Rue Landau, the chamber's first openly LGBTQ member. Landau has directed both the Philadelphia Commission on Human Relations and the Fair Housing Commission.
23. Sara Innamorato
Since her 2023 election as Allegheny County’s first female – and millennial – executive, Sara Innamorato has focused on the essentials. She spearheaded a modernizing overhaul of the county’s Board of Health and recently celebrated a 36% property tax increase – a budget compromise that shores up the county’s "rainy day" fund and restores matching federal and state funds for human services. Innamorato, an Allegheny native, previously was elected to represent the Pittsburgh area as a Democratic Socialist in 2018 and won reelection as a Democrat.
24. Jami McKeon
While Morgan Lewis’ Philadelphia-area legal team shrank this year, Chair Jami McKeon bolstered the firm’s presence internationally with important specialist hires in China and London. Such power moves are typical for McKeon, who just completed a decade as the global law firm’s first female chair. The Villanova Law graduate, who joined Philadelphia-headquartered Morgan Lewis in 1981 and formerly chaired its prestigious litigation practice, has orchestrated a major global expansion that more than doubled the firm’s size to 2,000-plus lawyers worldwide.
25. Kelly Munson
New CEO Kelly Munson is shaking up management at AmeriHealth Caritas, the leading Medicaid insurer, after the company recently failed to win major state Medicaid contracts. Munson, a Medicaid expert, arrived in early 2024 to lead AmeriHealth Caritas, which is majority-owned by Independence Health Group. She previously managed an $18.5 billion Medicaid program as the president of Aetna Medicaid, a CVS Health company; before that, she held leadership positions at Wellcare Health Plans, Medicaid Health Plans of America, and the Institute for Medicaid Innovation.
26. Angela Ferritto
This year, Angela Ferritto was reelected as the Pennsylvania AFL-CIO’s first female president, affirming support for a forward-looking approach to labor. Since her historic ascension in 2022, Ferritto has been a vocal proponent of Pennsylvania’s clean-energy transition and the jobs it will provide; she also recently celebrated a typical commonwealth wage that exceeds the national average. Ferritto, who represents 700,000 members in 1,400 statewide locals, began her career at the Pennsylvania Department of Revenue and has been affiliated with AFSCME in Erie and Harrisburg.
27. Joan Gabel
In her second year as chancellor of the University of Pittsburgh, Joan Gabel is steering the 34,000-student school on an ambitious course. She recently announced Pitt would host the world’s first institute uniting AI, data and women’s health, the Vijayalakshmi Innovation Center in Women’s Health Analytics and Research, and is also steering Pitt’s BioForge project, a 185,000-square-foot biomanufacturing facility for cell and gene therapy. Gabel, a business law scholar, previously headed the University of Minnesota.
28. Wendelynne Newton
As leader of the Antitrust Practice Group at Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney, shareholder Wendelynne Newton focuses her practice on antitrust and trade regulation issues, handling litigation as well as mergers and acquisitions. Over hundreds of cases, Newton has successfully persuaded government entities – including the Department of Justice and state attorneys general – not to challenge the majority of those transactions, leading her to be repeatedly named Pittsburgh Litigation - Health Care Lawyer of the Year by “The Best Lawyers in America.”
29. Laurel Harry
Laurel R. Harry leads the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections, where she began in 1999 and was named the PA Prison Wardens Association’s 2019 Warden of the Year. Under her leadership, the Corrections Department has seen its three-year recidivism rate for released individuals fall by 10%. Harry has achieved a historic reduction in its officer vacancy rate, lowered the minimum trainee age and bolstered veteran recruitment. Recently, she has prioritized employee well-being, hiring a wellness coordinator and hosting the inaugural Staff Wellness Summit.
30. Rochelle “Chellie” Cameron
After 25 years managing major East Coast airports, Rochelle Cameron has a more local role – as president of the Chamber of Commerce for Greater Philadelphia, a role she assumed in 2022. Cameron serves as chief cheerleader and strategist for the Southeast Pennsylvania economic community – partnering with Philadelphia’s business-friendly mayor, Cherelle Parker, and serving as a member of the Global Philadelphia Association. A U.S. Air Force veteran, Cameron previously managed the Washington, D.C., and Philadelphia airports.
31. Michele Kessler
Over decades fighting for organized labor as well as LGBTQ rights, Michele Kessler has accumulated substantial political capital at UFCW Local 1776 Keystone State, where she is the longtime secretary-treasurer. Kessler oversees finances and operations on behalf of 35,000 members who work at supermarkets, pharmacies, manufacturers, Fine Wines & Spirits stores and long-term care facilities. Kessler’s campaign activism was recognized when newly elected Gov. Josh Shapiro and his lieutenant, Austin Davis, named Kessler a co-chair of last year’s inaugural committee.
