BuildaBridge Board of Directors 2012
Dr. J. Nathan Corbitt is Professor of Cross-Cultural Studies at the Campolo School for Social Change at Eastern University and President and Co-Founder (1997) of BuildaBridge International, an arts-education and social intervention non-profit organization. With extensive overseas living, work and travel in over 50 countries, he regularly consults and trains both locally and internationally. With previous experience as a public school teacher, congregational musician, cross-cultural trainer, and communications consultant he chaired the Department of Communications at Eastern University later becoming Associate Dean for Research and Development at the Campolo School for Social Change. Currently he teaches in the MA and Urban Studies program and coordinates the Arts in Transformation concentration. He is author of The Global Awareness Profile (1998,2005) a popular online self-awareness inventory and teaching manual on global awareness. The inventory is used by universities for assessing global awareness and is offered online at www.globalawarenessprofile.com. He co-authored (with Dr. Vivian Nix-Early) Taking It to the Streets: How the Arts Are Transforming Communities. (Baker, 2003) The book is based on their national research project of 61 faith-based community arts organizations and artists serving marginalized urban communities and at-risk youth through the arts. He also authored, The Sound of the Harvest (Baker, 1998) a study of the origins and roles of spiritual music based on principles from ethnomusicology, sociology and theology. Dr. Corbitt currently leads BuildaBridge in strategic and systems planning, technology development, international programs, and is a core faculty member in the BuildaBridge Institute.
Saman Khan: I first came to BuildaBridge as an Americorps VISTA volunteer working in development as the resource coordinator for one year. I had the unique opportunity that year to travel with the organization to Egypt on a cross-cultural tour. Also, as a side trip, I went on a brief jaunt to Israel/Palestine to gather information about a possible artistic collaboration. This trip to North Africa and the Middle East cemented my desire to work within the field of international development. In the two years afterward, I was an ESL teacher, a high school math teacher and a middle school Language Arts teacher at the World Communications Charter School. In the spring of 2010, I became a board member at BuildaBridge. Since then I have relocated from Philadelphia to New York City to pursue a Master of Art’s degree in International Education at New York University.
Dr. Vivian Nix-Early owns a private clinical practice and is Co-founder and Chief Operations Officer of BuildaBridge International, an arts education & intervention nonprofit in Philadelphia that engages the arts to bring hope and healing to vulnerable populations in Philadelphia andinternationally. A licensed clinical psychologist, educator and musician by training, Dr. Nix-Early has over 30 years of experience working with youth in community settings. She is co-author of Taking it to the Streets: How the Arts Are Transforming Communities (Baker Books 2003). She serves as Dean and is a primary faculty member of the BuildaBridge Institute, teaching Arts in Education, Arts in Healing and Arts, Creativity and Human Development.
Prior to 2010, Dr. Nix-Early spent 30 years in higher education, serving first as professor of psychology and associate provost at West Chester University, and more recently as Dean of the School for Social Change at Eastern University. Dr. Nix-Early received her B.A. in Psychology from the University of Pennsylvania in 1970 and a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from New York University in 1979. She is a licensed psychologist in the states of Pennsylvania and New York. She is also a board certified music therapist, having completed her post-graduate Certificate in Creative Arts Therapy: Music Therapy at Drexel University.
Karen Vacarro I was first introduced to Build-a-Bridge at a World Dinner. As a fellow artist (designer, painter and photographer) and lover of world travel, I was intrigued by the work that BaB does in art education and trauma healing through the arts, along with all the near and far-reaching places around the world that BaB serves.
