WLCS Founding Team

Our Founding Team

Gary Sobolow
Gary is the originating founder and project leader of the Whole Life School as well as the father of Calli, a future WLCS student. Gary has had a wealth of experiences in business having owned a disc jockey company called Thirty Three and a Third, a t-shirt printing business called Stuffed Shirts and as a freelance jewelry and eyewear display designer, custom leatherworker, glass blower and web developer.

During a bout with cancer in 2001, Gary internalized the fact that life offers no guarantees. In response, he became a high school teacher of computer technologies in order to get from behind a computer screen and give of the skills he developed during his professional career.

Gary is working towards a Masters Degree in Instructional Technology/Leadership. He is presently the Technology Coordinator at Mount Saint Joseph Academy in Springfield Township.
gary@wholelifeschool.org

Galen Godbey, Ph.D.
Dr. Galen Godbey is Associate to the President for Globalization at DeSales University, where he leads the University's efforts to prepare globally competent graduates. Previously, he co-founded and led the Center for the Advancement of Partnerships in Education, which promotes technology-based collaboration among its 110 K12 and postsecondary member institutions; led the Lehigh Valley Association of Independent Colleges, one of American higher educations more active and effective consortia; and served for seven years in senior staff positions relating to education in both legislative and executive branches of Pennsylvania state government. His Ph.D. is in educational leadership from the University of Pennsylvania, and his two BAs and MA were in the humanities from Penn State. He serves on the boards of four non-profit organizations relating to education and family recovery from addictions.

James Cohen, Ph.D.
Dr. Cohen is Partner & Vice President with Micromarketing Strategy Partners, a Willow Grove, PA company specializing in strategic marketing research for the pharmaceutical industry. He has over 20 years of experience in healthcare arena, carrying out research for major pharmaceutical firms across North America, Europe, Latin America and Asia. Previously, he served as Group Director, Cardiovascular Products, in the Worldwide Strategic Product Development department of SmithKline Beecham Pharmaceuticals. In that post, he was responsible for guiding the commercial development and coordinating the worldwide launch of a new heart failure drug, Coreg (carvedilol), as well as serving as the commercial advisor to several R&D project teams in the cardiovascular category. Prior to that, he held the position of Director of Rheumatology & Autoimmune Disease in the same department, with responsibility for worldwide marketing of Relafen, as well as providing commercial input to rheumatology/autoimmune R&D project teams. He also served as Senior Product Manager for the blockbuster ulcer drug Tagamet, coordinating all marketing strategy and tactics during the critical period when the product patent expired. Other posts held at SmithKline Beecham included Product Manager for Triostat (intravenous T3 under development for use in open heart surgery and transplantation), and Halfan (for malaria prophylaxis), and Manager of Product Research, where he helped reorganize the US marketing research department along strategic lines and led a group of market researchers supporting the full antibiotic and vaccine product line.

Prior to joining SmithKline Beecham, Dr. Cohen served as Research Group Manager with National Analysts, then a division of of the consulting firm, Booz, Allen & Hamilton. A skilled focus group moderator, with strong quantitative survey experience as well, he supervised a team designing strategic marketing research programs for clients in pharmaceutical, medical, and surgical products industries. His studies have included such areas as new product positioning, advertising and sales aid testing, forecasting, pricing, and marketing strategy.

Dr. Cohen received his B.A. (Summa cum Laude) in Psychology from Washington University (St. Louis), his M.S. in Biology from the State University of New York in Syracuse, and his Ph.D. in Biology from the University of Florida. He has completed further graduate training in Public Health from The Johns Hopkins University, and holds a postdoctoral Certificate in Business Administration from The Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania.

Prior to commencing his career in business, Dr. Cohen was a research biologist, specializing in animal behavior, ecology and evolutionary theory. A representative list of some of his academic publications follows.

Dr. Cohen presently resides in Cheltenham Township, PA with his wife, Jane. His son Jonathan is currently attending college majoring in music.

Portia Hunt, Ph.D.

Chris Kenty, Ph.D.

Kathleen Dzura

Kameelah Mu'Min
Kameelah Mu’Min, Ms.Ed is a Clinical Care Manager at Community Behavioral Health, a non-profit behavioral health insurance company for underinsured, low-income Philadelphia residents. Kameelah manages Northeast Treatment Centers- Family Focused Behavioral Health Program and FACT- Family and Community Together Program which provides intensive in-home family services to over 100 families in Philadelphia. Kameelah acts as a clinical consultant and plays an integral role in program development, design and implementation. She utilizes her knowledge of resiliency, family interactions and dynamics and systems theory to ensure that families are receiving the most clinically appropriate, culturally sensitive, family centered treatment possible in order to address family conflict and maladjustment that stem from such complex issues as addiction, physical and sexual abuse, mental and behavioral health concerns.

Kameelah graduated with a BA in Psychology from the University of Pennsylvania with a minor concentration in Women’s Studies- specifically focused on the psychology of women and the sociology of gender and the family unit. She also holds a Master’s degree in Psychological Services from the University of Pennsylvania’s Graduate School of Education. She is currently enrolled in the part-time intensive clinical program at the Philadelphia Child and Family Therapy Training Center to become licensed as a Marriage and Family Therapist. Kameelah also plans to obtain advanced training in Youth Development Theory, Practice and Policy and a graduate degree in Non-Profit Management.

Kameelah’s clinical and research interests include family involvement in positive youth development, innovative programs that increase the social and cultural capital of urban youth, the impact of psychological resilience and educational achievement on positive identity development in adolescence; and evidence based practices geared towards enhancing family cohesiveness, healthy communication and effective coping in low-income, minority families.

Kameelah is originally from Brooklyn, NY is the proud mother of 5 year old Laila and 3 year old Bilal. Kameelah’s hobbies include volunteering on the Tall Ship Gazela, collecting 19th Century Cakewalk sheet music, baking, reading and browsing second-hand bookstores, indoor rock climbing and taking pictures of her children.

Omar Barlow

Alex Schuh, Ph.D.

Keith Drobnes