Trustees

Prior to assuming his current role, Meterchick served as regional president for Florida West, as well as PNC’s director of Corporate and Commercial Banking for the state. In that role, his responsibilities included business development and portfolio management for businesses with sales in excess of $10 million. Meterchick brings over 37 years of banking experience with PNC to its clients and prospects. Before assuming the regional president role in Florida West in 2011, Meterchick’s career at PNC included nearly 30 years in Philadelphia and Southern New Jersey. During that time, he led the corporate banking team in addition to serving as managing director of PNC Capital Markets and group manager in PNC Business Credit. Active in a range of community organizations, Meterchick is a board member, finance committee chair and executive committee member of the Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce and serves on the Foundation Board of Overseers of The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. Meterchick received B.S. degrees from the Pennsylvania State University in Business Administration (Accounting) and Liberal Arts (Economics).

Prior to joining Customers Bank, Ms. Fernandez served as CEO to the Greater Philadelphia Hispanic Chamber of Commerce where she helped achieve record levels of membership, revenues and member-driven activities through the implementation of new strategies and programs. Under Ms. Fernandez’s leadership the GPHCC created a voice for Hispanic business in the region by developing a programmatic strategy that helps build on the small business, professional and corporate Hispanic markets by focusing on market and leadership growth. Ms. Fernandez has over sixteen years of senior management expertise across industries including, not-for-profit, information technology, venture capital, commercial lending and ecommerce. For the past fourteen years Ms. Fernandez worked in the not for profit sector where she has been recognized for her work to maximize government and corporate relations as an advocate of the Latino community. Ms. Fernandez serves on various boards and commissions including Comcast National Joint Diversity Council, The Chamber for Greater Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Early Learning Investment Commission, POWER and Rosemont College. She most recently served in the board to the World Meeting of Families 2015, chaired the Community College of Philadelphia Board of Trustees, the Philadelphia Zoning Code Commission and the Pennsylvania Intergovernmental Cooperative Authority (PICA).

For years, Bast suffered from numerous, painful symptoms. She experienced hair loss, tooth decay, extreme fatigue, chronic migraines, canker sores, diarrhea, bloating, gastrointestinal pain, and tingling sensations in her fingers and toes. After one stillborn child and three midterm miscarriages, the 5-foot 9-inch Bast weighed just 105 pounds and kept getting sicker. Her second daughter was born seven weeks premature and weighed two pounds. In the decade since her symptoms had begun, Bast visited 22 doctors, none of whom correctly diagnosed her. Finally, a veterinarian suspected that Bast’s symptoms were food-related. A simple blood test confirmed the diagnosis of celiac disease. An estimated 3 million Americans of all races, ages, and genders suffer from celiac disease and a staggering 95% of celiacs (people with celiac disease) are undiagnosed or misdiagnosed. A pharmaceutical cure for the disease has not been found and the only treatment is a lifelong gluten-free diet. In 2003, Bast founded the National Foundation for Celiac Awareness (NFCA) with a dual mission: to increase awareness of celiac disease in order to make early diagnosis standard, and to raise funds to support medical research and education. While the NFCA is not the only organization to support celiacs, Bast’s initiatives are the first to actively work to diagnose them. Since the establishment of the NFCA, the rate of diagnosis has dropped significantly from eleven to six years. To increase early diagnosis, Bast joined forces with area hospitals to create celiac centers which treat patients throughout the region. With a grant from the National Institutes of Health in 2004, Bast organized an international medical advisory board to help physicians diagnose celiac disease more quickly. She produced free online resources about celiac disease, through which primary-care physicians can earn continuing medical-education credits by studying.

Uva’s most recent career accomplishments include an appointment to the Kenney administration’s workforce delegation to Germany; designing Peirce College’s career center-- developed around the needs of first-generation adult learners; and creating Peirce’s signature Women in Leadership annual event featuring local and regional C-suite executives. A workforce and career development thought leader, Uva has served on the City of Philadelphia’s Workforce Steering Committee and she has also co-chaired the education sub-committee of the Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce’s Roadmap for Growth Steering Committee. In 2018, Uva served as a board member with the Economy League of Greater Philadelphia where she participated in the Workforce Equity initiative and co-chaired the 2018 Greater Philadelphia Leadership Exchange Conference. She was also the recipient of the Social Innovations Award for her leadership in leveraging higher education as a poverty disruptor in underserved communities. Currently, Uva serves on the boards of LEADERSHIP Philadelphia, The Philadelphia Awards, and West Oak Lane Charter School. She is also a member of the Philadelphia Global Identity Advisory Board led by the City of Philadelphia’s Department of Commerce. Uva is an alumna of the Philadelphia African American Leadership Development Forum ’17, the Preeminent Growth Collaborative ’16, and LEADERSHIP Philadelphia ’11. A seasoned higher education executive, professional speaker, trainer and writer, Uva’s work has been featured in numerous publications including the Philadelphia Business Journal, Philly.com, Forbes.com, U.S. News Weekly, Al Dia News, Generocity, and Metro, to name a few. An Afro-Latina native of the Republic of Panama, Uva resides in Wilmington, Delaware with her husband and their two sons. Uva has a Master’s degree in Business Management from Wilmington University and a Bachelor’s in English from Claflin University.