32. Deborah Rice-Johnson
Longtime Highmark executive Deborah Rice-Johnson recently guided the rollout of Alloyed Works, a efficiency-guided initiative that unites the health insurer’s Diversified Businesses division with other market entities and insurance networks. Rice-Johnson continues to serve as CEO of Diversified Businesses for Highmark, as well as its chief growth officer. During her 10-year tenure, Highmark has seen its revenue grow to $26 billion, its membership increase to 7 million and Highmark Health plans join the ranks of America’s largest Blue offerings.
33. Cynthia Shapira
Cynthia Shapira is in her ninth year as chair of the Board of Governors of Pennsylvania’s State System of Higher Education, where she oversaw a system redesign that integrated six universities into two. Shapira, a former management consultant, is also the founding chair of the Pennsylvania State Board of Higher Education, which was created by the General Assembly and signed into action by Gov. Josh Shapiro last July. She was also appointed by President Joe Biden to the Department of Homeland Security Academic Partnership Council.
34. Nicole LeVine
When she was named chief operating officer of PECO in 2022, Nicole LeVine was well prepared: She has spent her entire career at the Philadelphia-based utility, an Exelon subsidiary with nearly 2 million customers, beginning as an engineer in 2000. Since then, LeVine has managed field operations, distribution systems and the electric and gas operations control center before moving into corporate leadership. A role model for women in a male-dominated field, LeVine also chairs the board of Girl Scouts of Eastern PA.
35. Lynne P. Fox
As international president of the 86,000-strong Workers United, Lynne Fox recently celebrated a milestone victory – collaborating with Starbucks Workers United to organize a union for employees at its 500 U.S. Starbucks stores in the U.S. Philadelphia-based Fox, the chair of Amalgamated Bank and an executive board member of SEIU, with which Workers United is affiliated, has long crusaded for workers’ rights as the manager of Workers United’s Philadelphia Joint Board, president of the Philadelphia Jewish Labor Committee and vice president of the Philadelphia AFL-CIO Council.
36. Erika H. James
Erika James assumed leadership of the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School in 2020, bringing her organizational leadership background to the COVID-19 pandemic disruption. Nearly five years later, she is celebrating victories – including diversity milestones like the first-ever majority-female MBA enrollment – but also confronting challenges, like a drop in philanthropy linked to tensions over campus antisemitism and free speech. The resilience expert has responded with donor outreach and launched Wharton AI & Analytics, a high-profile initiative that positions Wharton on the academic and technological vanguard.
37. Deborah Addo
Deborah Addo joined Penn State Health in 2021 and currently serves as its interim CEO, as well as president and COO, as she steers the system’s financial turnaround. Addo is currently overseeing the construction of a comprehensive cancer center at Penn State Health Hampden Medical Center, set to open in late 2025. Her three decades of health care operations and management include, most recently, serving as senior vice president of Inova Health System and as CEO of several of its Virginia hospitals.
38. Kathy Sweigert
Kathy Sweigert, a 25-year grocery industry veteran, currently heads the mid-Atlantic division for The GIANT Company, the 101-year-old omnichannel grocer she first joined as a cashier in 2000. In the past decade, Sweigert has been honored as the FMI Store Manager of the Year and twice as one of Progressive Grocer’s Top Women in Grocery. As the executive advisor for GIANT’s PRIDE business resource group and an active local volunteer, she received the Ahold Delhaize Global Dare to Care award, recognizing her commitment to community service.
39. Jamila Winder
After nearly four decades in Montgomery County, Jamila Winder joined the County Board of Commissioners in 2023 with the goal of broadening the organization’s representation; she currently serves as its chair. Winder has relaunched Montgomery County’s Commission for Women and established the county’s first-ever Commission for LGBTQIA+ Affairs. During her tenure, the county announced an Anti-Discrimination Proclamation and secured $18 million in federal funding for an Emergency Behavioral Health Center. Winder previously served on the East Norriton Township Board of Supervisors and directed the Norristown Area School District board.
40. Stephanie Catarino Wissman
For 13 years, Stephanie Catarino Wissman has led Pennsylvania operations and strategy for the American Petroleum Institute, representing members of both Pennsylvania and West Virginia’s powerful natural gas and oil industry before state and local governments, the business community and the media. Most recently, she has stepped up education and public relations efforts through Harrisburg’s “Natural Gas and Oil Day” and sponsorship of the Energy Education Foundation’s Mobile Energy Learning Unit. Wissman previously headed governmental affairs at the Pennsylvania Chamber of Business and Industry.
41. Lindy Li
Democratic political operative Lindy Li is known for her prolific cable TV interviews and daily viral tweets. She works with top officials at the White House and has collaborated on both the Biden and Harris presidential campaigns, helping to raise millions of dollars and steering Asian American and women’s outreach efforts. Li, who in 2016 was the youngest-ever woman to run for Congress, currently serves on the national finance committee of the DNC and on the Pennsylvania Governor’s Advisory Commission on Asian American and Pacific Islander Affairs.
