Young Involved Philadelphia is guided by a board that makes strategic decisions about the direction of the organization and allocation of resources. Members of the board are chosen from among the most active YIP members and serve two-year terms.
Board Members:
Claire Robertson-Kraft – Chair
Claire Robertson-Kraft is a native Texan but a Philadelphian at heart. She graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in 2004 with a double major in urban studies and philosophy. After graduation, Claire worked with Teach for America in Houston for three years, first as a third grade teacher and then as a supervisor for corps members teaching in elementary and special education placements. Currently, she is working as the Associate Director of the Center for Greater Philadelphia on Operation Public Education, a comprehensive approach to national school reform, and pursuing her doctorate in education policy at Penn. Claire is currently the Chair of the YIP board.
Michelle Freeman – Executive Committee
Michelle Freeman is an independent consultant working in event production, marketing, and management in the Greater Philadelphia region. She also currently provides marketing strategy services to small area businesses. Michelle has developed programs such as Campus Philly’s Discount Program for area-college students, Philadelphia Marathon Fan Pass Program and City Food Tours Flavors of Philly Tour. Michelle holds a degree in Corporate Communications from Drexel University. She has worked in various positions at Campus Philly where she planned and produced Campus Philly College Day. Michelle has also worked with several local promotion companies where she managed street teams and grassroots marketing campaigns as well as planned events at area lounges and nightclubs.
Katie Morrison – Treasurer
Originally from Virginia Beach, Virginia, Katie Morrison came to Philly 10 years ago to attend Drexel University, and still hasn’t left. Working at Drexel and recently earning her MBA, in 2010 Katie started her own event planning and marketing company, KMorrison Creative, specializing in street team marketing and event planning for non-profits. Katie is also a singer, songwriter, and guitarist in the band Betty Iron Thumbs, which should be taking the world by storm very shortly. Her favorite thing about Philly is all of the amazing bike riding paths and on any nice day she can usually be found taking a ride down the Schuylkill River Trail.
Susanna Greenberg – Secretary
Susanna is a proud native of Philadelphia, where she happily returned in 2007 after hopping around the East Coast a bit. She works as a lawyer at Ballard Spahr, where her practice is focused on antitrust litigation as well as pro bono matters related to immigration, education, election law, and family law. She previously worked on a gubernatorial campaign and as a teacher in public and charter schools in Washington D.C. Susanna has an undergraduate degree in Ethics, Politics & Economics from Yale and a law degree from New York University. She was a 2010 fellow with the Center for Progressive Leadership in Pennsylvania, and she currently also serves on the Board of Trustees of Independence Charter School in Philadelphia.
Josh McNeil – Fundraising Chair:
As Executive Director of Conservation Voters of Pennsylvania (CVPA), an affiliate of the national League of Conservation Voters (LCV), Josh works to promote environmental legislation at the state level, to engage voters through education and outreach, and to elect pro-environment politicians to office. He has worked as the National Press Secretary of LCV, as a speechwriter and Communications Director for the presidential campaign of New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson, as an improv comedian, and as a teaching assistant at the University of Cape Town. He staunchly supports the Oxford comma.
Josh was a 2010 fellow of the PA Center for Progressive Leadership, an executive committee member of the Yale Club of Philadelphia and a founder of the Philly Progressive Thinkers Forum. He earned his first dollar outside Huntsville, Alabama, keeping rogue chickens away from funerals with a pellet gun. Primates have attacked him on four continents. Josh has lived in ten cities in eight states. Philly is his favorite.
Sophie Hwang – Outreach Co-Chair:
Sophia Hwang was born and raised in New York and moved to California to study the Mental and Public Health of Underserved Communities at Stanford University. After graduating, she moved to Philadelphia to teach high school science through Teach For America and simultaneously earned her Masters in Education at the University of Pennsylvania. Sophia’s students inspired her to plant roots in Philadelphia and make a commitment to improving experiences for youth. After teaching, Sophia was awarded a Stoneleigh Emerging Leader Fellowship and worked at the Health Federation of Philadelphia. Currently, she works as a research associate at PolicyLab, a research institute at The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. In addition to serving on YIP’s board, Sophia is part of the advisory board for Sunday Suppers, steering committee for Multiplying Connections, and member of The Food For All Collective. She is passionate about racial health and educational equality, urban food access, and art as a means of social justice.
Salas Saraiya – Technology Chair:
Salas grew up in metropolitan Atlanta, rooting for the hometown Braves. Despite attending college in the Bay Area (Go Stanford!), he has found a home in Philadelphia. After working on internal software systems at local retailer Destination Maternity for five years, he decided to take the freelance route and work out of coworking space Independents Hall. As a current Young Involved Philadelphia board member, he has led the planning of an Open Data/Government Transparency forum and played a key role in launching the “Why I Love Philly” campaign. He also sits on the board of the local Network of Indian Professionals chapter and writes about the technology community for online magazine Flying Kite.
Alain Joinville – Press Chair:
Alain Joinville, currently serves as the Public Affairs Coordinator for the City of Philadelphia’s Department of Recreation. He’s held that position since January 2008. In his role as the Public affairs Coordinator he utilizes his public relations skills to promote the department’s strategic initiatives and to highlight the department’s programs; additionally he manages special projects for the department, like the City of Philadelphia’s Annual Citywide Spring Cleanup campaign.
Prior to his role with the Philadelphia Department of Recreation, he was a Field Coordinator and Policy Aide for the Nutter for Mayor Campaign. The Nutter for Mayor Campaign was Alain’s first paid position in politics. He was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York. He has lived in Philadelphia since 2002.
Farzin Khan:
Farzin is a proud New Yorker from the borough of Queens, and got acquainted with Philadelphia on numerous road trips from Reading, PA where she attended Albright College for her B.A. in Psychology and minored in Corporate Communications. Farzin recently joined as Director of Communications and Program Development at the headquarters for National Association of Securities Professionals, a non-profit association for minorities and women who are brokers, asset managers, public finance consultants, investment bankers, underwriters, investors, plan sponsors and other finance professionals. Farzin recently completed a 9-month program with the Center for Progressive Leadership as a Political Leaders Fellow. Other past civic engagement experience includes her role as a mentor/organizer for the FAST Track program which exposes Philadelphia high school students to the stock market, to the financial services industry and teaches professional development skills.
