Ellen Mattleman Kaplan was Philadelphia’s Chief Integrity Officer from 2016 through 2020, during Mayor Jim Kenney’s first term. Prior to that, she served as the Vice President and Policy Director at the Committee of Seventy, a non-partisan organization promoting ethical and effective government. Her career has also included roles as the Managing Director of Public Policy and Communications at Greater Philadelphia First, a business and civic-leadership organization; as the Associate Director of Pennsylvanians for Modern Courts, a statewide non-profit, non-partisan organization dedicated to reforming Pennsylvania’s judicial system; and as a Philadelphia Assistant District Attorney. Ms. Kaplan has also served as a private consultant focusing on ethics, media communications, and policy research and analysis.
Ms. Kaplan earned a J.D. from Temple University Beasley School of Law and a Bachelor of Arts degree from Princeton University, majoring in History and Russian Areas Studies.
Ms. Kaplan’s term on the board runs until November 2027.
Jim Engler is a trusted, analytical, and insightful leader with experience developing and managing strategic initiatives in highly matrixed organizations.
Mr. Engler currently serves as Chief of Staff in the Office of the CEO of Jefferson, one of the 15 largest health systems in the United States with 32 hospitals and 65,000 employees. Previously, he served as Chief of Staff to the President and CEO at ChristianaCare, a leading health system in Delaware. He has also served in leadership roles in local government, including as Deputy Mayor for Policy and Legislation, and Chief of Staff to Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney.
Mr. Engler is a graduate of Villanova University and Temple University’s Beasley School of Law.
Mr. Engler’s term on the Board runs until November 2026.
The Honorable Nelson A. Díaz is a distinguished lawyer, respected jurist, successful partner, exceptional public servant, Fortune 100 corporate director, activist, columnist, and author. In 1972, he graduated from Temple University’s Beasley School of Law and in 2021 he created the endowed Honorable Nelson A. Díaz Professorship in Law at Temple. Presently, he is a member of Temple University’s Board of Trustees, of Counsel at Dilworth Paxson, and co-founder of a national non-profit, Hispanics in Energy.
Judge Díaz was the first Latino attorney to pass the Pennsylvania bar, the first Latino judge in the history of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the first person of color to be selected Administrative Judge in the Court of Common Pleas, the first Puerto Rican White House Fellow serving Vice-President Walter Mondale, the first Puerto Rican Japan Society Fellow, and the first minority General Counsel at United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). He is a co-founder of the Black American Law Student Association (BALSA) at Temple University Beasley School of Law and co-founder of the Hispanic Bar Association of Pennsylvania. Judge Díaz served on the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania’s Criminal Procedure Rules Committee and the Committee on Racial and Gender Bias.
Judge Díaz monitored elections in Latin America; he was the first American judge to sit on a Japanese court as a Japan Society Fellow; he fought for the human rights of Soviet Jews in the USSR and he taught the American legal and jurisprudence system in Albania, Peru, and China. As a co-founder of the Latino-Jewish Coalition of the American Jewish Committee, he promoted stronger collaboration between the two communities. A Fullbright Scholar, Judge Díaz has received five Honorary Doctorate Degrees and numerous awards in recognition of his legal contributions including the Justice Sonia Sotomayor Diversity Award. The Legal Intelligencer awarded 100 of Pennsylvania’s most influential attorneys with a Lifetime Achievement Award, including Judge Díaz.
Judge Diaz’s term on the Board runs until November 2028.
Wesley R. Payne, IV is a partner at White & Williams, LLP. He has over 37 years of legal experience specializing in complex, large-scale litigation matters. At White & Williams, Mr. Payne is Co-Chair of the firm’s Partner Compensation Committee, Chair of the Pro Bono Committee and Chair of the firm’s Homeless Advocacy Group. He also serves on several pro bono and civil boards and as a Judge Pro Tem for the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas and is active in several legal organizations, holding leadership positions with many of them, including the Philadelphia Bar Association where he served as Chancellor in 2022.
He received his BA in sociology from Washington & Lee University and went to Law School at the University of Maryland School of Law.
Mr. Payne’s term on the Board runs until November 2029.