Editor’s note: Lindy Li is a member of the City & State advisory board.
42. Rochelle Bilal
In her second term as the sheriff of both the City and the County of Philadelphia, Rochelle Bilal is stepping up outreach – including through a podcast, “The Sheriff’s Perspective.” First elected in 2019, Bilal was the city’s first-ever African American woman to manage the office, which has a $26 million budget and oversight of court security, prisoner transport and court-ordered property sales. Bilal, who previously served 27 years with the Philadelphia Police Department, has also led the Guardian Civic League.
43. Kim Pizzingrilli
Kim Pizzingrilli was a founding member of One+ Strategies in 2023 and now serves as government relations and public policy consultant for the firm, serving clients in the energy, transportation and water sectors. Prior to that, Pizzingrilli chaired a government relations practice and co-chaired the energy industry team at a law firm. As a former secretary of the commonwealth and public utility commissioner, she brings insights from over 25 years in state government, including with the Treasury Department and the Independent Regulatory Review Commission.
44. Laura Kuller
Before founding Pursuit Advocacy, attorney and lobbyist Laura Kuller learned the intricacies of state politics working for the attorney general, as counsel and chief of staff for House leadership and leading clients’ state government affairs with a national law firm in Harrisburg. At Pursuit, which she started in 2022, Kuller works exclusively on state-level issues, including a recent literacy law affecting elementary education statewide. She also helped pass state measures around staffing levels for substance-use treatment facilities and licensing for mental health treatment centers.
45. Jennifer Riley
Skilled at distilling complex issues into winning messages, Jennifer Riley brings two decades of public policy and campaign experience to her role as vice president for advocacy and communications at Triad Strategies. A passionate advocate for crime victims, she works with the National Crime Victim Law Institute and serves as state director for Marsy’s Law for Pennsylvania, which seeks to amend the Pennsylvania constitution to include rights for crime victims. Riley was a statewide events director for the 2004 presidential campaign in Pennsylvania.
46. Nilda Iris Ruiz-Singh
As Southeast Pennsylvania’s Hispanic community grows, Nilda Iris Ruiz-Singh responds with affordable housing, job training and family resources at Asociación Puertorriqueños en Marcha, the nonprofit she leads. Ruiz-Singh assumed leadership of APM nearly 20 years ago, when Philadelphia’s Hispanic population was half the quarter-million-strong community it is today. Under her leadership, the 54-year-old organization serves nearly 500 families annually. Ruiz-Singh also serves as an executive member of the board of the National Council of La Raza.
47. Christine Toretti
As she has done so often during a 40-year career that broke ground in both business and politics, GOP National Committeewoman Christine Toretti surpassed everyone’s expectations yet again this year – this time with her record-setting fundraising, as RNC budget chief, on behalf of Pennsylvania U.S. Senate candidate Dave McCormick, who unseated incumbent Democrat Bob Casey in November. Toretti, the chair of S&T Bank, previously triumphed as the rare female energy executive and as the driving force behind a leadership program for Republican women candidates.
48. Katherine Levins
As chief advocacy officer for the $2.9 billion Temple University Health System, Katherine Levins works with federal, state and local officials to support Temple’s mission of providing high-quality health care and medical education in Southeast Pennsylvania. Her work secures critical state funding for TUHS projects that grow the regional economy, including a new hospital for women and families, a recently acquired community hospital and an expansion of Temple’s behavioral health crisis-response center. Levins earned both her JD and MBA from Temple.
49. Susan Aldridge
As president of Thomas Jefferson University, Susan Aldridge leads a 200-year-old university and medical school with four campuses and 8,400 students. Under her leadership, TJU’s Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center achieved a leading cancer research designation from the National Cancer Institute; Aldridge has also steered a recent merger with Lehigh Valley Health Network, expanding the system’s geographic and clinical footprint. Prior to joining Jefferson in 2023, Aldridge helmed the University of Maryland Global Campus as well as Drexel University Online.
50. Stefani Pashman
Earlier this year, CEO Stefani Pashman unveiled a three-year strategic plan for the Allegheny Conference, a civic leadership organization. The centerpiece is a downtown revitalization plan for Pittsburgh, backed by federal funding and bolstered by investments in the robotics, life sciences, energy and manufacturing sectors. Prior to joining the conference in 2017, Pashman was the CEO of Partner4Work, a workforce development outfit; she also held leadership roles with the state Department of Human Services and the White House Office of Management and Budget.
51. Anne Deeter Gallaher
Anne Deeter Gallaher runs the Deeter Gallaher Group, the award-winning public relations, marketing, and digital media firm she founded 24 years ago in Camp Hill. A frequent speaker on entrepreneurship and leadership, she co-authored “Women in High Gear” and “Students in High Gear” and co-hosts the top-rated Grit & Gravitas podcast. Gallaher is this year’s recipient of the Empowering Women Award from Lehigh Valley Business and the Central Penn Business Journal and, for her community philanthropy, the Salvation Army Harrisburg Others Award.
