Mr. MacDonald's deep concern for the community is evidenced by his involvement in many voluntary associations across the city. He currently serves as president of the Philadelphia Association of Community Development Corporations, and the Kensington and Allegheny Business Association, while also sitting on the executive board of the American Street Erie Avenue Business Association and the Commerce Department's Urban Industry Initiative. He recently joined the board of Northeast Hospital, and is active on the board of First Philadelphia Charter School for Literacy. The former head golf coach of Temple University, Mr. MacDonald remains very active in the scholastic golf arena, serving on the boards of the Greater Philadelphia scholastic Golf Association, the John Dyniewski Foundation, and The First Tee Center of Philadelphia.

A proud graduate of Temple University, where he earned an M.Ed. and a BS. in business, Mr. MacDonald is a frequent conference speaker at regional and national economic development forums including the Business Roundtable, National Conference on Community Economic Development, and University of Pennsylvania's International Business Forum.



Ms. Karin Coger, Vice President
Karin Y. Coger is an associate at Wong Fleming. Her practice focuses on employment and labor law, commercial law, civil rights law and entertainment law. Prior to joining Wong Fleming, Ms. Coger practiced criminal law within the Office of the Public Defender in Trenton, New Jersey. Ms. Coger is admitted to practice in New Jersey and New York.

In 1999, Ms. Coger graduated, cum laude, from Hampton University with an undergraduate degree in Mass Media Arts. She subsequently received her Juris Doctorate from Howard University School of Law in 2002. During law school, Ms. Coger served as the Sub-Regional Director of the Mid-Atlantic Region for the Black Law Students Association and she was a member of the Black Entertainment and Sports Lawyers Association.

Ms. Coger is a member of the New Jersey Bar Association and the Women Lawyers Committee and the Young Lawyers Committee of the Mercer County Bar Association. Ms. Coger is an active member of the National Association of Black Female Executives in Music and Entertainment and Big Brothers Big Sisters.



Mrs. Barbara Saunders, Secretary
Currently, Ms. Saunders is a "Stay-at-home" parent for two of First Philadelphia students, ages 9 and 7. Her experiences as a parent, is growing and developing every day and is proud of the outcome and happy to have her children at First Philadelphia Charter.

Ms. Saunders' formal work experience is in the field of Human Services, of which
she was employed for 14 years. She worked first at Lynch Community Homes, of Montgomery County, where working her way up through the ranks, she supervised several community living arrangement facilities. Most of those facilities dealt with challenging behavioral issues.

At Overbrook, a division of Overbrook School for the Blind, Ms. Saunders supervised a sheltered workshop program, developed behavior programs, trained staff etc. More proudly, she participated in the Mission Statement Committee, which, as the name indicates, developed the Mission Statement of the Friedlander Program. The staff, under her supervision, as well as herself formally, re-named the sheltered workshop program with the acronym F.O.C.U.S. (Finding Opportunities Created though Unique Support).

Ms. Saunders has also participated in developing and reviewing the overall financial budget for the Philadelphia School District's Headstart program, participated in a partnership with Univ. Of Penn to develop a functional study of Head Start students and how to tract their success, she has also been involved in the decision making process on just about every level of the Head Start, including renaming sites, opening new sites, qualification criteria, hiring procedures, and even disciplinary issues. As Chairperson, Ms. Saunders also had the shared responsibility to host and be interviewed by the Federal Government for their routine review of the overall program. From these experiences, Ms. Saunders learned how to function as a parent in a cooperative effort with the school and the importance for a cooperative relationship to exist. She feels both honored and privileged to be able to serve on the Board for First Philadelphia Charter School for Literacy.



Ms. Sharon Dennison, Assistant Secretary
Sharon Dennison is enjoying her life as a retired librarian She received her BA from Rosemont College. At Drexel University School of Library and Information Services, Sharon received her MSLIS (Masters in Library & Information Sciences).

During her career at the Free Library of Philadelphia Sharon held the following positions: Supervisor, Overdues Department; Clerical Supervisor, Cataloging Department; Adult Services Specialist; and Branch Manager.
Her current positions include: Board Secretary, Aldersgate Youth Services Bureau, Willow Grove, PA; Board Treasurer, Philadelphia Unemployment Project, Philadelphia, PA; Reading Group Leader, Center In The Park, Germantown, PA; Member, American Library Association; Member, Pennsylvania Library Association;
Member, Past Secretary, Drexel University Alumni Association; and Member, Past Secretary, Olney Neighbors Civic Association.

Sharon's awards received include: Free Library of Philadelphia President's Award for Distinguished Service - 1986, 1991, and 1994 and the Mayoral Citation for Distinguished Service – 2004.



Mrs. Anita Kaiser, Treasurer
Anita Kaiser is a Legal Administration Specialist at the Department of Veterans Affairs. She assists Veterans and beneficiaries apply for compensation and pension benefits. In addition she provides general information including eligibility criteria and the application process regarding the dozens of benefits provided by the federal and states Veterans Affairs Departments. She also must verbally verify income information with Department of Public Health and Social Security Administration.

