YIP's Board

Young Involved Philadelphia is guided by a board that makes strategic decisions about the direction of the organization and allocation of resources. Members of the board are chosen from among the most active YIP members and serve two-year terms.

Current Board Members

Michelle Freeman Michelle Freeman is an independent consultant working in event production, marketing, and management in the Greater Philadelphia region. She also currently provides marketing strategy services to small area businesses. Michelle has developed programs such as Campus Philly's Discount Program for area-college students, Philadelphia Marathon Fan Pass Program and City Food Tours Flavors of Philly Tour. Michelle holds a degree in Corporate Communications from Drexel University. She has worked in various positions at Campus Philly where she planned and produced Campus Philly College Day. Michelle has also worked with several local promotion companies where she managed street teams and grassroots marketing campaigns as well as planned events at area lounges and nightclubs.
Matt Goldfine Matt Goldfine grew up along the R5 in Paoli, Pennsylvania and in 2005 graduated from Temple University with a degree in Geography and Urban Studies. He currently works as Chief of Staff for State Representative Tim Briggs in King of Prussia, Lower Merion, Bridgeport and West Conshohocken. During his time at Temple Matt began his work as a community activist. He has worked on neighborhood revitalization projects in housing, planning, community technology and food access with various groups around East Fairmount Park (Strawberry Mansion, Brewerytown and Fairmount). In recent years he has worked as a campaign manager, finance director and field director on the campaigns of local progressive candidates for City Council and State Senate.
Sulaiman Rahman Sulaiman Rahman is the CEO & Founder of a premier event based web portal, UrbanPhilly.com, targeted to urban professionals in Greater Philadelphia area. He is also a top producer and national trainer in the direct sales/network marketing industry. In 5 short years, Sulaiman has developed and trained a network marketing organization that has grown to over 4,000 independent business owners in 40 different states. Prior to his current ventures, Sulaiman was in the real estate industry as an investor, and gained experience by working in different facets of the real estate business. Sulaiman has been selected as the Philadelphia Tribune’s “10 People under 40 to Watch” and Leadership Philadelphia’s “101 Next Generation Connectors.” Sulaiman attended the University of Pennsylvania where he studied Electrical Engineering and Entrepreneurship.
Ned Rauch-Mannino Ned Rauch-Mannino came to Philadelphia from a rural town not much bigger than the Philadelphia Museum of Art. He graduated from Temple University as a double major in Journalism and Political Science in 2006 and during college was the Assistant Editor at Campus Philly. Today Ned works for the Urban Industry Initiative, assisting companies and designing economic development policies and programs for the manufacturing sector. He also participates with a number of community organizations, such as Next Great City and Paine's Park Project, and volunteers with the Red Cross Disaster Action Team and Old Pine Community Center. He lives in Society Hill and spends his free time running, hiking and wondering when the Eagles will sign a top-tier wide receiver.
Claire Robertson-Kraft Claire Robertson-Kraft is a native Texan but a Philadelphian at heart. She graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in 2004 with a double major in urban studies and philosophy. After graduation, Claire worked with Teach for America in Houston for three years, first as a third grade teacher and then as a supervisor for corps members teaching in elementary and special education placements. Currently, she is working as the Associate Director of the Center for Greater Philadelphia on Operation Public Education, a comprehensive approach to national school reform, and pursuing her doctorate in education policy at Penn. Claire is currently the Chair of the YIP board.
Thaddeus Squire Thaddeus Squire is a curator, consultant, conductor, writer, sound artist and producer. The founder and artistic executive director of Peregrine Arts, one of the most innovative and pioneering orginizations in the City, Thaddeus is at the forefront of Philadelphia's contemporary arts scene. After getting a degree in Music from Princeton, Thaddeus went on to study as a Fulbright Scholar at the University of Leipzig, Germany, and later completed an orchestral conducting degree at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater “Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy,” also in Leipzig. He is a member of The Musical Fund Society of Philadelphia, the Conductor’s Guild, the Artistic Advisory Committee of the Philadelphia Art Alliance, the Philadelphia Steering Committee for the Ford Foundation’s Leveraging Investments in Creativity (LINC), and has been a Pennsylvania Humanities Council Commonwealth Speaker. Thaddeus serves as YIP's treasurer.