Charles G. Kopp, Esq., Chairman

Charles G. Kopp, Esq.

Charles G. Kopp joined the law firm Cozen O'Connor in April 2009 as of counsel in the Business Law Department. Prior to joining the firm, he was a partner with WolfBlock LLP in Philadelphia.

Charles practices in the Tax Group and is familiar with all aspects of federal, state, and local taxation. He has also developed in-depth experience in corporate acquisitions and mergers.

Charles has authored numerous articles on tax law for a variety of publications including the Tax Lawyer, the Philadelphia Lawyer and the Journal of Taxation. He also has been a guest lecturer on "Tax Planning for Real Estate Transactions" at Villanova University's Graduate Tax Program and has been a speaker for the New York University 27th Annual Institute on Federal Taxation; the University of Pennsylvania Ninth Annual Tax Conference; the Practicing Law Institute; the Fifth Annual Southern Federal Tax Institute; the New York State Bar Association, Subcommittee on Aviation Law; the Philadelphia Bar Association Lectures on Taxation; the Pennsylvania Society of Public Accountants — Philadelphia Chapter; the Pennsylvania Institute of Certified Public Accountants — Philadelphia Chapter; and Young President's Organization, Seminar "Real Estate in the 80's, A Whole New Ball Game."

Charles earned his law degree, cum laude, from the University of Pennsylvania Law School, where he was an editor of the law review, and his undergraduate degree, cum laude, from Amherst College. He is a member of the American, Philadelphia, and Pennsylvania Bar Associations.

In addition to his other activities, Charles is a member of the board of trustees of Thomas Jefferson University, and a member of the board of the Rothman Orthopaedic Institute. He served as a member of the Region I advisory board to the Resolution Trust Corporation, the board of directors of Provident National Bank and the advisory board of PNC Philadelphia. Charles served on Pennsylvania's 51st Electoral College and was a recipient of the Pop Warner Gold Football Award. In 1980, he was appointed to Governor Dick Thornburgh's Special State Tax Commission and was appointed co-chair of the Philadelphia Tax Committee by Philadelphia Mayor William J. Green in 1982. In 1986, he was appointed as a commissioner to the Delaware River Port Authority by Governor Thornburgh. He also serves on the Federal Judicial Nominating Commission for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, having been appointed by Senator Arlen Specter on February 18, 1999.

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Rina Cutler

Rina Cutler, Deputy Mayor for Transportation and Utilities was appointed to the job by Mayor Michael Nutter in March, 2008.  She is responsible for the coordination and oversight of all transportation functions in the City of Philadelphia.  In addition, Ms. Cutler will oversee the operations of a variety of City agencies including the Streets Department, the Philadelphia Water Department, the Philadelphia International Airport and the Philadelphia Gas Works.  She will oversee the City’s interests with  a variety of transportation agencies including SEPTA, the Parking Authority and the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission and the Philadelphia Regional Port Authority.

Prior to returning to Philadelphia, Ms. Cutler had been the Deputy Secretary for Administration at PennDOT since 2003.  Her deputate was responsible for managing resources, monitoring spending and ensuring that management and productivity controls were in place to maximize departmental operations.  In addition, Ms. Cutler served for almost 2 years as the Acting District Executive in PennDOT for the 5 county Philadelphia region which was responsible for the areas of design, construction and maintenance responsibilities for State owned roads and bridges.  In this capacity, Ms. Cutler also focused her attention on project delivery, context sensitive design and smart transportation principles.

Deputy Secretary Cutler has extensive experience in the management and operations of parking and transportation programs.  Her prior experience also includes Transportation Commissioner for the City of Boston, the Director of Parking and Traffic for the City of San Francisco and the Executive Director of the Philadelphia Parking Authority.

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Michael A. Rashid

As Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, Michael A. Rashid is responsible for leading and overseeing business operations for Keystone Mercy Health Plan, the largest Medical Assistance managed care organization in Southeastern Pennsylvania, serving more than 270,000 members. Mr. Rashid also provides leadership for Keystone Mercy’s sister organizations AmeriHealth Mercy Health Plan in Harrisburg, PA, Passport Health Plan in Kentucky, Select Health in South Carolina and PerformRx, the pharmacy benefit management division from AmeriHealth Mercy. Headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Keystone Mercy and its affiliated health plans comprise the largest family of Medicaid managed care plans in the United States. Through ownership, affiliation or management, AmeriHealth Mercy touches the lives of more than 2 million members in nationwide.

