Board of Directors

President

Aaron V. Skrypski is the Associate General Counsel at the University of the Sciences in Philadelphia, where he serves as a general practitioner with specific responsibility for University contracting, policy drafting, and intellectual property protection.  Prior to joining USciences in 2019, Aaron was, from 2015-2019, the Associate Vice President & Assistant General Counsel for Aramark’s higher education and K-12 lines of business, and was an Associate in the Litigation Practice Group at Morgan, Lewis & Bockius from 2008 through 2014.  He received his J.D., cum laude, from Cornell Law School in 2008, where he served as a managing editor for the Cornell International Law Journal. While in law school, he interned for Judge Richard C. Wesley of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. Aaron received his M.Div., summa cum laude, from Yale University Divinity School in 2005 and his B.A., with high honors, in English and classical studies from the College of Wooster in 1997. Aaron is admitted to practice in Pennsylvania and before U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.

Vice President/Secretary

Bryn Michaels, Esq. — Vice President/Secretary
Bryn L. Michaels, Esq., is Chief Commercial Counsel, Natural Gas at UGI Corporation, a company that, through subsidiaries, operates natural gas and electric utilities in Pennsylvania, distributes propane both domestically and internationally, manages midstream assets and engages in energy marketing in the Mid-Atlantic region. Prior to joining UGI in 2014, Bryn served, from 2007 to 2014, as Associate General Counsel at Penn Virginia Corporation, an independent oil and natural gas exploration and production company and was an Associate in the Business & Finance Department at Ballard Spahr from 2002 to 2007, where she was a member of the Hiring Committee, Securities Group and Investment Management Group. She is a graduate of the University of Maryland and the University of Pennsylvania Law School (cum laude), where she served as Associate Editor and Articles Editor for the Journal of International Economic Law.

Treasurer

William J. Freshwater is a retired C.P.A. who resides on Maryland’s Eastern Shore. Prior to retirement Bill and his husband lived in Washington, D.C. and Philadelphia. While in Philadelphia, Bill was a member of the Boards of the AIDS Law Project, and of the AIDS Walk. He was an active volunteer with Prevention Point’s needle exchange program. He was recently a member of the BEAT-HIV Community Advisory Board in Philadelphia, on which he served as Secretary and Co-Chair. He is on the Anchor Study Community Advisory Board in Washington, D.C. Bill recently completed his participation in a one-year ATI Cure Study at the National Institutes of Health. Bill graduated, with Distinction, from the University of Virginia. Following graduation he practiced international taxation in Washington, D.C., Philadelphia, Los Angeles, Paris and Amsterdam.

Avi D. Eden is former Vice Chairman, Executive Vice President and General Counsel of Vishay Intertechnology, Inc., a leading manufacturer of electronic components. He was with Vishay since 1973 and served on its Board of Directors and Executive Committee. He also has worked in private law practice. Avi received a Bachelor of Arts and Economics from the University of Cincinnati in 1969, and a J.D. from Harvard Law School in 1972.

Columbia Law School Global Public Service Fellow

Jorge is a human rights defender from Ecuador and a migrant. He started his career as an activist by joining “Fundación Ecuatoriana Equidad” where he provided counseling for people living with HIV and campaigned against discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. After becoming an attorney he co-founded PAKTA, a non-profit through which he successfully litigated equal marriage and lead other impact litigation campaigns. When the refugee crisis from Venezuela reached its peak, he joined the United Nations High Commissioner For Refugees where he worked directly with migrants, asylum seekers, and a network of local organizations that provided humanitarian aid. In 2019 he started his American legal education at Columbia Law School where he was a Human Rights Fellow, and then became a graduate fellow at Outright International.

Executive Director

Ronda B. Goldfein is in her 24th year as executive director of the AIDS Law Project of Pennsylvania, the nation’s only independent public-interest law firm dedicated to people living with HIV. She is listed among the top 100 HIV/AIDS activists in the United States by POZ Magazine, and was voted a “Super Lawyer” in a poll of more than 36,000 Pennsylvania attorneys published jointly by Law & Politics and Philadelphia Magazine. She is co-founder and vice president of Safehouse, a public health approach to overdose prevention that seeks to open a supervised injection site in Philadelphia. She chairs Philadelphia FIGHT’s Institutional Review Board and is a member of the board of directors of the American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania’s Greater Philadelphia chapter. For most of the last decade, she has chaired the board of Brian Sanders’ JUNK, an avant garde dance troupe that performs with the Philadelphia Orchestra. A graduate of the University of Miami, she holds a J.D. from the Shepard Broad Law Center of Nova Southeastern University in Fort Lauderdale, and is admitted to practice law in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and New York.

