Board

Kriste "Kris" Lindenmeyer, Co-Chair

Kriste Lindenmeyer came to Philadelphia in 2011 when she accepted the position of Dean of Arts and Sciences and the Graduate School at Rutgers University—Camden. She grew up in Cincinnati, but as an adult also lived and worked in Dayton, Ohio; Charleston, West Virginia; Cookeville, Tennessee; Halle, Germany; and Baltimore, Maryland. After graduating high school, Kris worked as a waitress, bartender, and bar manager, as well as a department store buyer. She had also started a family and dropped out of college. In her late twenties, Kris returned to the University of Cincinnati and completed a B.A., M.A., and a Ph.D. in American History. Graduating in 1991, she focused her academic career on the history of American public policy, and expanding college access to a wider range of young people. Kris retired in 2020. As a university professor emerita, Kris continues to write about the history of children, youth, women, and public policy in the United States. She enthusiastically joined the Giving Circle because, “It is a perfect fit with my personal commitment to continue to find ways to help improve the lives of women and children.”

Phyllis Bookspan, Co-Chair

Phyllis is a passionate supporter of equal rights, social consciousness, well-being and mindfulness. During her 20+ career as a law professor she taught and wrote about criminal law and procedure, and the rights of women, and children.  She started a law school clinic to represent juveniles charged with delinquency offenses and also took students to court to represent dependent and neglected children.  Phyllis graduated with a J.D. and M.L.A. from Georgetown Law Center.  She also has a yoga teacher certification from Kali Ray Tri Yoga International.   After early retirement from academia, she founded and owned two successful businesses – RYAH Yoga and Health- an award-winning integrative wellness center, and Bookspan Family Law, llc., a boutique law practice.  Phyllis shares life with her husband, Ian Frank, an infectious disease doctor, Dawkins, their maltee poo, and the 5 adult children one grandchild, and two grand dogs in their blended family. She is honored to follow in Linda Senker’s footsteps and to co-chair the Giving Circle with Kris Lindenmeyer.

Carol Williams, Treasurer

Carol grew up in central Pennsylvania and moved to Philadelphia in the mid 1980’s after stints in New York and Minneapolis. In 1999, she left the corporate banking world after a twenty-six year career and joined the nonprofit community development financial institution sector providing loans and financial advice to nonprofits across the country. Most recently she has worked as a part-time contract consultant in the nonprofit financial world. She has been a long-time volunteer and board member of Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pennsylvania and has served on the boards of several other local nonprofits. She joined TTN early in 2020 so became both familiar and involved with the organization virtually. She joined the GC in 2021 and currently serves on the Grants Committee. Carol spends a good deal of the summer in the Massachusetts Southern Berkshires and is very happy to be able to begin traveling again, one of her passions.   

Karen Roggeman, Secretary

Prior to her early retirement, Karen spent more than 25 years in executive commercial leadership roles, domestic and global, with multi-national corporations in the biopharmaceutical industry. These experiences afforded her opportunities to live and work across the US, in Germany and in France.

Karen enjoys volunteering in her community, mentoring, travel, and the arts. Living her passion for both the American and European cultures, Karen splits her time between Philadelphia and Paris, France, and is conversant in French.

 Mary Klein, Co-Founder, Giving Circle and Co-Chair of Donor Engagement 

Mary has always been an educator. She held positions in public and independent elementary and middle schools, and at the college level. She began her career as a school counselor and then teacher, later as an administrator on college campuses working with adult students returning to college. She remains very interested in early literacy.

Home is Philadelphia but Mary and her husband can often be found on Cape Cod. They enjoy biking and travel, and have participated in organized bike trips in places ranging from the Pacific Northwest to Eastern Europe. Four grandchildren bring  great joy.

Mary and Ethel Weinberg started the TTN Giving Circle in 2012. She continues to be a enthusiastic advocate for the Giving Circle and a member of the Executive Council

Kathy Gosliner, Co-Chair of Trust-Based Philanthropy Committee

Kathy is a transplanted New Yorker who came to Philadelphia by way of Colorado. She was a reporter for many years on the now defunct Rocky Mountain News in Denver. After she moved to Philadelphia to be closer to family, she became Press Secretary for Mayor Bill Green, then Director of Communications for Temple University, and lastly, Associate Director of the Free Library of Philadelphia while it was undergoing the renovation of all of its branches. In addition to being on the Executive Council, she is co-chair of the Giving Circle’s Development Committee. 

Barbara Lissy, Co-Chair of Trust-Based Philanthropy Committee

Barbara is a life-long Philadelphian and has lived in West Mt. Airy for over 40 years. She is a graduate of Philadelphia public schools and the University of Pennsylvania. For almost 50 years she was a development professional in the not for profit sector in the Philadelphia area. Over the years she served on the boards of the Germantown Jewish Centre, the Jewish Community High School and Wissahickon Hospice and volunteered with many other organizations.