52. Teresa M. Lundy
For Teresa Lundy, public relations isn’t just about business success – it’s also an engine of social equity, driving success for the small businesses that uplift whole communities. Lundy practices this philosophy as the founder and principal of TML Communications, an award-winning Philadelphia firm known for its crisis outreach and commitment to community. Most recently, Lundy has spoken up about why a TikTok ban would harm her small-business clients – and the need for companies to embrace racial and gender diversity.
Editor’s note: Teresa Lundy is a member of City & State’s advisory board.
53. Laurie Bernotsky
Last summer, social scientist Lorraine “Laurie” Bernotsky was named president of West Chester University, the largest high-research-activity institution within Pennsylvania’s State System of Higher Education. A first-generation college graduate and longstanding proponent of the transformative role of public education, Bernotsky previously steered the newest state-system university, PennWest, as its interim president while on loan from the PASSHE chancellor’s office. At West Chester, Bernotsky is currently advancing the school’s Moon Shot for Equity, a research-based strategy to employ practices and technology to reduce equity gaps.
54. Lorina Marshall-Blake
Under the leadership of founding president Lorina Marshall-Blake, the Independence Blue Cross Foundation has administered more than $70 million in community impact grants to hundreds of local organizations. Such philanthropic efforts helped make the Independence Health Group – where Marshall-Blake is vice president for community affairs – one of The Chamber of Commerce for Greater Philadelphia’s Civic 50 Greater Philadelphia honorees for the fourth consecutive year. Prior to establishing the health insurer’s philanthropic branch 13 years ago, Marshall-Blake was director of government relations for two decades.
55. Stacy Gromlich
At Malady & Wooten, where she is an associate, lobbyist Stacy Gromlich specializes in Pennsylvania’s fast-changing health care landscape. Most recently, she has championed legislation around nutrition for people with newly diagnosed chronic diseases and access to behavioral health care. Gromlich began her career as a legislative assistant to the former state Rep. Jere Strittmatter and as a research analyst for the House Health and Human Services Committee. Outside of the office, Gromlich serves on the board of Nouri’s Place, a nonprofit dedicated to neurodiverse Pennsylvanians.
56. Joann Bell
Joann Bell’s expertise in government affairs, business development and labor relations spans three decades and earned her leadership roles on transition committees for Gov. Josh Shapiro and Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle Parker. Currently, Bell is a lobbyist with Long Nyquist and is tackling affordable housing as a board member of WES Health System. Bell is also the convener of the Black Women’s Leadership Council and hosts its weekly broadcast on WURD radio.
57. Karen Dougherty Buchholz
Karen Dougherty Buchholz, Comcast’s executive vice president for administration, has chaired the board of directors of the Philadelphia Convention & Visitors Bureau since 2022. Buchholz is a leader on diversity, equity and inclusion efforts, having served as Comcast’s chief diversity officer and guided the launch of its employee research groups; her two decades with the company also include spearheading its Philadelphia headquarters. A longtime civic booster, Buchholz headed the organization that led Philadelphia's host efforts for the 2000 Republican National Convention.
58. Robin Wiessmann
Leading Pennsylvania’s efforts to combat the housing affordability crisis, Robin Wiessmann is celebrating three record years of loan originations, exceeding $1 billion in 2024, at the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency, where she is CEO. She leads initiatives around affordable rental housing, homeownership, no-cost housing counseling and local housing efforts. A founding chief of Artemis Capital Group, Wall Street’s first women-owned investment banking firm, Wiessmann is also a former state secretary of banking and securities, state treasurer and Philadelphia’s deputy finance director.
59. Niki Hinckle
As senior vice president for WellSpan Health’s West region, Niki Hinckle is responsible for strategy and operations across Adams, Cumberland and Franklin counties. Hinckle, who joined WellSpan in 2020 after two decades with Summit Health, is an industry expert who previously headed diagnostic services. With an accounting degree and an MBA, she is a fellow with the American College of Medical Practice Executives, a member of the American Academy of Professional Coders, and is advanced lean certified through Virginia Mason Institute.
60. Traci Gusher
At Ernst & Young in Philadelphia, Traci Gusher is the Americas AI and Data Leader, managing a team that works on emerging applications for artificial intelligence, advanced analytics, data platforms and engineering. In demand as a speaker on how AI can add value to business, Gusher has recently addressed audiences at Microsoft AI roadshows, the Global Web Summit in Portugal and the AI Summit NY. She brings a background in counseling Fortune 20 organizations, having previously led U.S. data analytics and AI for KPMG.
