Philadelphia, PA 19103-1189
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Contact: Communications and Development
New Board Leaders at the Free Library of Philadelphia Foundation
At the June meeting of the Free Library of Philadelphia Foundation Board of Directors, A. Morris Williams was unanimously elected to succeed Peter A. Benoliel, who will be stepping down as the Chair of the Foundation’s Board of Directors after four years in the position.
At the same meeting, Richard A. Greenawalt and Leslie Anne Miller were elected Vice Chairs of the Board of Directors. The Free Library of Philadelphia Foundation Board of Directors is a forty-member board charged with raising funds to develop resources in order to expand, enhance, and support the services, collections, building programs, and other activities of the Free Library of Philadelphia.
Brief Background on New Leaders
A. Morris Williams Jr., Chair of the Board of Directors: Mr. Williams was born in Durham, NC and received a B.A. from Duke University in 1962 and an M.A.T. in Education in 1963. He taught for the year 1962-63 in the Durham Public Schools before joining Mellon Bank (Pittsburgh) as an investment manager. From 1970-73 he served as Vice President and as Chairman of the Investment Strategy Committee. In 1973 Mr. Williams joined Miller, Anderson & Sherrerd LLP and became a partner in the firm in 1975. He completed Stanford University's Graduate School of Business Investment Management Program in 1978 and is a Chartered Financial Analyst. After his retirement in 1997, Mr. Williams began Williams & Company, of which he is president. Mr. Williams was elected to the Library Foundation Board of Directors in 1999 and served as Vice Chair for the past several years. In addition to acting as an emeritus trustee of Duke University, he chairs the Philadelphia Scholars Fund Advisory Committee and the Pine Tree Family Foundation.
Leslie Anne Miller, Vice Chair of the Board of Directors:Ms. Miller was appointed General Counsel of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania by Governor Edward G. Rendell, and served from January 2003 until March 2005. Prior to becoming General Counsel, Ms. Miller was Interim President of the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts and is currently Vice Chair of its board. She was also a partner in the Philadelphia law firm of McKissock & Hoffman, P.C. Ms. Miller also served as the first female President of the Pennsylvania Bar Association, which has 27,000 members. She is President of the Pennsylvania Women's Forum, serves as Chair of the Board of Trustees at Mt. Holyoke College, as well as sits on the Board of Governors for Dickinson School of Law, Pennsylvania State University.
Richard A. Greenawalt, Vice Chair of the Board of Directors:Mr. Greenawalt is the Principal of RMK Associates. He was the CEO of Arcadia Financial Ltd. in Minneapolis until the company was acquired in 2000. Prior to becoming CEO of Arcadia he served for 9 years as President, COO and Director of Advanta Corporation. He has also held senior management positions with various financial companies, including President of Transamerica Financial Corporation (Los Angeles) and Senior Vice President of Citibank (NYC). He has served on various Free Library board committees, and also co-chairs the Free Library’s Capital Campaign. He sits on the boards of the Family Foundation, the Albert Trust, Drexel University, the Philadelphia Health and Education Corporation, as well as the Franklin Institute.
Reneé Amoore, Board of Directors:Ms. Amoore is the founder and president of The Amoore Group, Inc., which is the parent company of three diversified subsidiaries: Amoore Health Systems, Inc. (AHS), a company designed to contribute significantly to the improved delivery, service, and quality of healthcare in the United States; Ramsey Educational Development Institute, Inc. (REDI), a non-profit organization which provides a variety of services to children and adults throughout southeastern Pennsylvania; and 521 Management, Inc., which is a communications and public relations group. In 1991 she became the first African-American ever elected to the Upper Merion School District, serving as the board’s vice president for four years. In addition to her latest appointments to the boards of the Franklin Institute and Nazareth Hospital, she is a member of the Drexel University Board of Trustees, the Chambers of Commerce for Greater Philadelphia, Valley Forge, and Montgomery County, as well as the Valley Forge Convention and Visitors Bureau.
Alexander Kerr, Board of Directors:Mr. Kerr is a partner with the law firm of McCarter & English. Before joining McCarter & English, Mr. Kerr was a founding partner at Philadelphia's Hoyle, Morris & Kerr LLP, where he was a lead attorney in a wide variety of cases, particularly concerning securities. His career has included service as Deputy Attorney General at the Pennsylvania Department of Justice. An Adjunct Professor in the Masters program in Trial Advocacy at Temple University School of Law, Mr. Kerr regularly teaches courses in trial advocacy for the Academy of Advocacy and the Philadelphia Bar Association. He is a frequent lecturer in continuing legal education seminars for practicing lawyers. He was a member of the Free Library’s Board of Trustees from 1992 - 2005, and chaired that board from 1996 - 2002. He also served on the Board of Directors from 1994 - 2003.
07/17/2006
Department of External Affairs, Free Library of Philadelphia, 1901 Vine Street, Philadelphia, PA 19103-1189
(215) 567-7710, FAX (215) 567-7850