Executive Committee - Coalition for Affordable Utility Service and Energy Efficiency in Pennsylvania (CAUSE-PA)

Carl W. Bailey, Linda Bergman, Carol Collington, Minta J. Livengood & Dorothy L. Young comprise the Executive Committee of the Coalition for Affordable Utility Service and Energy Efficiency in Pennsylvania (CAUSE-PA), an association of low-income volunteers who support and advocate for consumers of limited economic means to connect to and maintain affordable utility service.

As a result of their leadership, CAUSE-PA has made significant advances protecting the rights of low-income utility consumers through their work with the Pennsylvania Utility Law Project. Mr. Bailey, Ms. Bergman, Ms. Collington, Ms., Livengood & Mrs. Young make the voice of low-income consumers heard not only in the courtroom, but also in the decision marking forums of legal services programs, utility providers and state government.

• Carl Bailey, a retired businessman and veteran of the Korean War, is a strong advocate for senior citizens representing their interests on various state and local committees. A longtime volunteer for AARP, Mr. Bailey was appointed to the PA Long-Term Care Commission by former Governor Corbett.  He also serves as a Board Member of the SeniorLAW Center in Philadelphia.

• Linda Bergman is active in Pennsylvania’s legal aid community, serving as Board Secretary of Southwestern Pennsylvania Legal Aid Society, and is active in the Central Clients Council of Pennsylvania and the Southwestern Pennsylvania Legal Services Clients’ Consortium.  Ms. Bergman advises the Secretary of the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services Secretary on policies, procedures and other activities related to the various programs administered by DHS through her participation on the Income Maintenance Advisory Committee and other consumer advocacy committees.

• Carol Collington has been active member of CAUSE-PA since its formation in 2011 and has devoted significant time and energy to its mission.

• Minta Livengood has contributed many years of distinguished service to helping clients. Ms. Livengood serves on the Board of Directors of Laurel Legal Services, having once served as Board President.  A member of Pennsylvania Welfare Rights in Indiana County, Ms. Livengood also serves on various Pennsylvania DHS Committees, advising the administration as a member of the Consumer Subcommittee of the Medical Assistance Advisory Committee amongst others.

• Dorothy Young is an effective public benefits advocate and is dedicated to the concerns of the client community.  She is a member of Pennsylvania Welfare Rights and currently serves on the Board of Neighborhood Legal Services Association, where she is active in Central Clients Council. Mrs. Young also advises the DHS Secretary on key public benefit programs, as a member of many DHS advisory committees.

Deborah L. Freedman, Esq. 

Deborah L. Freedman, Esq. has a distinguished record of public service consistently working to provide better access to justice for those without a voice or power.  Ms. Freedman currently serves as the Deputy Director at Community Legal Services in Philadelphia where she started as a lawyer in 1992.  She has held several positions at CLS including Interim Executive Director, Managing Attorney of the Law Center North Central, Managing Attorney of CLS’ Family Advocacy Unit and Supervising Attorney in both the Welfare and SSI Units.

Her motivation for justice and ability to develop strong relationships have allowed Ms. Freedman to become an exceptionally skilled lawyer and manager. Ms. Freedman is credited for raising the bar for CLS’ legal practice by improving supervision and evaluation systems, adopting holistic models of client service, and facilitating staff training and compliance. 

She currently serves on the Boards of HIAS Pennsylvania, the Community Justice Project and Society Hill Synagogue.  She is an active volunteer with Living Beyond Breast Cancer, where she is part of a team of volunteers who staff a helpline for survivors of breast cancer.

Sharon A. Goldsmith 

Sharon A. Goldsmith is the Executive Secretary of Neighborhood Legal Services Association in Pittsburgh.  Ms. Goldsmith joined NLSA in 1977 as a receptionist in the organization’s North Side neighborhood office. She was promoted to her current position in 1987.

Throughout her career, Ms. Goldsmith has taken great care to help clients on the path to equal justice. She provides exceptional customer service to individual clients seeking legal aid and client board members alike. She works closely with Central Clients’ Council and the Southwestern Pennsylvania Legal Services Clients’ Consortium  helping them plan, schedule and coordinate client meetings and training events, thereby ensuring effective client engagement in the delivery of legal services.

