Dr. Rodney S. Ridley Sr. — Alvernia University vice president of research, economic development & innovation, chief operating officer of The O'Pake Institute & dean of the College of STEAM has received international recognition. Ridley was awarded third place in the Male Entrepreneurial Leader of the Year in the Americas category at the Accreditation Council for Entrepreneurial and Engaged Universities (ACEEU) Triple E Awards Ceremony June 29 in Barcelona, Spain. This category specifically recognizes outstanding male leaders who have demonstrated exceptional entrepreneurial acumen, leadership, and a profound impact on the Americas' entrepreneurial ecosystem. Similar awards were given to leaders from Europe, Africa, the Asia-Pacific Region.
Under Ridley's leadership as COO, Alvernia University's O'Pake Institute has served more than 300 small and established businesses in and beyond Berks County since the inception of the SPARK Business Incubator in 2020. To date, 75 students have been trained and completed hands-on experiential learning through the O'Pake Fellows Program, which serves business incubator clients. The Cultural Coalition, a volunteer-based, Berks County-focused, strategic planning and execution group that aids in identifying and attending to the City of Reading's social and economic issues launched in April 2022. The Financial Lending and Innovation Collaborative (FLIC) was also established in June 2022 and has provided over $60,000 in microgrant funding to 20 local businesses thus far. The Technology Transfer Office has serviced 16 clients since its formal launch in June 2022 and O'Pake's first patent was secured in Nov. 2022.
Executive Director of Student & Client Services, Michelle Conway, MBA; Executive Director of Financial Services & Internal Operations, Lizette Epps, MBA, CUDE; and Ph.D. Fellow of Health, Wellness & Innovation, Caitlin Long, PA-C attended the conference alongside Ridley. At the conference the team presented "Student-Powered Economic Development-Revitalizing the Poorest City in America," sharing their innovative strategies and insights on how to ignite change and catalyze economic development through student-powered entrepreneurial services. Conway and Long nominated Ridley for this prestigious award.
Berks Career & Technology Center
Berks Career & Technology Center appointed an inaugural board of trustees to its new education foundation several months ago. Of the trustees, Gavin Milligan, 20, from Blandon, was recently voted as the board's president of the foundation.
As an organization, BCTC Education Foundation was established by its administration to provide more opportunities to its students through scholarships, coverage of travel expenses for competitions, cash incentives for summer interns, and the funding of new equipment for needy students.
Milligan, a marketing, communications, and non-profit management professional, graduated from Berks Career and Technology Center's Business Management & Entrepreneurship program in 2021.
With non-profit experience as a marketing and development specialist at Olivet Boys & Girls Club of Reading and Berks County, he brings experience to the table. Currently, Milligan serves as an account manager for Mobile Marketing, a digital marketing technology agency headquartered in Pottstown that assists businesses in establishing and growing their lead-generation process through unique technology and consultation.
Other officers include Vice President Benjamin Mitten, VP of Colocation Services at TierPoint; Secretary Clare Kilpatrick-Benz, retired Career Education Specialist at Hamburg School District; and Treasurer Kenneth Remick, VP and Senior Relationship Manager at Fulton Bank.
Community Health and Dental Care
Community Health & Dental Care has welcomed a new family medical provider. Neliza Lao, MSN, RN, FNP[1]BC, FNP-C, CWOCN joins Community Health & Dental Care as a certified registered nurse practitioner at its health center location at 351 W. Schuylkill Road in North Coventry, Chester County. Lao will see adults aged 18 and over.
Lao is a board-certified registered nurse practitioner, and certified wound, ostomy and continence Nurse. She earned her Bachelor of Science in nursing from the University of Santo Tomas in Manila, Philippines and her MSN-FNP from Chamberlain University in Chicago, Ill. Lao's education includes WOC Nursing Education Program at La Salle University and WOC Nursing Clinical rotation at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital — both in Philadelphia. Additionally, she is a member of the Wound, Ostomy, and Continence Nurses Society (Greater Lehigh Valley WOC Nurses), American Association of Nurse Practitioners, and American Nurses Association.
Barley Snyder
Barley Snyder Partner Peter Faben has been named to the Moravian Center Adult Day's board of directors.
The Moravian Center Adult Day provides a warm and welcoming setting to seniors in Lancaster, according to its website. The facility is run by a team of nurses, secretaries and administrative professionals who serve older adults in need of daily personal care.
In addition to his involvement with Moravian Center Adult Day, Faben is a board member of the Hempfield Foundation, the secretary of Advoz's board of directors, and a member of the Touchstone Foundation's Access Committee. Faben also serves on the American Cancer Society's Fire & Ice Event Planning Committee.
Faben is a partner in Barley Snyder's Health Care and Litigation groups. He focuses on the defense of health care facilities, physicians and other health care providers in medical malpractice litigation. He also works with clients on HIPAA compliance and state regulatory compliance and proceedings.
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