The Philadelphia Center

Alumni

TPC Friends (Alumni Association)

Meet our new Board! Since its formation in October 2010, the TPC Friends Board has been busy revitalizing the alumni association by creating committees, reconnecting with alumni, and helping to plan our recent reunion. If you’d like to get involved, send us an email.

TPC Friends Committees:
Recruitment: to engage alumni in the support of current TPC recruiting efforts
Engagement: to engage alumni through events and community service projects
Networking: to engage alumni through career development opportunities, social networking, regional TPC Friends events, and to broaden the TPC Friends alumni network
Fundraising: to increase the overall fiscal health of TPC and to support incoming students by establishing a scholarship fund.

TPC Friends Board Members
Theresa (Miller) Doggett (Spring 2003) Her semester in Philadelphia and Power and Authority seminar with Mark Clark exposed her to many social injustices that exist in our country, including the public education system. Upon graduation from Alma College in 2004, she immediately returned to Philadelphia as a Teach For America teacher. In 2006, she joined TPC staff as a recruitment director. She currently works for KIPP Philadelphia Schools, a national network of open enrollment, college-preparatory public charter schools for students in educationally under served areas, as the Director of Talent and enjoys supervising TPC interns.

Viviana Gordon (Fall 2005 and Spring 2006) During her time at TPC, she interned at Project H.O.M.E. and at the Defenders’ Association of Philadelphia. Viviana is from Portland, Oregon and attended Whitman College in Walla Walla, Washington. She now lives in New York City and works at the Red Hook Community Justice Center, a community court in Brooklyn, running the New York Juvenile Justice Corps, an AmeriCorps service program. Viviana can’t visit Philly without making a trip to Sam’s Morning Glory Diner and always returns to New York with a bag of Famous 4th Street cookies.

Peter Kellepourey (Fall 2000) completed a public relations internship during his semester at TPC.  Originally from Michigan, the people at TPC and the rich culture and diversity of Philadelphia made a major impact on his life.  After graduating from Hope College with a degree in Communications, Peter decided to make Philadelphia his permanent residence.  Since 2006, Peter has worked in the telecommunications industry and is now a Project Manager for a network development company. He lives in the Manayunk neighborhood with his wife, Alice, and adopted greyhounds, Roxie and Bebe. 

Josh Merchant (Fall 1995) is the vice president for institutional advancement at Albion College. Prior to his appointment at Albion, he served as the assistant vice president of advancement at Interlochen Center for the Arts, senior director of development at Central Michigan University’s College of Business Administration, and director of major gifts at Michigan State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine. Merchant is an alumnus Albion College (1996). He is finishing his Ph.D. from Western Michigan University and holds a master’s from Michigan State University.

Lance Pellow (Spring 1998) is a Regional Advancement Director at Hope College where he works with alumni, parents and friends who support the college philanthropically.  While in Philadelphia Lance worked with the Nether Providence Athletic Association in Wallingford, PA and lived in West Philadelphia.  Lance is a 1999 Hope College graduate and resides in Byron Center, MI with his wife, Gina and two kids, Rowan and Tate.

Thomas Poole (Spring 2007) spent a semester and summer in Philadelphia working for a trading firm on the Philadelphia Stock Exchange. This invaluable opportunity to learn about the financial industry, build relationships, and experience the city allowed him to find direction and eventually led him to New York, NY where he has lived and worked since graduating from Whitman College in 2009. Thomas enjoys revisiting Philadelphia and is excited to work with the networking subcommittee to help create stronger connections among TPC alumni.

Michele Porterfield (Fall 1987) consults with The Philadelphia Center around issues of organizational and career development. She is a human resources consultant with Leadership Solutions, Inc., a consulting firm that specializes in helping client organizations make optimal use of their talent – “putting the right people in the right jobs at the right time and ensuring their success once they get there.” Ms. Porterfield has her B.A. in Economics from Villanova University and her Masters in Organizational Development from The American University. She has been a frequent guest speaker for the program for the past several years.

Yashika Krutik Shah (Spring 2010) interned in the wealth management department of Morgan Stanley Smith Barney (MSSB) during her semester in Philly. Yashika is a 2011 Ohio Wesleyan University graduate and is originally from Mumbai, India. After graduation, Yashika decided to move to Philly because of her enriching experience at TPC. She works as a Financial Advisor Associate at MSSB with the same team that she interned for and loves everything about Philly- especially the parks!

Scott Travis (Spring 2005) is a 2006 Hope College graduate, Scott works at Hope as the Director of Alumni and Parent Relations.  When he attended the Philadelphia Center he worked as a communications intern for the Philadelphia 76ers. After graduating, he started his career at Hope working in event and ticket office management and then in Alumni and Parent Relations. He recently earned his Masters in Business Administration from Grand Valley State University in Grand Rapids, MI. Scott lives in Holland, MI with his wife, Ashley, and daughter, Amelia.

Alysia (Hunt) Williams (Spring 1999) recently earned a MA in the Youth Leadership Concentration of Eastern University’s Urban Studies Department. Ms. Williams also completed a BA in Psychology at Earlham College. This academic path as well as Ms. Williams’ decade-plus long career in human services has deep roots in her Philadelphia Center semester. As a member of the inaugural Alumni Board, she is thrilled to give back to this program and encourages others to do the same. After all, she finds it only natural to support the countless, positive, life-changing experiences that result when one connects with The Philadelphia Center family.