Ms. Goldsmith is steadfastly active with her church, New Zion Missionary Baptist Church, serving as Church Secretary, Deaconess, and a member of the S.W. Williams Ushers Ministry as well as chairing many church programs.

The Honorable Alan Hertzberg

The Honorable Alan Hertzberg has been a consistent supporter of pro bono legal services to the indigent since his arrival on the Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas in 2005.  Judge Hertzberg sits on the administrative board of the Pittsburgh Pro Bono Partnership, assisting in the creation, implementation and capacity building of various pro bono projects that contribute to the success of legal services programs, bringing the judicial perspective to the legal problems of low-income individuals and families.

During his time as a judge in the Family Division, Judge Hertzberg was extremely helpful in crafting solutions to the perennial demand for legal services in family law cases. Judge Hertzberg was instrumental to the success of two Signature Projects of the Partnership: the Guardian Ad Litem Project and the Custody Conciliation Pro Bono Project. As the law changed in Guardian Ad Litem area, Judge Hertzberg continued to work with the Court, the Pro Bono Partnership, and the project’s sponsoring law firm to ensure that the pro bono effort could continue and at-risk children can have a voice in court proceedings.

Jennifer Heverly, Esq.

Jennifer Heverly, Esq. handles a variety of legal aid cases in North Penn Legal Services’ Williamsport, Pa. office.  Attorney Heverly specializes in bankruptcy and mortgage foreclosure cases. She also has established herself as in expert in legal ethics and is the “go-to” person in the office when questions arise concerning the Rules of Professional Conduct. 

Ms. Heverly played pivotal roles in the statewide justice community’s response to the most recent foreclosure crisis, everything from representing individual clients facing foreclosure, to playing a key role in developing and implementing mortgage foreclosure diversion programs in Lycoming and Clinton Counties, to providing training and support to the pro bono attorneys who represent defendants at mortgage foreclosure settlement conferences in Lycoming County. 

She also participated in a key meeting with former Attorney General Linda Kelly that resulted in a recommendation and subsequent legislative action to use mortgage foreclosure settlement funds to support legal services.

Diana Ingersoll, Esq. 

Diana Ingersoll, Esq. is the sole attorney in the Blair County office of MidPenn Legal Services.  She passionately serves the community’s most vulnerable residents - survivors of domestic violence. Since 2001, she has handled 2,610 domestic violence cases, obtaining 1,605 orders of protection for 3,197survivors and their children.

Ms. Ingersoll is an active member of the Blair County Bar Association and serves as a liaison to various community organizations and governmental entities, including the Altoona Housing Authority. Her work in these areas has increased MidPenn’s visibility in the community and helped to develop collaborative partnerships for better community partnerships. 

Ms. Ingersoll received her law degree from the University of Pittsburgh School of Law in 1988.  The following year she began her legal services career with Blair County Legal Services becoming its executive director in 1992 expertly handling an active caseload while addressing various administrative, management and compliance duties. Recognizing the benefits of a larger program model to her clients and staff, Ms. Ingersoll skillfully shepherded a merger with Southern Alleghenies Legal Aid, a predecessor program to MidPenn Legal Services. 

Michael Lee, Esq.

Michael Lee, Esq. is the owner of his own law firm, the Law Office of Michael Lee which he established in 2010.  His practice is a community-action-oriented law firm specializing in criminal defense, criminal records, forfeiture proceedings, dispute resolution and non-profit corporation formation and advising. He is also co-founder of Philadelphia Lawyers for Social Equity. 

Attorney Lee leads a citywide Criminal Records Expungement Project which holds monthly free clinics around Philadelphia that has helped many Philadelphians get incorrect or outdated information removed from their arrest records.

Born and raised in Philadelphia, Mr. Lee is a graduate of the 259^th class of Central High School, George Washington University and Drexel Law School’s inaugural graduating class. He was one of eleven Pennsylvania attorneys invited to participate in the 2013-14 class of the Pennsylvania Bar Institute’s Leadership Institute, which prepares young lawyers for future leadership opportunities within the state bar association.

