Stephen A. Cozen and Shirin Karson Join The Board of Managers at the Philadelphia Foundation

PHILADELPHIA, PA. (10/30/2017) – The Philadelphia Foundation is pleased to announce that Stephen A. Cozen and Shirin Karsan have joined its Board of Managers.

The Philadelphia Foundation (TPF), the community foundation for Greater Philadelphia since 1918, seeks to improve the well-being of the region by growing effective philanthropy and engagement. TPF builds, manages and deploys funds from more than 900 charitable funds created by bequests, Donor Advised Funds, Designated Funds, annuities, trusts and other philanthropic vehicles.

Cozen is the founder and chairman of Cozen O’Connor, a full-service, Philadelphia-based law firm with over 675 attorneys in 26 offices throughout the United States, the United Kingdom and Canada.

“Steve Cozen’s experience and dedication to Greater Philadelphia are both well-known and highly respected,” said Board Chair Anthony J. Conti. “He is joining at an exciting time, as we position The Philadelphia Foundation for a new century of growth, impact and service to our community.”

“Steve is an outstanding addition to our board,” said Pedro A. Ramos, President and CEO of The Philadelphia Foundation. “I’ve followed and admired Steve’s professional, civic and philanthropic successes for years and am pleased to have an opportunity to work with him at our community foundation.”

“It’s an honor for me to serve on The Philadelphia Foundation Board,” Steve Cozen said. “TPF is an incredible organization that has improved the lives of so many individuals and organizations across our region.  I look forward to serving on the board and helping carry out its mission.”

Karsan serves on the Boards of the Welcoming Center for New Pennsylvanians, the Global Bioethics Initiative and the Aga Khan Conciliation and Arbitration Board. From 2006 to 2013, she worked in the AJ Drexel Nanotechnology Institute and was Special Projects manager at Drexel University’s School of Biomedical Engineering.

“Shirin’s impressive professional and educational background and community connections make her an excellent addition to our board,” said Conti. “She will bring a valuable global perspective to our work on behalf of Greater Philadelphia’s diverse communities.”

“Appropriately to our work empowering the next generation of philanthropists, Shirin has mentored future leaders in using their talents to better our world,” said Ramos. “I’ve known her through her involvement at the Welcoming Center, and I am very pleased that she will bring her compassion and wisdom to our board.”

“I’m honored to have been asked to join The Philadelphia Foundation Board,” Shirin Karsan said. “I’ve known about TPF’s work in the community on behalf of education, immigrants and biomedical research, and as a community member, I am excited for the opportunity to assist and create enduring impact on the Greater Philadelphia region.”

About Steve Cozen

An accomplished litigator and counselor, Cozen is a Fellow in the American College of Trial Lawyers, a Fellow of the International Academy of Trial Lawyers and Litigation Counsel of America, and a nationally recognized lecturer and author on a wide variety of legal and litigation issues.

Cozen is active in civic and philanthropic leadership.  He serves on the board of The National Museum of American Jewish History, where he is first vice-chair elect, and the University of Pennsylvania’s Law School Board of Overseers. He spearheaded the development of the Samuel D. Cozen PAL Center and remains actively involved with the organization. He is chairman of the USC Shoah Foundation Institute Board of Councilors, Chairman of its Five Year Campaign Initiative, and currently serves on the boards of Franklin Square Holdings, LP, Haverford Trust Company, and ABR Reinsurance Capital Holdings, Ltd.

Cozen’s community awards include the Anti-Defamation League’s (ADL) highest honor – The 25th Annual Americanism Award – in 2002, and the 2008 Musser Excellence in Leadership Award from Temple University’s Fox School of Business. In 2011, Cozen was honored by Drexel University as the Business Leader of the Year. Cozen played a major role in the creation of the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts and in innovative programs at Project H.O.M.E. Cozen earned his undergraduate degree and law degree, both with honors, from The University of Pennsylvania.

About Shirin Karsan

Shirin Karsan serves on the Boards of the Welcoming Center for New Pennsylvanians, the Global Bioethics Initiative and the Aga Khan Conciliation and Arbitration Board.

From 2006 to 2013, she worked in the AJ Drexel Nanotechnology Institute and was Special Projects manager at Drexel University’s School of Biomedical Engineering, Science & Health Systems, where she directed the local and international weServe program. WeServe enabled students to apply their education via innovative solutions for the immediate benefit of underserved communities through service learning.

Karsan holds a Masters in Bioethics degree from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Department of Medical Ethics & Health Policy, and a BS, summa cum laude, from Thomas Jefferson University.

She is a Fulbright scholar. Her research interests include cultural and religious perspectives on the ethics of emerging biotechnologies. She pursued her Fulbright research for a year in Al Ayn, United Arab Emirates, to study Muslim perspectives on the ethics of emerging technologies.

Shirin’s primary research in the UAE and her work at Drexel University have led to several publications as an author of journal articles and book chapters, and she has presented at multiple conferences and institutions around the globe. She recently received the Jefferson College of Health Professions Special Achievement Award.

Shirin is a Nationally Certified Bioethics Trainer through Tuskegee University. She mentors girls at inner city high schools through the “Women of Tomorrow” organization. She is a trained and practicing mediator and is a member of the Greater Philadelphia Chapter of the Association of Conflict Resolution. She is fluent in English and Gujarati, and conversationally capable in Urdu, Hindi and Arabic. She loves to travel and carries an FAA pilot’s license.

About The Philadelphia Foundation

Founded in 1918, The Philadelphia Foundation grows effective philanthropic investment, connects individuals and institutions across sectors and geography, and advances civic initiatives through partnerships and collaboration. A publicly supported foundation, TPF manages more than 900 charitable funds established by its donors and makes over 1,000 grant and scholarship awards each year. To learn more, visit www.philafound.org.