Community Advocate, Board Member at The Wright Center Receives State Award Pedro L. Anes, a veteran, business owner, longtime community advocate, and volunteer member of The Wright Centers for Community Health and Patient & Community Engagement Boards of Directors, received a 2024 Impact Award from City & State Pennsylvania during an awards ceremony at Philadelphia Marriott Old City. The multimedia news organization honored Anes, a Puerto Rico native and Scranton resident, for his decades of work significantly advancing diversity, education, and community engagement across Northeast Pennsylvania and the state. City & State Pennsylvania also recognized how, as a volunteer board member at The Wright Center, he uses his leadership skills and vast community connections to support underserved individuals, particularly those with limited English proficiency and low incomes. Anes played a key role in securing continued federal funding for Community Health Centers by advocating directly with congressional leaders during the National Association of Community Health Centers’ 2024 Community Health Institute (CHI) & Expo in Atlanta. “Pedro exemplifies the true spirit of servant leadership, dedicating his life to empowering others and championing initiatives that break down barriers and foster equity,” said Dr. Linda Thomas-Hemak, president and CEO of The Wright Centers for Community Health and Graduate Medical Education and co-chair of The Wright Center for Patient & Community Engagement Board of Directors. “His unwavering commitment to diversity, education, participatory citizenship, and community engagement, both locally and nationally, inspires all of us at The Wright Center. We are deeply proud to have him as a valued board member and congratulate him on this well-deserved recognition of his impactful contributions.” His notable initiatives include tackling police brutality in schools, contributing to the development of Pennsylvania’s Every Student Succeeds Act plan, which replaced and updated the 2002 No Child Left Behind Act; leading 2020 Census full count efforts in Northeast Pennsylvania with a special focus on historically undercounted populations; and ensuring the Latinx and other hard-to-reach communities in Scranton received access to COVID-19 vaccines during the COVID-19 pandemic. As part of the City of Scranton’s Climate Action Planning and Sustainability initiative, Anes collaborated with a regional coalition, including the cities of Scranton and Wilkes-Barre, on the U.S. Department of Commerce National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Integrated Heat Health Information System 2024 Urban Heat Island Mapping Campaign. This initiative seeks to identify urban areas with disproportionately high temperatures – called heat islands – that pose significant health risks to vulnerable populations. The resulting detailed report pinpointed the areas most impacted by extreme heat, providing invaluable insights into the local climate challenges. This data was crucial in shaping the Scranton Climate Action Planning and Sustainability plan, guiding strategic actions to mitigate heat risks, protect at-risk communities, and strengthen overall climate resilience. Anes also founded several impactful programs, such as the Latino Community Services Office, the Familias Saludables program, and the Step Up to Leadership program, to support underserved families while fostering multicultural awareness. He spearheaded an international partnership with Playball Puerto Rico, where he serves as treasurer, and the Monterrey Mexico Rotary Club to create a sustainable field renovation and equipment donation campaign aimed at supporting underserved neighborhoods in Monterey, Mexico. The owner of Inpact Learning LLC, an independent consulting firm, Anes has over 30 years of experience developing successful diversity and inclusion strategies, organizational development, and training across nonprofit, educational, corporate, military, and government sectors. He also is a K-5 English/language arts, history, and geography teacher at Notre Dame Academy in Scranton, where he recently launched a private donation campaign to support the school and its students, securing essential items such as uniforms, winter coats, printers, teaching aids, classroom supplies, equipment, books, and funds for educational field trips. Anes has held diverse roles, including as a senior U.S. Army non-commissioned officer, adjunct professor, chief talent officer, and multilingual partnership specialist with the U.S. Census Bureau. He holds a Ph.D. (ABD) in human development from Marywood University in Scranton, a master’s in administration from Central Michigan University in Mount Pleasant, and a bachelor’s in management from Park University in Parkville, Missouri. Raised in East Harlem (Spanish Harlem), New York, he moved to the Poconos in 1998 and Scranton in 2002. Anes is also the Mideast region representative of the National Council of the United Nations Association of the United States of America, vice president of the Lackawanna Interagency Council, and a City of Scranton Human Relations Commission member. Earlier this year, he was an organizer and panelist of the 2024 United Nations International Peace Day Interdependence Hexagon Project “Posters for Peace” art exhibit. He was also selected as a panelist representing the National Council of the United Nations Association of the United States of America for the “Finding Peace Through Action: A Community Conversation,” which was streamed live during the Yoko Ono, World of Peace Concert tour in Europe. As a nonprofit Federally Qualified Health Center Look-Alike and safety-net provider, The Wright Center serves vulnerable and medically underserved populations, regardless of age, ethnic background, ZIP code, insurance status, or ability to pay. It accepts all insurance plans and offers a sliding-fee discount program based on federal poverty guidelines that consider family size and income. No patient is ever turned away due to an inability to pay. Headquartered in Scranton, The Wright Center’s growing network of community health centers in Lackawanna, Luzerne, Wayne, and Wyoming counties, including a mobile medical and dental unit called Driving Better Health, provides affordable, high-quality, nondiscriminatory, whole-person primary health services to everyone. Patients typically have the convenience of going to a single location to access integrated medical, dental, and behavioral health care, as well as community-based addiction treatment and recovery services. For more information, go to TheWrightCenter.org or call 570-230-0019. The Wright Center for Patient & Community Engagement advances The Wright Centers for Community Health and Graduate Medical Education’s mission – to improve the health and welfare of our communities through inclusive and responsive health services and the sustainable renewal of an inspired, competent workforce that is privileged to serve – by involving patients and communities in transforming primary health services, fostering workforce development, and addressing public health challenges. Focused on education, advocacy, and reducing socioeconomic barriers, the nonprofit assists vulnerable populations facing poverty, homelessness, food and housing insecurity, limited transportation, and social isolation. Guided by a board of patients and local professionals, it organizes impactful initiatives like health fairs, food drives, and school supply giveaways. Its annual Dr. William Waters Golf Tournament raises critical funds to ensure equitable access to high-quality, whole-person primary health services for everyone.