Cheryl Wade, As Executive Director of Kendal Charitable Funds (KCF), Cheryl provides leadership to the Kendal System in the creation and implementation of a philanthropic philosophy that reflects Kendal’s Values and Practices. An important part of that leadership is to support and train Kendal affiliate communities and services in their development activities, to cultivate relationships with foundations, and oversee the writing of grants to obtain funding for both Kendal-wide innovative programs and individual affiliate programs that open new paths in services to older people. Cheryl is a member of the Association of Fundraising Professionals and as such subscribes to its stringent code of ethical principles and standards and the Donor Bill of Rights. Cheryl, an ordained Baptist minister, earned a B.A. from the College of William and Mary, an M.Div., from Garrett Evangelical Theological Seminary, and an MBA, with a concentration in non-profit management and finance, from Columbia University. She holds an Honorary Doctorate from Central Baptist Theological Seminary and is a past recipient of the Joann Martin Award for Public and Non-Profit Management granted by Columbia University. Cheryl was an active member of the World Council of Churches as a member of its Central Committee through February 2006, and is currently a member of the governing board of the National Council of Churches of Christ. She has served in a variety of community based programs including the Northwest Interfaith Movement - an interfaith alliance of 36 congregations in Northwest Philadelphia, Betak AIDS Residence - a community based housing program in Philadelphia for persons with AIDS, and Summerbridge of Germantown, Inc., a two-year academic enrichment program for educationally and economically disadvantaged middle school students.
Jim Ballengee is the Director of Service Learning at the William Penn Charter School - a pre-K through 12 Friends school in the East Falls section of the city. Jim also teaches courses ranging from Urban Issues to American Politics to a Poverty Seminar. He is also active in a number of non-profits in the Delaware Valley region including recently serving on the Boards of the Neighborhood Interfaith Movement and Cradles to Crayons. An active member of Arch Street Presbyterian Church, he and his wife, Elaine, have three daughters and live in Chestnut Hill.
Elaine Ballengee spent over thirty years in elementary education including work at Wilmington Friends School, The Children’s School in California, the Miquon School, the William Penn Charter School and Frankford Friends School. She has a strong interest in the Maya and has traveled extensively in Mexico and Central America. She also spends a considerable amount of time doing field archaeology and research with Crow Canyon Archaeological Center in Cortez, Colorado. Following up on a lifetime of riding horses, she is extensively involved with Special Equestrians in Horsham, PA. She lives in Chestnut Hill with her husband, Jim, and has three daughters who all live in New York City.
Ron Hevey's nonprofit experience includes the Business Council for the United Nations, UNICEF, Adopt-a-School, the Wisconsin Alumni Association, Appleford, the Main Line Art Center and Fox Subacute Care. He joined BuildaBridge's board in 2006 as an artist/volunteer and later as Treasurer and then Chairman. His educational background is BSEE, MBA and the Harvard Advanced Management Program. Since joining the BuildaBridge board Ron volunteered two years-in-a-row with Guatemalan prison gangs, 'a tough group of young men and women who make wonderful art to pull themselves up to a better life,' as he says. Ron retired from corporate life following twenty-three years with DEC, an HP Computer company, where he served as Vice President of the New York Area, U.S. Financial Services and the Japanese Initiative. His sales and marketing company developed low-cost channels for telecommunications, energy and the Internet.
Charles Holmes is the Managing Partner of Holmes & Company, LLC. He has more than 22 years of experience leading the firm’s engagements with governmental organizations, quasi-governmental entities, not-for-profit clients, transit authorities, construction contractors and collection agencies. Charles is responsible for quality assurance on all large engagements and is an advisor to engagement team members and client organizations. He also provides management and technical review, industry insight and issue resolution. Charles employs proven methodologies that help clients implement industry best practices, thereby ensuring compliance with their missions and reporting requirements.
David N. Knipel is an ordained American Baptist minister and lawyer, currently called as Co-Interim Pastor of Central Baptist Church of Woodbury, along with his wife Dr. Carla Romarate-Knipel. Rev. Knipel is an Interim Ministry Specialist with Interim Ministries – ABC and also works as general legal counsel to American Baptist Churches USA. He previously served as pastor of the First Baptist Church of Long Branch, as interim pastor at First Baptist Church of Woodstown, as co-interim pastor, along with his wife Carla, at First Baptist Church of Norristown, PA, and as a pastoral intern and associate pastor with Chesterfield Baptist Church. Dave has served as an adjunct faculty member at Eastern Baptist Theological Seminary and Central Philippine University. He and Carla have also served in the Philippines as Volunteers in Mission under American Baptist International Ministries. Dave also serves on the Board of Directors of BuildaBridge International, an arts education and intervention organization based in Philadelphia ministering to children, families and communities in the tough places of the world, both locally and internationally. Dave and Carla have one son, eight-year-old Isaac.