Ramos has a long history of service in law, business, government, and nonprofit organizations in the region. He practiced law in Philadelphia-based national law firms for more than two decades, while serving on numerous nonprofit boards in human services, economic development, and arts and culture. He served the City of Philadelphia both as its Managing Director and as the City Solicitor. For the School District of Philadelphia, he served on the Board of Education from December 1995 to December 2001 and on the School Reform Commission from 2011 to 2013, each of which he chaired for two years. He was also University Vice President and Chief of Staff to the former Penn President Dr. Judith Rodin. Currently, he serves on the boards of CF Leads, the Philadelphia Zoo, the Philadelphia Award, the Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce, the Institute for Journalism in New Media, FS Investment Corporation (NYSE: FSIC), Amerigas (NYSE: APU), and Independence Health Group. Ramos grew up primarily in North Philadelphia and Olney, attended public schools and graduated from Central High School. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in urban studies from the University of Pennsylvania and a Juris Doctor, cum laude, from the University of Michigan Law School. In 2014 he was awarded an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters from Drexel University. Ramos also completed an Eisenhower Fellowship, an international program that encourages innovative leaders to enhance their skills, enrich our world and encourage justice and peace.

Anative Philadelphian, Margot has served in her current capacity as Public Art Director since October 2006, managing the nation’s oldest municipal Percent for Art Program and the care of the nation’s largest and most renowned public art collection. Margot earned a BA in sociology and urban studies from the University of Delaware, a Masters Degree in city planning from the University of Pennsylvania, and has over twenty years of experience working in the public and nonprofit sectors in community planning and arts administration, including seventeen years in public art administration. Her preservation program was awarded the 2015 and 2016 Grand Jury Award of the Preservation Alliance of Greater Philadelphia. She is the author of the 2015 A Guide to Public Art in Philadelphia.

Described by Politico as "the coolest shipyard in America" and by ULI as "one of the most successful office/industrial master-planned redevelopments in U.S. history," the Navy Yard is a 1,200-acre thriving waterfront community, with 7.5 million square feet of real estate in a mix of historic buildings and LEED®-certified construction oriented around world-class open space. The Navy Yard is home to more than 13,000 employees and 152 companies. From 2010-15, ran and originated the Planning and Economic Development at University City District, where she developed some of the most innovative public space projects in the country. Before working at UCD, Prema was a Real Estate Manager in PIDC’s Real Estate Services group. She has also worked at Yale University and at the Urban Land Institute, where she authored a book on placemaking in mixed-use development. She is a board member of the Fairmount Park Conservancy and the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society. Raised in Connecticut, Prema is a graduate of Bowdoin College and the University of Pennsylvania School of Design. She lives in West Mount Airy with her husband and two small children.

In 2016, Dr. Leaphart established Wallsome, an innovative design firm, specializing in creative wall graphics. Seven years ago, Dr. Leaphart also assumed leadership of Replica Creative, a print shop located in the Center City area of Philadelphia and in 2013, as president and CEO, he leveraged the company’s more than 35 years of business experience with his collaborative leadership style to launch the Creative Café @ Replica in Philadelphia’s University City neighborhood, the first café hybrid of its kind in the country. Prior to Dr. Leaphart’s transition to a physician entrepreneur, his commitment to service led him to work as a “long-term” substitute in the School District of Philadelphia at George Washington Carver High School for Engineering and Science. He completed his undergraduate work at Hampton University; earning a BS in Biology. While working towards a dual DO/MBA degree, he served as an administrative intern at St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children. During this time, he established two independent businesses, while earning his medical degree from the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine and a business degree from Saint Joseph’s University. Dr. Leaphart completed his residency in physical medicine and rehabilitation at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital. Since 2005, he has practiced medicine at the Bryn Mawr Rehabilitation Hospital. Dr. Leaphart serves on the boards of the Lenfest Foundation, the Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce, Greater Philadelphia Traditions, Philadelphia Health Management Corporation, Philanthropy Network, Philadelphia Youth Basketball, Philadelphia Media Network, The Philadelphia Award, The Science Center and The Lenfest Scholars Foundation. He is also a 2013 recipient of the Vision for Philadelphia Award.

Born and raised in Philadelphia, educated in New England, Curtis has also lived in Venice Beach, California and Portland, Maine. Owner of Neighborhood Books in Center City, Philadelphia, Kise is an expert in rare and collectible books. He is honored to be the Bok family representative on the Board of Trustees for the Philadelphia Award.