61. Tine Hansen-Turton
Tine Hansen-Turton has transformed Woods Services into Woods System of Care (WSOC), a population health management organization that provides life-cycle care to meet the lifelong needs of more than 50,000 people with neurodiverse conditions such as intellectual disabilities, autism, and behavioral health challenges. WSOC offers a no-wrong-door approach across PA and NJ for complex populations through a network of 12 mission-aligned organizations offering integrated care and addressing the social determinants of health, resulting in expanded access to care, a reduction in costs, and improved health outcomes.
62. Nichole Duffy
Affordable, accessible higher education: That’s what drives Nichole F. Duffy, who heads government relations for the Association of Independent Colleges and Universities of Pennsylvania. Duffy, herself a first-generation graduate of AICUP member Susquehanna University, heads advocacy for federal and state student aid programs – including bringing 100 students to the Capitol each year to personally make their case. Duffy began her career in K-12 education before working for the Governor’s Budget Office and PDE and tackling education policy issues at the state House of Representatives.
63. Karen Kim
Dean Karen Kim has brought her longtime focus on health equity to Penn State College of Medicine – where, barely a year into her role, she announced the new Center for Advancing Health Equity in Rural and Underserved Communities. She also pledged a $250,000 personal gift to the college to fund scholarships. Kim, a cancer expert who holds the Huck Chair in Rural Health Research, previously served as the founding director of the Center for Asian Health Equity at the University of Chicago.
64. Peggy Leimkuhler
As Firstrust Bank’s operations and technology chief, Peggy Leimkuhler oversees the infrastructure not only of the bank, but also of her Philadelphia community. She recently became the first woman to chair the board of the World Affairs Council of Philadelphia, and has also supported the civic organization Committee of Seventy and the WeVote Program. She is currently guiding Hatch Bank, a Firstrust subsidiary, in its collaborations with fintech innovators to expand access to financial products and services across the U.S.
65. Susheela Nemani-Stanger
In 2022, Susheela Nemani-Stanger returned to the Urban Redevelopment Authority of Pittsburgh, where she began her career in 2007 as director of economic development – and launched the commonwealth’s first transit revitalization investment district. Having returned as the authority’s first female executive director, Nemani-Stanger is currently spearheading projects like the long-awaited rehabilitation of East Liberty’s Broad Street Plaza. Before returning to the organization, she served as deputy director for Allegheny County Economic Development.
66. Savanna Faith Cornibe
Savanna Faith Cornibe joined the Commonwealth Foundation as an intern in 2014 and is now government affairs manager at the conservative think tank. In between, she worked on Capitol Hill and served as host and producer of a Nashville Christian TV show. Most recently, Cornibe advocated to expand Pennsylvania’s tax-credit scholarship programs and secure insurance coverage for telemedicine. She volunteers with religious and medical causes and, as the mother of pediatric heart patients, authors a blog about her family’s medical journey.
67. Linda Thomas-Hemak
As CEO of The Wright Centers for Community Health and Graduate Medical Education, Linda Thomas-Hemak recently secured a Federally Qualified Health Center Look-Alike designation – and, last year, was honored with the National Association of Community Health Centers’ Hometown Scholars Advocate of the Year Award. A founding board member and vice president of the American Association of Teaching Health Centers, Thomas-Hemak still finds time to see patients: She’s quintuple board-certified in internal medicine, pediatrics, addiction medicine, obesity medicine and nutrition.
68. Lori Brennan
As director of The Nature Conservancy in Pennsylvania and Delaware, Lori Brennan leads a 50-strong team dedicated to the organization’s ambitious 2030 goals around urban forestry, wildlife protection corridors and Delaware’s Coastal Resilience Roadmap. Brennan collaborates with other TNC chapters and regional partners to combat large-scale threats like climate change and biodiversity loss, and to drive private and public support for critical conservation work. The nonprofit veteran previously worked at the Academy of Natural Sciences to integrate fundraising, communications and public programming.
69. Wanda R.D. Williams
Harrisburg Mayor Wanda Williams recently announced that the state capital is debt-free – and followed that up with her declaration to run for a second term, building on a platform of public safety, infrastructure upgrades and affordable housing. Williams, a Democrat, has had a sometimes-contentious relationship with her former City Council colleagues over issues like the redevelopment of Broad Street Market. Still, with both federal dollars for affordable housing and anti-violence initiatives in the works, Williams has made it clear she isn’t finished.
70. Kadida Kenner
Kadida Kenner recently traveled from Erie to the Lehigh Valley to register nearly 50,000 new Pennsylvania voters in 47 counties as the founding CEO of both the New Pennsylvania Project and the New PA Project Education Fund, voting rights organizations centering marginalized communities. In addition, she co-chairs Why Courts Matter-Pennsylvania, a nonprofit championing the independence of state and federal courts. Recently named one of Philadelphia Magazine’s Most Influential Philadelphians, Kenner has led efforts to raise the minimum wage and fairly fund public education.
