The Kimmel Center is proud to announce the Board of Directors of Kimmel Center, Inc. elected the following new Board members: Teresa Bryce Bazemore, President of Radian Guaranty Inc., Reverend Luis A. Cortes Jr., President and CEO of Esperanza, Eric J. Foss, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Aramark, Frances Graham, Chair of Trustees of Moore College of Arts & Design, Matthew E. Weko, Senior Vice President and National Director of Jones Lang LaSalle’s Corporate Real Estate Services, Michael Zisman, founder of Golf Genius Software and previous CEO of Soft-Switch, Inc., and Mario Zacharjasz, AIA, Co-Founder and Principal of PZS Architects, LLC.
The 2016 Officers of the Kimmel Center Board include: David P. Holveck, Chair; Dr. Robert Corrato, Vice-Chair; Thomas A. Decker, Vice-Chair; Harold A. Honickman, Vice-Chair; John A. Francis, Jr., Treasurer; with Jami Wintz McKeon joining as the new Secretary.
David P. Holveck was previous President and CEO of Endo Pharmaceuticals (2013), Dr. Robert Corrato is Founder and Managing Partner of Devon Hill Capital Partners (DHCP), Thomas A. Decker is President and CEO of Cozen O’Connor, Harold A. Honickman is Chairman of the Honickman Group, John A. Francis is Managing Director of J.P. Morgan’s Corporate Client Banking Group, and Jami Wintz McKeon is Chair-elect of the global firm at Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP.
“We want to congratulate all of our new Board members and our newly elected Officers. The Kimmel Center is the epicenter of performing arts and entertainment in our region offering a panoply of wide ranging performances, visual and culinary arts, and cutting edge events,” said Anne Ewers, Kimmel Center President and CEO. “We value the varying perspectives each of our new Board members bring to the table, and their business and community backgrounds reflect our mission to serve our diverse community.”
Teresa Bryce Bazemore is President of Radian Guaranty Inc., Radian Group Inc.’s principal mortgage insurance subsidiary. As President, Bazemore is responsible for all domestic and international mortgage insurance business operations.
Prior to her appointment as President, Bazemore was the Executive Vice President, General Counsel, Chief Risk Officer and Secretary for Radian Group, a global credit risk management company. She has also held numerous roles through the years: Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary for Nexstar Financial Corporation and Director of Legal and Corporate Affairs for MBNA Home Finance (after the MBNA acquisition of Nexstar); General Counsel of Bank of America Mortgage, General Counsel of PNC Mortgage, a subsidiary of PNC Bank, and Associate General Counsel at Prudential Home Mortgage.
Bazemore has been named one of the Top 20 Leading Industry Women by Mortgage Banking Magazine (2013), one of the 75 Most Powerful Women in Businessby Black Enterprise Magazine (2010), and is the recipient of Smart CEO Magazine Brava! Women Business Achievement Award (2010). She is a graduate of the University of Virginia and the Columbia University School of Law.
Reverend Luis Cortés Jr. is the President and CEO of Esperanza, the premiere Hispanic faith-based Evangelical network in the United States. Rev. Cortés founded Esperanza in 1987 with support from the Hispanic Clergy of Philadelphia. Today, with a national network of over 13,000 Hispanic faith and community based organizations, Esperanza is one of the leading voices for Latinos in America with 350 employees and a $35 million annual operating budget.
Currently Esperanza’s Philadelphia operations include two Esperanza Academy Charter Schools (grades 6-12), Esperanza Cyber Charter School (grades 6-12), Esperanza College, homebuilding, mortgage counseling, and employment training programs, and a new Latino Corridor in North Philadelphia that is transforming vacant lots and abandoned buildings into a vibrant neighborhood and commercial sector. On a national level, Esperanza has many successful initiatives that range from education and training services for at-risk and adjudicated Latino youth, mentoring, healthy marriage programs, teen pregnancy prevention, HIV/AIDS education, among other initiatives. Esperanza has invested $13 million in sub-grants to 500 organizations.
Rev. Cortés graduated with honors from City College, NY, earned a Master of Divinity as an Urban Theology Fellow from Union Theological Seminary, and a Master of Science in Economic Development from Southern New Hampshire University.
Frances Graham is an interior designer of commercial spaces and also a painter. She has worked at several architectural firms, including Alexander Ewing, Nolen and Swinburne, with the longest time at Vincent Kling and Associates. She has also freelanced under the name Graham Interior Design. Her work includes hospitals, large corporate buildings, and schools.
Graham is a member of the Moore College of Art and Design Board. She is a trustee, and was elected to the Board of Managers in 2001. She has been the Chair of the Board of Trustees since 2009. She is the Executive Co-Chair, part of Board Leadership, the Chair of Development, and an eight year Chair of the Visionary Woman Committee.