Barbara joined TTN and the Giving Circle in 2018 when she retired and has found a second home with the Giving Circle which so closely aligns with her values. 

Barbara’s daughters, son-in-law and granddaughter live close by and all delight in the time they can spend together. 

Ellan Bernstein, Co-Chair of Educational Programs 

Ellan attended law school at Temple University and practiced real estate law for 40 years in Philadelphia. She has been involved in the collective giving movement since 2008 when she joined the founding board of Impact100 Philadelphia, a collective giving organization that funds non-profits in the Philadelphia region. Ellan served as secretary, co-president, and chair of the diversity committee during her board tenure at Impact100. Ellan also served on the board of Philanos, a national network of women’s giving circles. As a member of the board of Philanos, she served as secretary and co-chair of the education committee. Ellan also served as co-chair of the Philanos national conference held in Philadelphia in 2018. Another interest of Ellan’s is interfaith understanding. She currently serves as secretary of the board of Interfaith Philadelphia. Ellan joined the Giving Circle of Women’s Connection in 2023 and currently serves on its Executive Council, grants committee and is co-chair of the Education Committee. In addition to her work for non-profit organizations, Ellan loves to travel, play tennis, and spend time at the shore with her family.

Sandi Slap, Co-Chair of Educational Programs

Since moving to Philadelphia from Scranton thirty years ago to practice law, Sandi has been actively involved with several non-profit organizations as well as The Shipley School and AIM Academy. She is a former Trustee of The National Museum of American Jewish History and currently serves on the Advisory Board of Our Closet. In addition to her involvement with Impact100 Philadelphia and AIPAC, Sandi is a member of the Executive Council of TTN’s Giving Circle and serves on the Giving Circle’s Grants Committee and Development Committee.

Sandi enjoys being a reading coach with Achieve Now, traveling and spending time with her two daughters.

Susan Storb, Chair of Communications Committee

Susan joined the Giving Circle in 2020 and the Communications Committee in 2021. Prior to retiring in 2012, Susan's background was in the travel industry. Starting as a travel agent in her 30s, she worked for small travel agencies as well as large travel management companies before becoming the Travel Manager at the University of Pennsylvania for 16 years. After retirement, she focused her volunteer activities in Pottstown, PA where she grew up. She participated on the Board of the Schuyllkill River Greenway Association, the Steel River Playhouse and the Pottstown Downtown Improvement District Authority as well as supporting such local efforts as the Colebrookdale Railroad and the Mosaic Community Land Trust.

Susan is married to Michael Horn, a retired Philadelphia architect, and they enjoy spending their summers on Cape Cod.

Susan Bleiberg, Co-Chair of Grants Committee

Susan was born and raised in Baltimore and graduated from Franklin and Marshall College. She initially worked as a Special Education teacher and obtained an MS in Communicative Disorders from Johns Hopkins. Susan then left Education and pivoted to work for an HMO. That lead to a career in Employee Benefits with an emphasis on consulting and training. Susan lives in Wynnewood, having relocated to the Philadelphia area 30 years ago. 

 After retiring at the end of 2021, she became active with the Giving Circle Grants Committee. Susan now serves as the Events co-chair on the Executive Council of the Giving Circle. She’s also a member of the Women's Connection Philadelphia chapter task force Advocates for Equity and has co-facilitated the Unpacking Whiteness workshop several times. In addition, Susan is committed to volunteer work with several organizations that focus on early childhood literacy and health care. She’s excited to continue learning about the needs of women and children in Philadelphia and be able to have an impact through the Giving Circle.

Anita Cohen, Chair of Events Committee

Anita Cohen was raised in Lynbrook on Long Island, NY and went to college at University Maryland and then received a master’s degree in Speech and Language Pathology from NYU. She worked as a speech therapist for several years, mostly with adults in stroke rehabilitation. Once she left that field of work, she worked in a women’s clothing boutique, along with some personal styling. 

Anita and her husband moved into Philadelphia from North Jersey in the fall of 2021. Prior to Livingston NJ, she lived in Wynnewood Pa. She and her husband have two grown sons. 

Anita volunteered in a variety of leadership positions in Essex County with NCJW, a progressive women’s organization whose mission is to improve the lives of women, children and families. Therefore, joining the GCP is a perfect fit to allow her to continue this type of advocacy and important work.

Nell Anderson, Co-Chair of Donor Engagement and Liaision to Community Volunteering

Nell Anderson grew up in New Jersey and in Santiago, Chile. After graduating from Georgetown University, she came to Philadelphia for graduate studies in Social Work at the University of Pennsylvania and has been here ever since. She has had a varied social work career, starting off in clinical work and ending with a 23-year stint at Bryn Mawr College, where she was the Director of Praxis and Community Partnerships in the Career and Civic Engagement Center. 