71. Betsy Chivinski
Since last February, Fulton Bank’s senior executive vice president, Betsy Chivinski, has also served as interim chief financial officer for the $21 billion Lancaster-based financial institution. Chivinski, a certified public accountant, has logged three decades contributing to the growth of Fulton Financial Corporation, whose presence now extends throughout the mid-Atlantic region. She previously served as chief risk officer, as chief of accounting and as chief audit executive.
72. Sinceré Harris
Sinceré Harris, the political strategist who championed then-underdog candidate Cherelle Parker to the Philadelphia mayoralty, now serves as chief deputy mayor – and recently led negotiations that averted a strike with the city’s largest municipal union. Previously, as the first woman of color to lead the Pennsylvania Democratic Party, Harris increased Democratic seats in both chambers of the state legislature and won majorities in Philadelphia’s suburban county governments. Most recently, she held several roles in the Biden administration in the White House Office of Intergovernmental Affairs.
73. Alexandra Moran
Alexandra Moran is the managing partner at Penn Strategies, a Harrisburg grant-writing and appropriations firm that helps clients secure state and federal funding. Moran’s role encompasses not only grant procurement, but also legislative strategy and advocacy. A political science graduate of Gettysburg College, where she was a Fred Fielding Fellow at the school’s Eisenhower Institute, Moran further honed her policy skills with early roles at the Republican National Committee and as a research assistant at the Federalist Society.
74. Keisha Hudson
Now chief defender at the Defender Association of Philadelphia, Keisha Hudson has been defending vulnerable clients for 22 years – including with Montgomery County and, representing death-row clients, as a capital appellate defender with the Federal Defender-Eastern District of Pennsylvania. Known for her work addressing systemic issues regarding policing, pretrial detention, sentencing and probation, Hudson created a reentry practice at the Defenders, helping clients successfully re-integrate into their communities. She has also expanded the office’s immigration practice.
75. Holly Badali
Board-certified nurse executive Holly Badali serves as president of neighborhood hospitals at the Lehigh Valley Health Network, which she joined in early 2024 as the system merged with Jefferson Health. Badali, who is responsible for a suite of acute-care campuses, holds an MBA and previously served as chief nursing officer for Shore Medical Center in New Jersey. She began her career as a bedside nurse, working variously in neurology, interventional radiology and critical care before moving into leadership roles at a series of health systems.
76. Jeane Vidoni
Jeane Vidoni, a leading figure in commonwealth banking circles, is the chief executive of Penn Community Bank, the largest independent mutual bank in eastern Pennsylvania. She recently announced Penn Community’s grant to support Delaware Valley University students’ technology needs and serves on the board of the Federal Home Loan Bank of Pittsburgh, which bolsters regional homeownership. For her financial stewardship and commitment to her Pennsylvania community, Vidoni was named a 2024 “Most Powerful Woman to Watch” by American Banker.
77. Carol Kuniholm
Education activist Carol Kuniholm is a prominent figure in the commonwealth’s movement to reduce school funding inequities. As the founder and chair of Fair Districts PA, Kuniholm, a former youth pastor, leads a nine-year-old organization dedicated to fighting political gerrymandering and achieving fairer representation to better support both urban and suburban schools. A familiar presence before the state legislature, where she has argued for prioritization of bipartisan measures, Kuniholm has also been active with the Pennsylvania Board of the League of Women Voters.
78. Donna Bullock
Donna Bullock heads Project HOME, a nonprofit organization dedicated to breaking the cycles of poverty and chronic homelessness in Philadelphia. She recently celebrated the completion of Project HOME’s five-year capital campaign, raising $130 million in private donations and leveraging $127 million in public funding to build and preserve 500 units and bolster an affordable-housing pipeline. Bullock is a former member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, where she served as majority chair of the House Children and Youth Committee and chaired the Pennsylvania Legislative Black Caucus.
79. Adrienne Straccione
At the accounting firm of WouchMaloney, Adrienne Straccione serves as the Philadelphia partner in charge and has built an accounting career specializing in construction and professional sports. She helps athletes and their families handle early-in-life financial windfalls, counsels real-estate developers through complex transactions and routinely processes multi-state tax returns. The Pottstown native, who first joined WouchMaloney as an intern, has long been active with the Pennsylvania Institute of Public Accountants and with local and national industry groups for women in construction.
80. Nora Swimm
As a woman in technology, Nora Swimm is accustomed to being in the minority – so she established the diversity, equity and inclusion office to help diversify the team at PJM, the Pennsylvania-based electric grid operator where she oversees corporate client services. Swimm joined the company, which manages how energy is provided to nearly 70 million people, nearly a quarter-century ago. Over the years, her technological insights helped build the infrastructure that facilitated PJM’s expansion across 13 states and the District of Columbia.
