Governor Wolf Appoints Three New Members to the Pennsylvania Humanities Council Board of Directors

Governor Tom Wolf has appointed Gwendolyn White (Erie), Allen Dieterich-Ward (Shippensburg), and Christina Donato Saler (Bala Cynwyd) to the Pennsylvania Humanities Council Board of Directors. 

White, Dieterich-Ward, and Saler bring diverse sets of knowledge and experiences from across the state. 

“All three of our newest Board members embody the spirit of community,” said Laurie Zierer, executive director of the Pennsylvania Humanities Council (PHC). “We are very fortunate to have them by our side as we continue to strengthen our work across the state.

“Year after year I’m astounded at the level of talent, expertise, and energy we’re able to access with our board,” added Zierer. “We have a very strong leadership foundation in place, and we couldn’t be more pleased with these appointments. Each of these individuals’ deep professional backgrounds and passionate commitment to strengthening the humanities will bring insightful perspectives to our Board.”

PHC is governed by a 24-seat board of directors, which is made up of both elected individuals and governor appointees. Currently there are 18 members serving on the board. Members are eligible to serve up to two successive three-year terms.

New Board Members:

Christina Donato Saler is Senior Counsel with the class action law firm Chimicles & Tikellis LLP.  Christina’s experience crosses several practice areas; she has prosecuted federal securities cases, shareholder rights cases, derivative actions, consumer class actions, and First Amendment cases involving individual plaintiffs against media defendants. Christina also takes an active role in managing the firm’s client relationships.  Christina began her professional career in advertising and was a senior account executive with the Tierney Agency in Philadelphia. She has a bachelor’s degree from Fairfield University and a juris doctorate with honors from Rutgers Law School.

Allen Dieterich-Ward is an associate professor of history at Shippensburg University. An environmental and urban historian with a focus on political ecology and community development, Allen has earned acclaim for teaching, professional service and scholarship. He won the 2016 Arline Custer Memorial Award from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Archives Conference for his book, Beyond Rust: Metropolitan Pittsburgh and the Fate of Industrial America, published by the University of Pennsylvania Press. Allen holds a PhD in history from the University of Michigan, a master’s degree in history from Michigan, and a bachelor’s degree from the College of Wooster.

Gwendolyn White is a Personal Lines Underwriting Manager for the Erie Insurance Group. She has been involved for nearly three decades with the United Way of Erie County, where she currently serves as chair of the Diversity and Inclusion Committee, a member of three other committees: Community Building, Executive Compensation Review, and Governance. Gwendolyn is board chairperson of the Greater Erie Community Action Committee, an organization dedicated to helping break the cycle of poverty.