Robert Asher

Chairman

Robert Asher is Co-Chairman of the Board of Asher’s Chocolates, a 4th generation family candy business founded in Philadelphia in 1892. He serves on the board of Visit Philly and has served on the board for the Delaware River Port Authority. He has been recognized for his public service by the Montgomery County ARC, Boy Scouts of America and The Union League of Philadelphia.

William Sasso

Treasurer

William Sasso has served as chairman of Stradley Ronon’s 200-plus-attorney frim since 1994. In 2012, Mr. Sasso was appointed by Pennsylvania Governor Tom Corbett to serve as Chairman of the Pennsylvania Infrastructure and Investment Authority (PENNVEST). In 2010, he was asked by Governor-elect Corbett to co-chair his Transition Team in preparation for taking office in January 2011. Following Governor Corbett’s Inauguration, Mr. Sasso was appointed by the Governor as a Commissioner of the Delaware River Port Authority. He was the 2006 recipient of the William Penn Award, and is widely recognized as a community leader in the Delaware Valley. He has also served on the Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce, the Philadelphia Convention & Visitor’s Bureau, Visit Philly, and various other boards and committees.

Aaron Cohen

Aaron Cohen is President of Arena Strategies, where he has been recognized for his effective campaign strategies. Aaron has successfully served as campaign manager and consultant to dozens of candidates from Governors, State Row Officers, United States Congressmen, State Senators, State Representatives, District Judges, Township Commissioners, and School Board members. He is the Chairman of the Salvation Army of Greater Philadelphia.

Thomas Jay Ellis

Thomas Jay Ellis is Managing Director of Pennsylvania Government Affairs for Duane Morris Government Strategies in its Philadelphia office and serves as Special Counsel to Duane Morris LLP in its Corporate Practice Group. Tom was elected to the Montgomery County Board of Commissioners (MCBC) in 2003, and served as Chairman of the Board from 2006-2008. The MCBC appointed Tom to the Board of the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA), where he has served since 2001. Other Boards he has served on include Cheltenham Township Commissioners, Moss Rehabilitation Hospital, Pennsylvania Association of Bond Lawyers, and Independence Blue Cross.

Richard Jasper

Richard Jasper has been the President and CEO of Compliance Management International (CMI) for the past fifteen years. CMI is a rapidly growing environmental, health and safety engineering firm servicing clients in North America and Europe and is one of the industry’s leading innovators in the outsourcing of environmental risk management and insurance/loss prevention programs. Mr. Jasper has over twenty-five (25) years of experience in the environmental and risk management area and previously served as Program Director with the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA). In addition to his involvement with CMI and Pennsylvania Future Fund, Mr. Jasper is involved in various charities and serves as a member of the Midatlantic Employers Association (MEA), and is on the Board of Governors of St. Joseph’s University Academy of Risk Management and Insurance at the Haub School of Business.

Suzanne Mayes

Suzanne S. Mayes is a member in Cozen O’Connor’s Business Law Department.  She is chair of the Public and Project Finance Practice Group and serves on the firm’s board of directors. Suzanne joined Cozen O’Connor in June 2007. She focuses her practice on municipal and project finance, particularly in the areas of economic development, transportation, public works, education and housing.  Over the last two decades, Suzanne has developed close professional relationships with key government officials at the local, county and state level. Evidence of their high regard for Suzanne’s capabilities is the fact that government representatives often call on her to get involved in their financings. Suzanne’s good rapport and credibility with state and local government officials not only means she is involved in many of the most complex local, county and state financings, it also means she is able to achieve efficient and positive results on behalf of other clients. When appropriate, Suzanne works with Cozen O’Connor Public Strategies to serve as a liaison between the firm’s private clients and government representatives.

Jonathan Newman

Jonathan Newman is CEO and Chairman of Newman Wine, has been recognized as one of the top leaders in the wine industry for over a decade. He previously served as Chairman of the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board. He is also a Member of PA Governor Tom Corbett’s Privatization and Innovation task force, and a past Chairman of the Pennsylvania Board of Law Examiners, the Disciplinary Board of PA lawyers, and the Attorney General’s Policy Council on Violence Prevention.

David Simon

David Simon is a Senior Shareholder and Co-Chairman of Elliot Greenleaf.  He formerly served as Executive Vice President of Jefferson Health. Prior to this position, he served as Chief Counsel for Pennsylvania Insurance Department, Senior Vice President and Chief Legal Officer of U.S. Healthcare, Inc., and Associate and Partner of Wolf, Block, Schorr and Solis-Cohen. Mr. Simon is a popular speaker and lecturer, and has been published extensively. He has also been involved with Dean’s Advisory Council of the University at Buffalo School of Management, the Pennsylvania Bar Institute, and the Departments of Health and Aging Transition Group for Pennsylvania governor-elect Tom Ridge in 1994.

Rob Bickhart

Rob Bickhart is the Founder, President and CEO of The Capitol Resource Group, Inc. CRG is a government, public affairs and fund-raising consulting group. Bickhart served on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC in various capacities in the US Senate with US Senators, Bob Griffin (Michigan), John Warner (Virginia), Arlen Specter and Rick Santorum (PA). He was Assistant Secretary of Intergovernmental Affairs at the US Department of Labor in the second Reagan Administration and most recently served as Finance Director of the Republican National Committee from 2009 – 2011.