Board of Directors

George Coates. George Coates is the Board Chair of both the Commonwealth Foundation and Commonwealth Action. A veteran of the wine and spirits industry focused primarily on fine wine, Mr. Coates also serves on the boards of the State Policy Network and DonorsTrust. He additionally serves on the board of the Henry Foundation for Botanical Research in Gladwyne, Pennsylvania, and on the board of the Lynnwood Hall Foundation, which is preserving one of the country’s great architectural treasures in Elkins Park, Pennsylvania. Mr. Coates and his wife, Dr. Victoria Coates, divide their time between Philadelphia and Washington, D.C.

Gerard Alexander. Gerard is Associate Professor of Politics at the University of Virginia and a board member of Instituto de Libertad Economica para Puerto Rico.

Tom Beach. Tom is Managing Director of Beach Investment Counsel in West Conshohocken and a board member of many organizations in the freedom movement. He is based in Naples, Fla.

Montgomery Brown. Monty is Vice President of the Sarah Scaife Foundation in Pittsburgh and a board member of Atlas Network.

Emily Cox. Emily is Executive Director of the Beth & Ravenel Curry Foundation in New York. She lives in Erie.

Bruce Kern. Bruce is President of Curtze Food Service, an Erie-based wholesale distributor of food, disposables, equipment, and supplies to restaurants, hotels, country clubs, and health-care institutions.

Brittney Paul. Britt, a native of Harrisburg, is Director of Development for the American Institute for Economic Research, a board member of Instituto de Libertad Economica para Puerto Rico, and a member of the Executive Committee of the Hispanic Leadership Fund.

Sally Simkiss. Sally is co-founder and CEO of Energy Group Networks LLC and CEO of OpenColo in Santa Clara, Calif. She lives in suburban Philadelphia.

Bill Sordoni. Bill is Chairman of Sordoni Construction in Forty Fort, representing the fourth generation of family leadership there, and serves on numerous boards in Northeastern Pennsylvania.