Our Founding Team

Gary Sobolow
Mr. Sobolow is the originating founder and project leader of the Whole Life/Learner Alternatives Charter School as well as the father of Calli, a 2010 graduating senior at Cheltenham High School. A business owner in the design and manufacturing industries until a bout with cancer in 2001, Mr. Sobolow swiched careers to become a teacher of computer technologies in order to offer the skills he developed during his professional career to the next generation of designers. He now sits on the Board of Directors of the Northeast Philadelphia Satellite of CHADD (Children and Adults with Attention Deficit Disorder).

Jim and Donna Custer

Keith Drobnes

Kathleen Dzura
Kathleen has been with the Whole Life Charter School/Learner Alternatives Charter School founding team since our Springfield Township application in 2007. She is the lead founder of the Montessori Academy Charter School where she served as Principal and CEO for five years. Kathleen brings a wealth of Charter School founding and operational knowledge to the WLCS/LACS team.

James Cohen, Ph.D.
Partner & Vice President with Micromarketing Strategy Partners, Willow Grove
Dr. Cohen has over 20 years of experience in the 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.

Rhonda Feder, BA.Psy, JD

Galen Godbey, Ph.D.
Associate to the President for Globalization, DeSales University
Dr Godbey leads DeSales'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.

Portia Hunt, Ph.D.,
Director of School Counseling, Coordinator of Counseling Psychology, Temple University

Beth Kaplan, RN, BSN, CCM
Fox Chase Cancer Center, Philadelphia
Beth practices nearby her Cheltenham Township home as a hospice nurse at the Fox Chase Cancer Center. She is also on the board of directors of the Elkins Park satellite chapter of CHADD (Children and Adults with Attention Deficit Disorder, a national advocacy group that supports kids and adults with ADHD). Beth has kindly offered to design customized health and safety protocols for WLCS/LACS. We are very excited to have her on our team.

Elon Kaplan, D.C.
Kaplan Family Chiropractic, Glenside
Dr. Kaplan is a lifelong resident of Cheltenham Township having grown up in Wyncote (where his parents still live). He sits on the Pennsylvania Board of Chiropractic. Elon graduated from Cheltenham High School, Emory University, and Palmer College of Chiropractic - West. Dr. Kaplan is particularly interested in non-medicinal treatments for ADHD and LD's and will introduce our faculty, staff, and parents to research and practices relative to ADHD and LD's.

Beryl Katz
Founder and CEO, SAGE (Senior Adults for Greater Education)
Ms. Katz is the director of one of the many 501(c)3 organizations that we are partnering with. SAGE places senior adults in mentoring positions at schools around the Delaware Valley. We will be the grateful beneficiaries of her work. Her organization, with the clever acronym SAGE, Senior Adults for Greater Education, is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year.

Chris Kenty, Ph.D.

Loretta Leader
District Magisterial Judge, Ret., Cheltenham Township
Ms. Leader had been a staunch advocate for children in her 20 years serving as a Magisterial District Judge in Montgomery County and has dedicated her entire life to improving the lives of others in her beloved home town of Cheltenham. Along with her work on our founding team, she serves on the Cheltenham Township Drug and Alcohol Committee, has volunteered her time at schools briefing students on Drug Abuse Resistance Education under the D.A.R.E. program, co-authored the Every Child Has Options (ECHO) program that teaches communications and life skills to children and their families and...the list goes on and on. Prior to her Judgeship she served Cheltenham Township government an additional 21 years and knows local government better than most. She also whips up a mean almond cake and other sugary delights.

Denise Marshall
President, Marshall Insurance Agency
Ms Marshall has been a Cheltenham Township resident for many years first living in the LaMott section and now a resident of the Wyncote section of the township. In addition to owning and operating an insurance agency that serves many of the large churches in and around Cheltenham and Philadelphia, Denise is the founder of a 501(c)3 called Always Reaching Kids Ministries. She has parented approximately twenty foster children over the years.

David Meketon
Dean of Students/Assistant Principal, Ret., Masterman High School, Philadelphia, Pa

Alex Schuh, Ph.D.

Diane Williams