Prior to assisting Veterans and beneficiaries she was worked closely with the Juniata neighborhood attempting to solve all types of problems ranging from issues with a drivers license to acquiring birth certificates to abandoned cars as Legislative Assistance for State Representative John J. Taylor. She was employed with State Representative Taylor for six years. During that time she organized the first Hispanic Community Fair which bilingual representatives provided information about for different city, state, and federal benefits in English and Spanish.

She is a 2004 graduate of LaSalle University and is completing her degree in Psychology/Social Science from Penn State University. Her goal is to become a Child Psychologist. Anita looks forward to some day working with a child who may happen to be living in a broken and/or dysfunctional family and/or environment that needs some professional counseling.

Mrs. Kaiser is married to Robert Kaiser and they have three beautiful children: Gianna, Robert, and Isabella.



Mr. Roosevelt Robert Mitchell, II, Member
Robert Mitchell began his commitment to young people after being honorably discharged from the U. S. Armed Forces. He founded a Boys and Girls Club at his church where every weekend, he brought joy and happiness into the lives of 20 young people by taking them tent camping and sight-seeing in vehicles that he purchased for that purpose. In addition, Robert became an Ordained Deacon, the Chairman Deacon, an Ordained Minister and finally an Ordained Elder of The Mt. Zion Pentecostal Church. Robert is also currently a member of the Executive Board of the First Born of the Living God, Inc.

Robert decided to “give back” to the world by becoming an educator. He completed his undergraduate degree work in Secondary Education/Social Studies at the Community College of Philadelphia and at Temple University. Robert then received his Masters Degree in Secondary Education (Social Studies & Gifted Education) from Beaver College (now Arcadia University). He began his teaching career in the Upper Moreland School System where he taught for fifteen years. He became a phenomenal Social Studies Teacher.

Robert began his Philadelphia teaching career at Fitzsimons Middle School. After two years at Fitzsimons, Robert received a teaching position at Germantown-Lankenau Motivational High School. For the ten years that he taught at Lankenau, Robert became a dedicated, well-loved, inspirational teacher who taught both regular and gifted students, and served the school in many capacities. He began teaching a college level African-American History Seminar course; he designed the curriculum and the culminating class project which included writing and producing a play based on what the students learned in the course.

After teaching Social Studies for 27 years, Robert decided to become an administrator. Therefore, he attended Cheyney University and received his Secondary Principal Certification in one year. He served the Philadelphia School District as a Principal for one year at Motivational High School and a total of five years as an Assistant Principal at the following schools: Randolph Career Academy, George Washington High School, Northeast High School and Fels High School. After thirty- three years of being a phenomenal educator, Robert retired from the School District of Philadelphia in June 2006.

Robert and his wife, Rebecca, have been married for forty-three years. They have two sons and three grand-children.


Mr. Charles Tarloski , Member
Charles Tarloski is a commercial real estate advisor with NAI Geis Realty Group, Inc. Charles works with local, national, and international corporations providing them with strategic consulting and transactional services so his clients are able to achieve their business goals.

Mr. Tarloski’s work with youth and giving back to the community is evident in his participation over the years. His efforts have gone to Special Olympics, the Opening Eyes Program at Sayre Middle School in West Philadelphia, and the Knights of Columbus. He’s also received the Rotary International (Wayne, PA) Annual Award for “Service Above Self.” Mr. Tarloski is also an integral member of the Valley Forge Military Academy and College Alumni Board where he maintains a hands-on role for the benefit of cadet life.

A distinguished graduate of Valley Forge Military College, Mr. Tarloski earned his Associates degree in Business Administration where he was admitted to Alpha Beta Gamma, an international business honor society and Who’s Who Among American Junior Colleges. He completed his studies at Drexel University, receiving a Bachelor’s degree in Finance.  He continues to participate as a member of the Baiada Center for Entrepreneurship in Technology at Drexel University.

In his spare time, Mr. Tarloski is an active rugby player for Philadelphia-Whitemarsh Rugby Club and enjoys playing golf.

Mrs. Teresa Grumbrect, Member
Teri was born and raised in Northeast Philadelphia. She is married with two children who both attend Archbishop Ryan High School. She has been in banking since 1990, starting as a part time teller. She has been with TD Bank for 6 years and is currently Manager, AVP.

She is active in the community as: Current President of the Frankford Northeast Philadelphia Rotary Club, Board of Directors for the Northeast Family YMCA for the past 5 years, Board of Mayfair CDC for 2 years, Member of the Northeast Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce, Selection Committee Person for the Northeast Philadelphia Hall of Fame, Corresponding Secretary for the Steuben Observance Society, and various other associations throughout Northeast Philadelphia.

With TD Bank, she is able to reach out to schools in the community through their WOWZone Educational Instructional classes, Executive Reading days and Summer Reading Programs. She is sponsoring many Northeast Philadelphia youth sports organizations.