Prior to joining Keystone Mercy, Mr. Rashid was President and Chief Executive Officer of Mercy Health Plan of New Jersey (now Horizon NJ Health), where he led the provision of comprehensive managed health care services to Medicaid clients in New Jersey. Prior to that, Mr. Rashid served as Director of Medicaid Operations for Prudential Health Plan's Atlantic region, which included operations in Baltimore, Maryland and start-ups in Washington, DC and Virginia. He also served as Chief Executive Officer of Total Health Care, a Medicaid managed care plan in Baltimore. In addition, Mr. Rashid has several years of experience in health care management consulting and managing health care provision in a city health corporation.

Mr. Rashid is the Chairman of the Urban League of Philadelphia and he currently serves on the boards of other local organizations, including the Philadelphia Industrial Development Corporation and the Philadelphia Regional Port Authority. His contributions to the community have resulted in a variety of honors and awards, including the Whitney M. Young, Jr. Award from the Cradle of Liberty Council of the Boy Scouts of America, and the Signature Award from the West Philadelphia YMCA.

Mr. Rashid earned a Masters of Business Administration in Finance from the Harvard Business School and a Bachelor of Science degree in Marketing from the University of Southern California.

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John S. Skoutelas, Esq.

Mr. Skoutelas is Vice President and General Counsel for the Eastern Group office of Waste Management, Inc. (WMI).  As Eastern Group General Counsel, Mr. Skoutelas manages all WMI’s legal and regulatory matters for the northeastern United States.  WMI is traded on the NYSE and is the largest solid waste disposal and recycling company in the U.S.  As of September 2010, WMI operates over 270 landfills nationwide. 
Mr. Skoutelas received his J.D. in 1984 from the Georgetown Law Center and a B.S. in Business Administration in 1981 from New York University.

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Rhonda Hill Wilson

The first woman in her family to earn an advanced degree, Rhonda Hill Wilson has been practicing law for nearly three decades. She is admitted to practice in Pennsylvania and New Jersey and is a member of numerous federal bars, including the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.

Ms. Hill Wilson launched her own firm in 1994, after leaving an insurance defense practice. At that time, she decided to fight for the rights of injured individuals and their loved ones. She now concentrates her practice in nursing home negligence, while also handling medical malpractice, catastrophic personal injury, wrongful death, motor vehicle accident and premises liability matters.

An accomplished and award-winning leader, Ms. Hill Wilson has presented, lectured and taught in areas including nursing home litigation, deposition strategies, ethics, damages, direct and cross-examination and the essentials of civil litigation. She has been named one of the Top Black Lawyers in the Tri- State Area by The Network Journal, she has received the Presidential Award from the National Bar Association, she's been made a member of the Million Dollar Advocates Forum and she has been listed in Who's Who in American Law, just to name a few.
Ms. Hill Wilson is past president of the National Bar Association's Women's Law Division-Philadelphia and a past member of the American Association for Justice's National College of Advocacy Board of Trustees and its Executive Committee. She also serves on the Executive Committee for the American Association for Justice. Locally, Ms. Hill Wilson is on the Board of Governors and the Executive Committee for the Pennsylvania Association for Justice. She is on the Board of Governors for the Philadelphia Trial Lawyers Association, and acts as the organization's membership coordinator. Ms. Hill Wilson also serves on the Governing Board of the Philadelphia Regional Port Authority.

In an effort to educate the public, Ms. Hill Wilson has acted as a radio host since 1993. From 2003 through March of 2007, she hosted “Truth Rising” which was heard on WURD 900-AM on Fridays from 10 am-12 pm. On “Truth Rising,” Ms. Hill Wilson discussed local, national and international legal and political issues. From March 2007 through November of 2009, Ms. Hill Wilson co-hosted "The Morning Team" on WURD on Fridays from 7 am-10 am. She serves as a role-model and gives back to the community by teaching young, inner-city women life skills and goal setting strategies, and by acting as the chair for the Philadelphia area "A Mind Is" Annual Giving Society, a national contributors' program of the United Negro College Fund.

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