Darlene E. Harris has been involved with AIDS advocacy over the past 15 years through professional and volunteer affiliations with the U.S. Conference on AIDS, the HIV/AIDS Housing Advisory Committee, Circle of Care Pediatric AIDS, Family Planning Council of Southeast Pennsylvania and Spectrum Health Service’s community outreach and health care advocacy efforts. Most recently, Darlene began serving as a consultant to Positive and Friends, an HIV/AIDS outreach, education, advocacy and testing project located in Pittsburgh. Darlene is employed as an independent contractor in the areas of education and behavioral health through the Philadelphia Departments of Human Services and Behavioral Health. She also serves as a marketing and public relations associate with Denise Goring Artwear of New York City. She is an apprentice with the Good Shepherd Mediation Program seeking certification in the field of mediation. Darlene earned a B.A. in communications and a graduate degree in public administration from the University of Pittsburgh. She is a native of Pittsburgh who now resides in the East Mt. Airy section of Philadelphia.

Kenny Jung-Taek Oh, Esq., a 2007 graduate of the Temple University James E. Beasley School of Law and a 2004 graduate of Swarthmore College, joined the board in 2012 as an observer under a program sponsored by the Philadelphia Bar Association. He became a full member in 2014. Kenny previously worked as a judicial law clerk for the First Judicial District of Pennsylvania and as a research coordinator for Asia Catalyst, a nonprofit that works with marginalized communities in East and Southeast Asia that promote the right to health. In 2014, Kenny enrolled in Temple University School of Medicine in the Doctor of Medicine and Master of Public Health programs, with a concentration in biostatistics and epidemiology.

Beth LaPiene, JD, MSPH, is an Assistant General Counsel at Temple University Health System where she supports initiatives related to population health, research, ethics, and patient safety. Prior to law school, Beth earned a MSPH in Health Policy & Management from UNC-Chapel Hill. Upon moving to Philadelphia in 2011, she began a decade-long career as a hospital administrator. Beth continued working full-time while attendingTemple University’s Beasley School of Law’s evening program, earning her degree in 2022. Her law school coursework and internships focused on legal and healthcare issues affecting the LGBTQ+ community and included a practicum at Philadelphia FIGHT.  Beth is admitted to practice in Pennsylvania. 

Aretha Marshall is the president of Lincoln Drive Inc a boutique production company specializing in unique content development across multi-platforms. Prior to launching Lincoln Drive Inc in 2019, Marshall enjoyed a distinguished career at NBCUniversal including the start up of Peacock Productions where she was a vice president and senior executive producer. Her role included talent development and executive-in-charge of documentaries, specials and series.

Prior to Peacock Productions, Marshall served as a senior executive producer working across many of the divisions of NBCUniversal to create  exclusive programming including interviews with newsmakers like Anita Hill, George Clooney and Angelina Jolie.  She  joined NBC News in 1994 as a producer with the award winning news magazine DATELINE where she reported on law and social justice issues.

Over her career Aretha Marshall’s work has been honored with numerous Emmys, the  I. DuPont-Columbia University for A Pattern of Suspicion a three-year investigation into racial profiling and the NAACP Image Award for Angela’s Story with Tom Brokaw – an investigation into New York’s mandatory drug sentencing which resulted in the pardon of a young mother.  She is a graduate of Harvard University and holds a Master’s degree from Northwestern.

Anton M. Robinson is a criminal defense and appeals attorney, an adjunct law professor, and a justice reform advocate licensed to practice in Pennsylvania, New York, and Florida. Currently serving as an Assistant Public Defender in the Major Crimes Division of the Defender Association of Philadelphia, he conducts research in the fields of restorative justice, racial justice, and trial advocacy. Anton earned a Bachelor of Science in Mass Media from Florida State University in 2003 and a J.D. from the University of Florida, Levin College of Law in 2006.

Finesse Ross has performed and competed in pageants throughout the tri-state area as Diana Ross and Grace Jones. She got her start in the business in the early 1990s appearing with the legendary Paris DuPree, a performer featured in the 1990 documentary Paris is Burning. Finesse also volunteers with two nonprofit groups that offer support to LGBT youth. Her many awards include Miss Pennsylvania North America 2006, Miss Pennsylvania North America Supreme 2007 and Miss Philly Black Gay Pride 2009. She also received the Philly Trans March Artist Achievement Award 2013, among other honors.

Waheedah Shabazz-El is an African American Muslim woman and retired postal worker who was diagnosed with AIDS in 2003. She serves as a board member for the AIDS Law Project, board member of City of Phila Spiritual Advisory and an advisory board member for Sero-Project. She is employed by Phila FIGHT as its Goodwill Ambassador. Waheedah is a founding member of Positive Women’s Network – USA. Currently Waheedah is the Interim Program Director for The Reunion Project where she is leading a Long-Term Survivor Alliance. Waheedah’s areas of expertise include HIV criminalization, Trans Justice, Faith and HIV, Women and girls living with HIV and Electoral Organizing.