Lisa J. Jordan,is an associate at Berner Klaw and Watson LLP, a boutique law firm specializing in all aspects of family law, including adoptions, child custody, divorce, domestic violence, prenuptial and postnuptial agreements and GLBT relationship agreements and dissolution agreements in Southeastern Pennsylvania and New Jersey. Lisa received her Juris Doctor from Rutgers University School of Law-Camden and a bachelor's degree from Temple University in English and Secondary Education. She divides her time among several volunteer legal organizations, including Volunteers for the Indigent and Welcoming Center for New Pennsylvanians. Lisa received a Pro Bono Role of Honor Award for Exemplary Pro Bono Work in 2008, 2009 and 2010. In February 2011 she was elected to the board of directors of Women's Therapy Center, a Philadelphia-based organization providing therapeutic counseling services to women. A self-described "music nerd" with eclectic musical tastes, a passion for choral singing and a (very occasionally) stressful profession, Lisa has experienced the healing power of the arts in her own life. She views the opportunity to help Buildabridge realize its mission to "bring hope and healing to children through the arts" as a uniting of her two passions, and she is grateful for the opportunity to serve on the Board.
Hollie Malamud-Price, B.A., M.P.H Ms. Malamud-Price is the Executive Director of the Mt. Airy Business Improvement District, which is responsible for the cleaning and greening of Germantown Avenue. Prior to her current position, Ms. Malamud-Price spent twenty years in public health, including working in research, HIV/AIDS surveillance, quality improvement and management, policy, and administrative positions relating to women and HIV. She is a veteran program manager, a dynamic leader, and successful grant writer. She secured over four million dollars in public health funding for the State of Michigan. Ms. Malamud-Price received her education at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI and until 2009, lived in suburban Detroit. For the last three years she has been a proud resident of Philadelphia and lives in Mt. Airy with her partner and three dogs. Her interests include travel, the arts, social justice, mindfulness meditation, and animal welfare. In her free time she enjoys being out on the trails of the Wissahickon.
Aleea Slappy is the Education Programs Manager with The Enterprise Center. In this role, Aleea manages an entrepreneurship training program for women and a leadership development program for high school students. Prior to this position, Aleea worked as an education reporter for the Bucks County Courier Times and a match support specialist for Big Brothers Big Sisters. She served as an intern and teaching artist with BuildaBridge while completing her graduate degree in Urban Studies at Eastern University. She also travelled with BuildaBridge to Gautemala. Aleea is the founder and creative director of AHappySlappyGreeting, a handmade greeting card company located in Philadelphia.
Tracie Blummer volunteered as a Leadership Intern for BuildaBridge’s international programs in Fall 2011. She is currently the Program Coordinator at the Philadelphia Parks Alliance, an organization that advocates for parks and open space for all in Philadelphia. She holds a master’s degree in Nonprofit Management and International Development Planning from Virginia Tech University. Tracie served two years as an AmeriCorps VISTA with Step by Step Inc. in West Virginia and spent a year teaching English and volunteering with Yunnan Mountain Heritage Foundation in China. She also earned a bachelor of fine art Metals/Jewelry/Computer Aided Design from Temple University’s Tyler School of Art. Tracie Blummer is Program Coordinator for the Philadelphia Parks Alliance. In her role as a Leadership Internship with BuildaBridge, she focused on building the capacity of international programs particularly our Artists on Call certification initiative. She has also served as the technical writer for the UNICEF Haiti Project.