Peoples Financial Services Corp. Announces New Board Member Peoples Financial Services Corp., the holding company for Peoples Security Bank and Trust Company, is pleased to announce the appointment of Elisa (Lisa) Zúñiga Ramirez to its Board of Directors. As a result of Ms. Ramirez’s appointment, the Board of Directors was increased from seven members to eight members. Ms. Ramirez brings more than 30 years of executive-level experience in institutional investing and capital markets with a proven track record of value creation. Until her retirement in 2020, she was Senior Portfolio Manager and Principal at Segal Bryant and Hamill, an employee-owned money manager with more than $25 billion in assets under management. Prior to this, she was Senior Portfolio Manager and Partner at Denver Investments LLC, which was acquired by Segal Bryant and Hamill in 2018. Currently, Ms. Ramirez is the President of Éxito Consulting, LLC, which advises boards, companies and individuals on corporate strategy, ESG and financial matters. Lisa is currently a corporate director for Bow River Capital, a $1.6 billion private equity firm and the Denver Employees Retirement Plan, a $2.7 billion public retirement system serving the city of Denver employees and retirees. She is also a director on these non-profits: National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD) Colorado Chapter; The Denver Foundation; Vuela for Health; and Latinas First Foundation, a scholarship and mentorship program supportive of Colorado Latinas. Ms. Ramirez earned her BSBA from the University of Colorado at Denver and an MBA from Regis University, Denver, CO. She’s a 2021 graduate of Boardbound by Women’s Leadership Foundation, a Chartered Financial Analyst and holds the SASB FSA credential. She’s also an avid supporter of organizations that empower women and stimulate equality and representation in the workplace, as well as foster professional leadership development, including: The Athena Alliance; Latino Corporate Directors Association; Women Corporate Directors; NACD; and Extraordinary Women on Boards (EWOB). Ms. Ramirez commented, “I am excited to be joining the board of such a strong and well-run bank, and look forward to bringing a unique outside perspective to drive stakeholder value. I’m impressed by our bank, our leadership and I feel there is an incredible story to tell. I look forward to bringing my 30 years of investment experience to the table and collaborating with our other impressive and experienced board members.” Regarding Ms. Ramirez’s appointment, William Aubrey, Chairman of Peoples Financial Services Corp.’s board stated, “We are excited to have a person of Lisa’s qualifications and experience join our board. Her capital market experience in analyzing hundreds of small cap companies allows her to bring a long history of value creation to our board. I look forward to working with her to improve shareholder’s value.” Lisa resides in Denver, Colorado with her husband, Ron, and their twin boys, Román and Mason.
Dr. Jill Murray Named an Editorial Board Member for Esports Journal A recent press release announced on May 18, 2021, Lackawanna College President, Dr. Jill Murray has been named as an Editorial Board Member for the new journal for Esports, Annals of Esports Research (AER). Read the Annals of Esports Research (AER) press release below. We pleased to announce a new journal for Esports, Annals of Esports Research (AER). AER is the first North American Esports journal and is an international, peer-reviewed journal dedicated to expanding the scientific basis and qualitative and quantitative knowledge of Esports by publishing quality articles concerning the field. AER publishes innovative original research, opinion, and educational information related to Esports. All disciplines and approaches to understanding Esports are encouraged with a special interest in the health, performance, and experience, and well-being of players, fans, and coaches and industry practices and outlooks and the teaching, management, and research of Esports. Our goal is to advance academic and industry discussions and research in Esports. We welcome empirical, conceptual, and qualitative research and industry-driven manuscripts. As Annals, we are interdisciplinary and cross the barriers between industry, the academy, and medicine. AER is a gold-standard open access journal published through Harrisburg University. It is a no-fee journal and all published articles will be freely accessible. We are an Emerging Sources Citation Index Journal. The journal welcomes submissions from international contributors and researchers of all specialties. Our Editorial Board includes academic and industry partners. Eric Darr, Ph.D. – President, Harrisburg UniversityMark Candella – Director of Student and Education Programs, TwitchJoey Gawrysiak, Ph.D. – Program Director, Associate Professor of Esports, Shenandoah UniversityWayne Kimmel – Chairman of the Board, Managing Partner, SeventySix CapitalLindsey Migliore D.O. – Esports Physician, Founder, GamerDoc, Faculty associate for NYIT Center for Sports Medicine.Glenn Mitchell, M.D., MPH – Professor of Healthcare Informatics, Vice Provost for Institutional Effectiveness, Harrisburg UniversityJill Murray, Ph.D. – President, Lackawanna UniversityCharles Palmer – Associate Professor of Esports, Director C.A.R.E, Harrisburg UniversityWim Stocks – EVP Partnerships & Commercial, Belong Gaming & Vindex Categories of Interests: Clinical Topics, Esports and Medicine, Esports and Health, Analytics/Modeling, Bio-Medical, Business, Marketing, Economics, Esports Management, AR/VR, AI, Finance, Education/Pedagogy, and Esports, Sociology, Psychology, Communications, Media, Cultural Studies, Statistics, Prose and Other. Please visit our website: Annals of Esports Research (harrisburgu.edu) To submit a manuscript to AER, please visit: https://harrisburguniversity.submittable.com/submit Please direct manuscript inquiries and general journal questions to Jennifer L. Metz, Ph.D., at AnnalsofEsports@harrisburgu.edu or jmetz@harrisburgu.edu