81. Nicole Cohen
Nicole Cohen brings the dynamic perspective of improvisational comedy to the business world, where she is a managing director at Accenture’s Philadelphia office. Over a quarter-century in global consulting, Cohen is known for her workshops on applying the principles of improvisational comedy to foster collaborative and innovative work environments. The author of “Improv at Work: What the Business World Can Learn from Improvisational Comedy,” Cohen was recently selected to be Accenture’s Private Equity Lead for the Americas.
82. Kristin DeFrancisco
Kristin DeFrancisco helps Pennsylvania-area builders succeed as vice president of operations and finance for the General Building Contractors Association. She leads day-to-day issues and oversees revenue for a 133-year-old trade organization – a chapter of the Associated General Contractors of America – that represents 250 member companies spanning Southeastern Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Northern Maryland. DeFrancisco, who holds a finance degree from the University of Michigan, is also a member of the Project Management Institute.
83. Ashley Jordan
Historian Ashley Jordan, who is known for leading cultural institutions focused on memorializing and celebrating the African American experience, has served as CEO of the African American Museum in Philadelphia since 2021. She was recognized with the 2024 Freedom Scholar Award by the Association for the Study of African American Life and History. She is also a presidential board appointee to the National Institute of Museum and Library Services, and previously led development at Ohio’s National Underground Railroad Freedom Center.
84. Tiffany Wilson
Philadelphia’s burgeoning life sciences scene has a champion in Tiffany Wilson, who, as CEO of the University City Science Center, coordinates funding and support for myriad startups. Wilson, who holds an MBA from Georgetown University, arrived in 2020 to lead the 61-year-old organization, which supports roughly 70 startups each year and, including regional programming and ventures like the $25 million Health Fund, generates an eye-popping $7.6 billion in annual economic impact. Wilson previously cultivated a medical-innovation nonprofit startup affiliated with Georgia Tech.
85. Sully Pinos
As director of the Bloom Business Empowerment Center, an initiative of the York County Economic Alliance, Sully Pinos champions small businesses, especially those owned by women and minorities. The daughter of Ecuadorian immigrants and a first-generation college graduate, Pinos oversees an agency with a loan portfolio of over $1.6 million supporting 20-plus local entrepreneurs through capital, technical assistance and workforce development. She is currently working to make the center a Certified Community Development Financial Institution while pursuing her executive MBA at Villanova University.
86. Lydia Beebe
As board chair of Pittsburgh-based EQT, Lydia Beebe recently provided strategic counsel to the nation’s largest producer of national gas in its acquisition of Equitrans, which created America’s only large-scale, vertically integrated natural gas business. Beebe, who also sits on EQT’s Management Development and Compensation and Corporate Governance Committees, serves as principal of LIBB Advisors, a corporate governance consulting firm. In addition, she is currently leading a $2.5 billion capital campaign for the Kansas University Endowment Association, whose board she also chairs.
87. Veronica Hill-Milbourne
In 2019, Veronica Hill-Milbourne was recruited to lead Spectrum Health Services, which operates four sliding-scale federally qualified health centers in her native Philadelphia. With a $40 million budget, Spectrum is more modest than the organizations Hill-Milbourne had previously helped lead – including Independence Blue Cross and the Visiting Nurse Association of Greater Philadelphia – but its grassroots mission fulfilled her desire to make a difference close to home. A nurse by training, Hill-Milbourne also holds a law degree and was Horsham’s first African American female councilwoman.
88. Laurie Zierer
As executive director of PA Humanities, Laurie Zierer is a vocal advocate for the cultural sector at the city, state, and national levels and a champion of humanities in education and philanthropy. She coordinates PA Humanities’ statewide programming, including a 50th-anniversary poetry project, as well as its partnerships with Drexel University, on the Humanities Discovery Project, and with the Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance and Creative Philadelphia on Cultural Dynamics: Co-Creating a Vision for Philadelphia.
89. Gretchen E. Moore
Gretchen Moore joined the venerable Pittsburgh law firm of Strassburger McKenna Gutnick & Gefsky 20 years ago and currently serves as its first female president and managing shareholder. Moore, who earned her law degree from the University of Pittsburgh, also currently serves as chair for her firm’s e-discovery group and as co-chair for its investigations group. Her practice concentrates on commercial and civil litigation, independent investigations and municipal law, and she is a frequently voice in Western Pennsylvania real estate and zoning matters.
90. Ruby Mundok
Representing the youngest voting demographic in Harrisburg’s executive chamber is Ruby Mundok, who directs Gov. Josh Shapiro’s Advisory Commission on Next Generation Engagement. The Gen Z politico was tapped to serve on the Shapiro-Davis inaugural committee last year while still a student at Millersville University, where she founded and led a Students for Shapiro chapter. Mundok, who later served as a digital media intern in the Shapiro administration, has also hosted the Hyper Talkative podcast.
