Board Members

Samuel W. Milkes, Esq. was the Executive Director of Pennsylvania Legal Aid Network, Inc., the umbrella for the statewide civil legal aid system, from 2001 to 2020. During his tenure at PLAN, Inc., the organization played a major role in the passage of the Access to Justice Act and its amendments, bills which provide an additional mechanism for helping to fund civil legal aid through filing fee surcharges. Mr. Milkes advocated for funding and support from multiple sources including the Pennsylvania General Assembly, and also partnered with civil legal aid programs, the Pennsylvania Bar Association, private bar, and the AOPC.

Previously Mr. Milkes served as the Executive Director of the Community Justice Project (1993-2001), Executive Director of Central Pennsylvania Legal Services (1988-1992), and Deputy Director of Legal Services, Inc. (1983-1988). He was a part-time Assistant Public Defender in Cumberland County for ten years, while also a partner in the Carlisle firm of Jacobsen & Milkes. Mr. Milkes has litigated many cases, including family law, public benefits, housing, and impact cases. Mr. Milkes’ undergraduate degree was awarded by Arizona State University and he earned his J.D. from Indiana University at Bloomington. Mr. Milkes retired as Executive Director of PLAN, Inc. effective March 31, 2020 and now engages in consulting with non-profit organizations. He was appointed by the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania to the Pennsylvania IOLTA Board in August 2020.

Gittel Hilibrand, Esq. is currently managing partner at MAH Associates, LLC and the Title VI Division Director at the Dispute Resolution Institute. She serves as President of the Jewish Publication Society, member of the Yale Library Council, and Vice-President of the Yale Jewish Alumni. She is also an active member of the Jewish Law Day Committee, serving three times as co-chair of the event. Ms. Hilibrand also serves as Co-Chair of the Amicus Brief Committee for the Philadelphia Bar and as Secretary of the Board of the Louis D. Brandeis Law Society.

As an immigrant from the Ukraine, Ms. Hilibrand has also represented immigrants who are seeking refuge in America. In addition to her pro bono work representing clients and nonprofit institutions, Ms. Hilibrand served as Judge Pro Tempore at the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas, as well as on multiple local nonprofit boards which support the Philadelphia community. She was also a member of the Jewish Federation Policy, Strategy and Funding Committee which allocated funding for many Philadelphia charitable institutions.

Ms. Hilibrand received her undergraduate degree from Yale University, summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa, majoring in Economics. After receiving her J.D. from Harvard Law School, Ms. Hilibrand clerked on the Federal District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, and on the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. She has also been a litigator at Schnader, Harrison, Segal and Lewis, focusing on trial and appellate litigation. She was appointed by the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania to the Pennsylvania IOLTA Board in August 2024.

Joseph G. Price, Esq. is a founding partner of the regional litigation firm of Dougherty Leventhal & Price LLP, which has offices located in Scranton, Wilkes Barre, Honesdale, and Hazleton. Mr. Price is a Board Certified Civil Litigation Trial Attorney with over 40 years’ experience handling complex plaintiff cases. He is an ex-officio member of the Board of Governors of the Pennsylvania Association of Justice and an original Executive Committee member of the Northeast Pennsylvania Trial Lawyers Association.

Mr. Price is active in his local community. He currently sits on the Board of Lackawanna Pro Bono, Inc. and is the Immediate Past President. Previously, Mr. Price served as President of the Lackawanna County Bar Association and was a founding member and Co-Chair of the Lackawanna County Committee on Justice for All. In addition, he served as Co-Chair of the United Way Campaign for Lackawanna and Wayne counties, and served on numerous boards, including the Scranton School Board. In recognition of his commitment to his community, Mr. Price was named the Boys and Girls Club Champion of Youth and named a Distinguished Citizen of the Year in Northeast Pennsylvania by the Boys and Girls Scouts.

Mr. Price is a graduate of the University of Scranton and earned his Juris Doctorate from Temple University School of Law. Mr. Price was appointed by the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania to the Pennsylvania IOLTA Board in September 2020.

Sharon López, Esq. started out her post collegiate professional career as a social worker. She saw the challenge of poverty and she decided to become a community-based lawyer advocate for the poor. Her first legal job was at Central Penn Legal Services where she worked for nine years. She left to work at the Pennsylvania Coalition Against Domestic Violence (PCADV), a statewide non-profit organization that advocates for safety, autonomy, and restoration of domestic violence victims.