While at Bryn Mawr College, she developed relationships with many nonprofit organizations and schools and as retirement approached, decided to join the Giving Circle as a way to stay connected to the Philadelphia nonprofits and to issues that are important to her: immigrant rights, educational equity, college access and public health. 

Nell is particularly interested in Philadelphia’s immigrant communities and speaks Spanish fluently. She currently volunteers with Ladies Let’s Talk, an online conversational English program for immigrant women living across the United States. Nell loves the outdoors and bikes, swims, hikes and does yoga outside whenever possible. She is also a Tree Tender in her East Falls neighborhood and participates in the efforts to grow, protect and care for the city’s tree canopy.

Sue Dubow, Co-Chair of Grants Committee

Sue Dubow is a native Philadelphian, retired healthcare attorney, and dedicated nonprofit advocate with over 30 years of commitment to expanding access to education, healthcare, and philanthropy. As a partner in a boutique health law firm, she represented physician groups, health systems, and nonprofit health foundations. After two decades in law, Sue stepped away from her practice to raise her three daughters and fully pursue her passion for advocacy, mentorship, and community engagement.

For the past 15 years, Sue has been deeply involved in the women’s collective giving movement. She has held leadership roles with Impact100 Philadelphia, including President and Program Chair. During her presidency, she launched a fellowship program to reduce financial barriers for young women, expand their access to philanthropic opportunities, and foster mentorship. In 2018, she co-chaired the national We the Women – Changing the Face of Philanthropy conference, hosted by Philanos, alongside Ellan Bernstein. She is now excited to continue this work as a member of the Executive Council and Co-Chair of the Grants Committee of The Women’s Connection Giving Circle.

Sue’s volunteer work extends beyond collective giving into education, healthcare, and youth mentorship. She served as Vice President of G-PACT, advocating for greater awareness and improved treatment for gastroparesis, and mentored high school students through the Women of Tomorrow program at Philadelphia High School for Girls. She currently serves as Board Chair of ArtWell, a multidisciplinary arts nonprofit serving underserved youth, and tutors elementary school students in reading through Achieve Now.

Sue enjoys traveling, gardening,yoga and spending time with her family and labradoodle, Bodhi.

Debra (“Debbie”) Fickler, At-Large Member

Debbie Fickler is a lifelong native of Philadelphia. After graduating from the Philadelphia High School for Girls and Temple University, Debbie worked in the field of Employee Benefits for a few years before attending Penn Law School. Her first legal position was as an Associate in the Estates and Employee Benefits department of the Ballard Spahr law firm. A summer internship as a law student in Penn’s Office of the General Counsel piqued her interest in Higher Education law, and she ended up spending nearly 35 years as a University Attorney. She was Associate General Counsel at Penn, served as Saint Joseph University’s first General Counsel and retired in 2018 from her position as Vice-President and General Counsel of Villanova University. 

Debbie and her husband, Steve Russell, live in Haverford, but over the last several years, have spent many weeks travelling to San Francisco and Melbourne, Florida visiting their adult children and 3 grandchildren (happily, the Florida family is in the process of moving back to the area).

Debbie has served on the Boards of The Philadelphia School, the Support Center for Child Advocates and The Forum of Executive Women, and on the Advisory Council of the Anne Welsh McNulty Institute of Women’s Leadership at Villanova University. She joined Women’s Connection upon retirement and was drawn to the mission of the Giving Circle to improve the lives of women and children in Philadelphia. She has served on the Grants Committee and is excited to join the Executive Council.

Denise Rinear, At-Large Member

Denise joined the Giving Circle in 2024 after walking away from a 45-year career in financial services. She is enjoying her “re-wiring” phase. Denise moved to this region from southern Ohio in 1980, received her MBA from Drexel in 1982, and worked for local, national, and international financial services firms from 1982 to 2018. From 2018 to 2024, she was a risk management consultant to banks and credit unions. Now, she is enjoying learning about local nonprofits and their funders. Denise’s volunteer activities include using her financial review and risk management skills to support non-profits and grant makers. Denise lives in Villanova with her husband of 46 years and spends time in Philadelphia and New York with her 4 adult children and their children.

Carol Cunningham, Prior Giving Circle Chair (2018-2022)

Carol grew up in the Lake District in England and has studied in UK, France and the US.  Carol is a Global Leadership Consultant in cross-cultural communications. She is President of the Cunningham Consulting which focuses on supporting global growth through understanding the intricacies and impact of culture and cultural differences. For 25 years she has provided consulting, training, and coaching services to global companies. She has worked extensively with non-profits over the last 20 years, including the Chester County Fund for Women and Girls.

Carol was chair of the TTN Giving Circle from 2018-2022 and is the President of the Women’s Initiative of the Gambia (WIG). WIG helps women in rural village communities learn skills to generate a sustainable income. In addition, she is the Co-founder, with her daughter Kathryn, of Power Up Gambia which provides solar energy to hospitals.