91. Lauren Murray-O’Donnell
For her decades of work in the long-term and rehabilitative care field, Lauren Murray-O’Donnell was inducted this year into McKnight’s Women of Distinction Hall of Honor, a top industry award. In August, Murray-O’Donnell was promoted to COO at Genesis HealthCare, the Kennett Square-based organization she joined in 1999 as vice president for business development. Prior to assuming her current role, she served as senior vice president of operations and, before that, held an array of positions, from social worker to sales and marketing chief.
92. Kristen Sandel
Since becoming the 174th president of the Pennsylvania Medical Society last year, emergency medicine physician Kristen Sandel has crusaded for measures to ease crowding at emergency departments and spoken out against proposals to allow nurse practitioners to operate independent of physicians. Sandel, who serves as the medical director of Wellspan Health’s Ephrata emergency department, has long been a prominent advocate for her profession and for better workplace conditions, leading a PAMED task force to address emergency department overcrowding before assuming the presidency.
93. Jen Coatsworth
Litigator Jennifer Coatsworth, a partner at Margolis Edelstein in Philadelphia, currently serves as chancellor of the Philadelphia Bar Association. Her tenure has focused on diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging, organizing panels and group forums on combating hate and improving diversity both in legal offices and across the larger community as a whole. Coatsworth is also active with the Pennsylvania Bar Association, is a past chancellor of the Louis D. Brandeis Law Society and serves on the Leadership Council of Community Legal Services.
94. Sue Perrotty
Tower Health CEO Sue Perrotty recently announced that she will step down in 2025 from the role she assumed in 2021 as a turnaround leader. Hired to stem losses after Tower’s $400 million, five-hospital acquisition, Perrotty sold or closed hospitals, divested from Tower’s 17 urgent-care clinics and refinanced debt to stabilize the $2 billion West Reading-based health system. She leaves Tower with new investors, revenue-generating partnerships and annual losses that are a fraction of those from just a few years ago.
95. Moriah Hathaway
As Gov. Josh Shapiro’s deputy director for external affairs, Moriah Hathaway helps manage communications and outreach from the state’s executive office. She previously directed the Governor’s Advisory Commission on Women, leading a statewide advocacy coalition that secured $3 million in the 2024-2025 budget for free menstrual products in K-12 schools. Hathaway serves on the Council of Trustees for Shippensburg University, her 2019 alma mater, and as president of the Alumni Board of Directors.
96. Denise Pearson
Denise Pearson, a leading commonwealth advocate for diversity and inclusion in higher education, was recently appointed provost of Cheyney University. She serves as chief academic officer for the nation’s oldest historically Black college, founded in 1837. Pearson brings firsthand knowledge of the racial climate on Pennsylvania campuses, thanks to the groundbreaking surveys she undertook as the inaugural chief of diversity, equity and inclusion officer for the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education, where she served until recently as vice chancellor.
97. Kendra Ross
After 20 years in New York City’s entertainment industry, Kendra Ross has a second act in Pennsylvania – as Duolingo’s head of social impact, leading the language app’s efforts around corporate giving, employee mission connection and community engagement. The songwriter and vocalist was no stranger to the corporate world, having managed label operations for 15 years at Universal Music Group. In 2014, she returned to Pittsburgh to teach sports, arts and entertainment management at Point Park University, where she earned a doctorate and community engagement.
98. Christy Uffelman
At EDGE Leadership Solutions, the coaching consultancy she founded, Christy Uffelman cultivates talent through her distinctive peer-mentoring approach and a focus on women’s achievement. Having originally climbed the corporate ladder through the male-dominated construction industry, Uffelman now specializes in helping high-value corporations develop diverse and inclusive workforces and is the author of “The PEER Revolution: Group Coaching that Ignites the Power of People.” She has long partnered with The Sisters Lifting As We Climb Network, supporting $200,000 in scholarships for Black women’s professional development.
99. Patricia Husic
After 16 years at the helm of Centric Financial Corporation and Centric Bank, the Enola institution she founded in 2007, Patricia Husic sold the $1.2 billion entity in 2023. She led the merger with to First Commonwealth Bank, where she now serves as a board member on the risk management and audit committees. Husic, a former chair of the Pennsylvania Bankers Association, was also an inaugural member of the American Bankers Association’s iDiversity, Equity, and Inclusion Advisory Group.
100. Qui Qui Musarra
When chef and restaurateur Qui Qui Musarra landed in Harrisburg in the late 1990s, the capital’s dining landscape was minimal. Since then, New Jersey-born Musarra has brought her cosmopolitan tastes – honed in New York City and Latin America – and her personal flair to revitalize Harrisburg’s restaurant scene with the four Italian-influenced boîtes she co-owns: Mangia Qui, Suba, Rubicon and Streatery. Along the way, Musarra became a familiar figure to area diners with her star turn on “Favorite Chef,” a national contest.
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