In 2006 López left PCADV to form a private law firm dedicated to advancing civil rights, Triquetra Law.  Lopez continued her commitment to public interest work by serving on the board of Philadelphia Lawyers for Social Equity, a non-profit organization dedicated to providing advice and representation to low-income individuals who have criminal records that hold them back from achieving their social and career goals.

López became the 123^rd President of the Pennsylvania Bar Association in 2017-2018. She was the fourth woman, the first Latina, the first mother, the first ex legal services attorney, and the first MLK Intern to serve as President of the largest voluntary state bar association in Pennsylvania.

López works on both the state and local level to improve the legal profession’s diversity and inclusion of women, minorities, and LGBTQ+ members in the legal profession. She is the managing partner of her firm, Triquetra Law ®, located in Lancaster, PA.

J. W. Alberstadt, Jr. is a senior partner in the Erie law firm of MacDonald Illig Jones & Britton, LLP. Jay concentrates his practice in the areas of real estate, commercial and economic development, and conventional and tax-exempt financing. He also provides representation to businesses, nonprofit corporations, banks, and economic development agencies in commercial financings and tax-exempt municipal, industrial development, and 501(c)(3) bond issues. The former chair of the firm’s Real Estate Practice Group and Marketing Committee, Jay has been included in The Best Lawyers in America© for real estate law since 2018.

A stalwart supporter of social, educational, and cultural advancement, Jay has held leadership positions in numerous civic and non-profit organizations. He is a former member and past-president of the board of the Pennsylvania Legal Aid Network (“PLAN”). Prior to his service on the PLAN board, Jay was a member of the board of Northwestern Legal Services for over 30 years, serving 3 separate terms as president. Active in the Erie County Bar Association, he served as its president in 2010.

Attorney Alberstadt is a graduate of Gannon University and received his juris doctorate from the Dickinson School of Law. He was appointed by the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania to the Pennsylvania IOLTA Board in October 2024.

Colleen F. Coonelly, Esq. has over 30 years of experience in civil litigation, clinical law teaching, and the creation and administration of pro bono programs for lawyers.

She earned an A.B. from Duke University and a J.D. from Vanderbilt University School of Law.  Upon law school graduation, she practiced law as a litigation associate for seven years at Pepper Hamilton in Philadelphia. Ms. Coonelly then served as a clinical faculty member at Penn Law School where she taught upper-level students and supervised their case work in the Penn Legal Assistance Office. She then directed attorney education and pro bono programs at law firms in Philadelphia. For the next decade, Ms. Coonelly served as Director of Legal Services, and as a Board Member, of a domestic violence shelter and supportive services agency. With the agency and Temple Law School, she launched a Domestic Violence Clinic.

Ms. Coonelly is currently an attorney consultant on the WomensLaw Email Hotline of the National Network to End Domestic Violence. She serves on the Board of Directors of the League of Women Voters of PA and also provides pro bono, direct client representation through the Women’s Resource Center in Wayne, PA. She was appointed by the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania to the Pennsylvania IOLTA Board in August 2023.

Karen Keating Mara, Esq. is the President & Managing Member of Keating Mara & Associates LLC, a legal and consulting firm located in Wayne, Pennsylvania. She represents a variety of life sciences and technology early-stage companies, venture capital funds, institutional and angel investors in their investment, general corporate, licensing, technology transfer, and other transactional activities. She also represents senior executives in the employment and related agreements.

Prior to forming Keating Mara & Associates LLC in 2005, Ms. Keating Mara worked at Safeguard Scientifics, Inc. (NYSE:SFE). She served in the legal department in several positions, including as Acting General Counsel. Previously, she served as General Counsel at the Judge Group Inc. and was a corporate associate with the Philadelphia law firm of Drinker Biddle & Reath, LLP. Prior to law school, she worked at GE (NYSE:GE), where she completed its Financial Management Program and worked on its Corporate Audit Staff and GE Capital Audit Staff.

Ms. Keating Mara is a graduate of the Fox School of Business at Temple University and Villanova University Charles Widger School of Law. She was appointed by the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania to the Pennsylvania IOLTA Board in November 2025.