Graham is a Distinguished Alumna of the Moore College of Art and Design, where she earned her MFA.
Matthew E. Weko, LEED® AP, is a Senior Vice President and National Director of Jones Lang LaSalle’s Corporate Real Estate Services team. He is responsible for JLL services for Corporate Services accounts setting vision, strategy, and capital planning objectives, and managing project staffing and resources for global locations.
Weko is a commercial real estate executive who has proven himself as a capable and creative business leader, a tireless advocate for sustainability, and a presence in the design, construction, and commercial real estate community. In 2013, he was recognized as one of the Philadelphia Business Journal’s 40 under 40 business leaders and as one of ENR Mid Atlantic’s 20 under 40 professionals. Weko embodies a hands-on, service-driven philosophy and is well respected for his patience, honesty, and professional integrity.
Weko has served as a member of the Board of Trustees of the Pennsylvania Ballet and currently serves as vice chairman of the Board of Directors of the Delaware Valley Green Building Council (DVGBC) and sits on the Zoning Board of Adjustment in the Borough of Haddonfield, NJ. He holds an architectural degree from Lehigh University.
Eric J. Foss is Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Aramark (NYSE: ARMK), a $15 billion global provider of food, facilities and uniform services. The company employs 270,000 people and provides award-winning services wherever people work, learn, play, and recover in 22 countries worldwide. Aramark clients include leading organizations spanning universities, colleges and school districts, healthcare institutions, municipalities, stadiums and arenas, and businesses.
Since Foss was named President and CEO in 2012, Aramark has recorded consistent growth in sales, new business and adjusted net income and operating margins. He also led the company’s successful return to the New York Stock Exchange in December 2o13. Aramark is recognized among the “Most Admired Companies” by FORTUNE and the “World’s Most Ethical Companies” by the Ethisphere Institute. In February 2015, Foss was elected Chairman of the Aramark Board of Directors, assuming the new title of Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer.
Michael Zisman founded Golf Genius Software in 2009 after a long career in information technology. Prior to founding Golf Genius, he was founder and CEO of Soft-Switch, Inc., CEO of Lotus Development Corp and a senior executive at IBM. Soft-Switch, founded in 1979, was one of the very first companies to participate in the electronic mail industry. He is regarded as a pioneer in the field of electronic mail. He is a board member of the Kimmel Center and the Board of Overseers of the Penn School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, and a former director or trustee of the University of Pennsylvania, Lehigh University, the Philadelphia Orchestra and Main Line Health.
Zisman has a Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering from Lehigh University, a Master of Engineering in Systems Engineering from the University of Pennsylvania and a PhD in Decision Sciences from the Wharton School at University of Pennsylvania.
Mario Zacharjasz, AIA, is Co-founder and Principal of PZS Architects, LLC. He also serves as President of Puente Construction Enterprises, Inc., and President of 503 Corporation, an award-winning Latino-owned supply company, both in the Philadelphia area. PZS Architects offers planning, programming, and design for institutional, commercial, multi-family residential and corporate clients.
Since founding PZS in 1992, Zacharjasz has guided the firm's growth, engaging in many exciting projects including Esperanza Academy Charter School, an adaptive reuse complex which includes a middle school, high school, and Esperanza College of Eastern University; Villiger Hall, a new student residence hall at St. Joseph's University; Morgan Hall, a new student residence and dining complex at Temple University; 10 Rittenhouse Square, a new luxury condominium residence; and The Ayer Building, a transformative restoration of the N.W. Ayer & Son headquarters into luxury residential condominiums.
Zacharjasz is committed to serving the Latino community in the region. As a child he emigrated from Cuba with his family and was raised in Puerto Rico. He was recently appointed to the Philadelphia World Heritage Committee by Mayor Nutter. Additionally, he is the past Chairman of the Board for the Greater Philadelphia Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. He is a graduate of Temple University with a degree in Architecture.
Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts
Located in the heart of Center City, Philadelphia, The Kimmel Center’s mission is to operate a world-class performing arts center that engages and serves a broad audience through diverse programming, arts education, and community outreach. The Kimmel Center campus is comprised of the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts (Verizon Hall, Perelman Theater, SEI Innovation Studio, and the Merck Arts Education Center), the Academy of Music (owned by the Philadelphia Orchestra Association), and the University of the Arts Merriam Theater. TD Bank, America’s Most Convenient Bank, is the season sponsor of The Kimmel Center’s 2014-2015 Season. American Airlines is the official airline of Broadway Philadelphia. For additional information, visit kimmelcenter.org
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