BRIDGET O'CONNELL, Ed. D.

Palisades School District Superintendent

A ^ I school district
IN SPIRED TO LEAD ... PREPARED TO SUCCESD
Bridget O'Connell, Ed.D. hasserved asthe Superintendentofthe Palisades
School District (Bucks County, PA)sinceAugust2011. During hertenure she
has demonstrated student-centered leadership with a focus on promoting academic excellence,
customized learning and community partnerships. Dueto the recently enacted Act 44, Dr. O'Connell
also serves asthe district's School Safetyand SecurityCoordinator.As Superintendent, she has re-
ceived leadership awards from the Red Cross for coordinating efforts with the community during
Hurricane Sandy, National School Development Council, Blended Schools Network, and she was
named a top five Superintendentto watch in 2015 by the National Academyof EducationArts and
Sciences.In addition, she has collaborated with colleaguesat both Google NYCand the U.S. Depart-
ment of Educationon issuesrelated to technology in education. Sheis a memberof the St. Luke's
Quakertown Hospital Board ofTrustees, the Upper BucksYMCA Board of Directors and the Wash-
ington Crossing Council of the Boy Scouts of America. Dr. O'Connell earned her Bachelor's, Master's,
and Doctoral degreesfrom Lehigh University. an in-depth discussion about safety and
security trends in schools, communities,
and nationwide
Palisades School District NOVEMBER 13, 2018 -6:30-8:00 P
Administration PALMS AUDITORIU
Gary Adams-Director of Technology
Drew Bishop-BusinessAdministrator
Marie Collie-Durham Nockamixon Principal
Al Crouthamel-Director of Facilities
Soctt Davis-Springfield Principal Palisades School District
Michael Donnelly-Director of Curriculum Board of Directors
Gerry Giarratana-Director of Transportation,
Food Services & WHS
Robert S. Musantry-REGION ffl-President
Brian Gilbert-Athletics Director Shari VanderGast-REGION II-Vice President
Eric Gladfelter-Director of Pupil Services Carol Clemens-REGION III-Secretary
Rich Heffernan-HighSchool Principal & David Haubert-REGION II-Treasurer
Assistant to the Superintendent Scott Freeman-REGION I
Theresa Hoeflich-Director of Fiscal Affairs
Donna Holmes-Director of Communications
Eric Gretzinger-REGION I
Susan Keogh-Directorof Human Resources James Hallowell-REGION I
Janet Link-Tinicum Principal James Ott-REGION II
Karl Scheibenhofer-MiddleSchool Principal Robert Fumo-REGION III
Amber Schlosser-High School Assistant Principal
Rich Spering-Middle School Assistant Principal
 SUSAN UPSON, MD
St Luke's Palisades Family Practice
Dr. SusanLipsonis a board-certifiedfamily physicianworking at PalisadesFamily
Practicewith St Lukes Physiciangroup. Shereceived her undergraduatedegreefrom
the PennsylvaniaState University in 1998and medical degreefrom Jefferson Medical
college in 2003.Shecompleted her FamilyMedicineresidencyat the Crozer-KeystoneFamilyMedicine
esidency program in 2006. She has worked as faculty at the University of Pennsylvania, at Westside
:amily Healthcare in Delaware, and has now been working with St Luke's for almost two years. She re-
idesin Doylestownwith her husbandandtwo children.
.
MICHAEL MCDONALD
Springfield Township Police Chief
ChiefMcDonald's public safety serviceto the Community of Springfield Township
has spanned more than one and a half decades. He was sworn in as the Chief of
Police on May 22, 2012 after serving 9-1/2 years as an Officer for Springfield Township. Chief McDon-
aid began his law enforcement career in 2002 after graduating the Allentown Police Academy, where
he still holds 2 fitness related records and certified as a Firearms Expert. ChiefMcDonald held a varie-
ty of assignments during his 9. 5 years of service as an Officer including Field Training Officer, Defen-
sive Tactics Instructor, Taser Instructor, Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Officer, member of the Bucks
County Crisis Intervention Team (OT), and Drug Identification Instructor. In 2008, Chief McDonald
completed the FBIInter-county Detective School and continued to work a variety of cases until his
appointment as Chief of Police in 2012. Chief McDonald still covers shifts when other Officers are not
on duty, handling dispatched police calls as well as his administrative duties. Chief McDonald holds a
Municipal Leadership Certificate from Penn State University and an Associate of Science from the
PennsylvaniaCollege ofTechnology.
MATT PHELAN
Tinicum Township Police Chief
Chief Phelan has over twenty years of law enforcement experience and has
held positions with the Tinicum Township Police Department, the Bloomsburg
University Police Department, and the Bucks County Juvenile Probation De-
aartment Chief Phelan served as a DARE Officer at Tinicum, Springfield, Durham Nockamixon
and St. John's Elementaiy Schools. Chief Phelan has received training in conducting school vul-
lerability assessments and has experience conducting these types of assessments within the
Palisades School District. He is a member of the Central Bucks Special Response Team Crime
scene Unit a faculty member at Bucks County Community College.
JON RUBIN, MSW
Bucks County Director of Human Services
Jon is currently the Directorof Housing and Human Servicesin Bucks County,
PennsylvaniaoverseeingadministrationofChildWelfare,Mental Health,Intellectu-
al Disability, Drug and Alcohol, Housing, Behavioral Health through Medicaid, and
Agingservices.Janbeganhiscareerasa childwelfarecaseworkerin BucksCountyandeventually
served as a Child Protective ServicesManager. In 2004 Jan moved on to seweasa PracticeImprove-
ment Specialist for Pennsylvania's Child Welfare Resource Center and later served as the interim Di-
rector of the agency. In 2008 Jan became an Organizational Effectiveness Consultant for the Ameri-
can Public Human ServicesAssociation providing consultation and technical assistancefor human
service agencies across the country. Prior to coming back to Bucks County, Jon served as a Senior
Consultant and for Deloitteworking on the Child WelfareInformation Solution for Pennsylvania. As
Director, Jan has focused on shifting services to a more integrated approach, public/private partner-
ships, and program development generated by the needsof the community.
SGT. JAMES THOMAS
PA State Police Commander
Dublin Barracks
LAUREN VERBILLA, MS, LPC
Penn Foundation Director of Family Based Services
LaurenVerbilla, LPC, hasserved asthe Directorof Family BasedServicesat Penn
Foundation for three years. She has been a family therapist since 2008 after re-
ceiving a Master of Science in Community Counseling from Villanova University. In addition to her
work in Family Based Services, Lauren partners with crisis counselors in surrounding school districts to
facilitate wellness groups for adolescents. Helping individuals and families connect, grow, and create
positive experiences is one of the most rewarding experiences that her work has to offer.
MATT WEINTRAUB
Bucks County District Attorney
Bucks County District Attorney Matt Weintraub is an Upper Southampton native with
a quarter-century of experience as a prosecutor. As District Attorney, Mr. Weintraub
oversees an office staff of about 100 employees, 38 of them prosecutors. He has
spearheaded and endorsed many ongoing countywide anti-drug initiatives in recent years, among other
countywideanti-crimecommunitymeasures,whichinclude:Crimewatch, Ben'sCampaign:a gunlock
distribution initiative, DUItaskforce and Drug Strike Force, and the local DNAdatabase. He enjoys edu-
eating the public onjustice and public safety in schools and in communities all across Bucks County.