Merck & Co., Inc., Pro Bono Program

Merck & Co., Inc., Pro Bono Program - Kenneth C. Frazier Esq., Chairman of the Board, President & Chief Executive Officer & Bruce N. Kuhlik, Esq., Executive Vice President & General Counsel  have championed pro bono service to the poor and empowered Merck’s attorneys to meet their professional obligation to ensure access to justice through pro bono representation of the poor and disadvantaged.

Merck’s Pro Bono Program began in 1994 when a small group of Merck attorneys and support staff piloted a pro bono project at the Merck facility in Rahway, New Jersey in response to a challenge from former senior Vice President and General Counsel to company attorneys. Today, Merck’s Pro Bono Program has grown to more than 175 attorneys, paralegals and administrative associates from offices across ten countries helping expand access to justice for clients who have nowhere else to turn for help.

• Kenneth C. Frazier, Esq. is a true friend and strong supporter of equal access to justice programs here in Pennsylvania and nationally.  He has been the leader of NLADA’s national corporate counsel campaign to provide support for NLADA’s efforts and repeatedly champions the importance of civil legal aid. Mr. Frazier was recently the keynote speaker at the Philadelphia Bar Foundation’s 50^th Anniversary Gala. He showed his concrete support of legal aid by providing a leadership gift to CLS’ capital campaign to build a new office building at Broad and Erie in Philadelphia, just a few blocks from where he grew up.  Mr. Frazier joined Governor Rendell at the ribbon cutting for the new building. 

• Bruce N. Kuhlik, Esq. is Executive Vice President and General Counsel of Merck & Co., Inc. Bruce is responsible for the Office of General Counsel and the Global Communications, Public Policy, Corporate Responsibility and Security functions. He is also a member of Merck's Executive Committee, the senior management group that oversees the Company's strategic direction. Bruce joined Merck as Vice President and Associate General Counsel in 2005, with responsibility for product liability and other litigation and regulatory and commercial law. He was promoted to General Counsel in 2007, succeeding Ken Frazier. He has worked to expand the company’s rich tradition of pro bono service.  In 2013, Mr. Kuhlik and Merck were honored by the Pro Bono Institute with the Laurie D. Zelon Pro Bono Award.

Jonathan Pyle, Esq.

Jonathan Pyle, Esq. serves as the Contract Performance Officer at Philadelphia Legal Assistance.  Mr. Pyle ensures that PLA complies with government regulations and contractual obligations.  More importantly, he works to implement changes that improve the efficiency and effectiveness of legal services, in particular by adopting new uses of technology. Mr. Pyle is the rare combination of lawyer and technical savant who uses his unique combination of skills to help PLA provide high quality, effective, efficient and timely legal services to clients. 

Before joining PLA, Mr. Pyle practiced law in the areas of class action defense, government investigations and human rights litigation at Philadelphia law firms. In one case, he represented Iraqi torture victims in a lawsuit against government contractors for their involvement in the torture of detainees at Abu Ghraib prison near Baghdad.

Mr. Pyle started at PLA as a volunteer, providing consulting services to analyze the operations of the program’s mortgage foreclosure hotline. He quickly identified areas of improvement and utilized new technologies and data metrics to enhance operations. He was instrumental in establishing PLA’s Medical-Legal Community Partnership as well as numerous technological advancements at PLA.

Lawrence A. Swanson 

Lawrence A. Swanson is the Executive Director of ACTION-Housing, Inc. in Pittsburgh, Pa. He has served low-income individuals and families through his work on affordable housing for over 35 years.

Mr. Swanson has empowered low-income people in Western Pennsylvania to build more secure and self-sufficient lives through the provision of decent, affordable housing, essential supportive services, asset building programs and educational/employment opportunities. All the while, Mr. Swanson has proven to be an indispensable ally to legal services programs across the state. 

Recently, Mr. Swanson provided effective advocacy in the state legislature for the passage of House Bill 1337 (Act 113) which addressed the urgent need for funding for civil legal aid and he provided organizational advocacy towards changes in the Qualified Action Plan for Low-Income Housing Tax Credits (LIHTCs).