Meet the Board

Michael H. Reed, Esq., is senior counsel in the Philadelphia office of Troutman Pepper where he is a member of the firm’s Financial Restructuring and Insolvency Practice Group. He is a member of Temple University’s Board of Trustees and of the Board of Trustees of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University. Mr. Reed is a 1969 graduate of Temple University (B.A. Pol. Sci.) and received his J.D. from Yale Law School in 1972. He was associated with the firm of Pepper Hamilton LLP as an associate, partner and counsel from 1972 until 2020 when that firm became Troutman Pepper by merger. Mr. Reed is a past President of the Pennsylvania Bar Association and previously served on the Board of Governors of the American Bar Association and as the State Delegate for Pennsylvania in the ABA’s House of Delegates. He currently chairs the ABA’s Standing Committee on Constitution and Bylaws. Mr. Reed was previously a member of the Pennsylvania Judicial Inquiry and Review Board and chaired the Professional Guidance (Ethics) Committee of the Philadelphia Bar Association. Prior to being selected as Chair, Mr. Reed served as Vice-Chair of the Board of Ethics. He is currently serving his final term on the Board that will end in November 2025.

Judge Phyllis W. Beck (Ret.), served 25 years on the Superior Court of Pennsylvania. She was the first woman elected to that office. Before becoming a judge, she spent many years in private practice and she served as a vice dean of the University of Pennsylvania Law School. After retirement from the Superior Court, she was general counsel of The Barnes Foundation, served as a mediator for the Superior Court, and now serves as a mediator and arbitrator. Judge Beck currently serves as Chair of the Independence Foundation, a board member of the Beck Institute for Cognitive Therapy, a member of the State Board of Pennsylvanians for Modern Courts, a faculty member at Temple University’s School for Older Adults and a member of the Board of Visitors of Temple Law School. Her term on the Board of Ethics runs until November 2022.

Sanjuanita González, Esq., practices Immigration law at Sanjuanita González Law Firm, a Philadelphia law firm. Ms. González is a former President of the Council of Spanish Speaking Organizations (Concilio), the oldest Latino community-based organization in Pennsylvania. She previously served on the Board of Governors of the Philadelphia Bar Association. Ms. González is a member of the American Immigration Lawyers Association; the Philadelphia Bar Association; and the Hispanic Bar Association. Ms. González’s term on the Board runs until November 2023.

A member of the faculty of Temple University’s Beasley School of Law since 1985, JoAnne A. Epps currently serves as Senior Advisor to the President of Temple University. Prior to her current role, Ms. Epps served as Executive Vice President and Provost of Temple University (2016-2021) and Dean of Temple Law School (2008-2016). She is the author and co-author of several books and articles on evidence and trial advocacy. Commemorating Black History Month, in February 2015 U.S. Senator Robert P. Casey, Jr. honored Epps at the U.S. Senate. From March 2015 until January 2017, Epps was the chair of a Police Community Oversight Board created by Mayor Michael Nutter. In June 2017, Epps was honored by The Legal Intelligencer as a distinguished leader in her field. Also in 2017, Epps received the Consular Award on Italian National Day by the Consulate General of Italy and was also the recipient of the Inaugural JoAnne Epps Award by the Barristers’ Association of Philadelphia. In November 2016, Epps was honored by The Philadelphia Inquirer as one of the inaugural class members of the Philadelphia Business Hall of Fame. In 2015, the National Association of Women Lawyers presented her with the M. Ashley Dickerson Award for her work towards diversity in the legal profession. In 2014, Epps was awarded the Justice Sonia Sotomayor Diversity Award by the Philadelphia Bar Association and in 2009 received the Association’s Sandra Day O’Connor Award for her efforts to advance women in the profession and the community. A three-time honoree by Lawyers of Color Magazine as one of the 100 most influential black lawyers in the country, Epps was also named by National Jurist Magazine in 2013, 2014, 2015, and 2016 as one of the 25 most influential people in legal education. Epps is active in business, government, and civic activities. She is a principal in The Red Bee Group, a woman-owned consulting firm. She is a Trustee of the Pennsylvania Real Estate Investment Trust, and a member of the Board of Directors of Gaming & Leisure Properties, Inc. In addition to her service on the Board of Ethics, Epps is a member of the Board of Directors of the following non-profit entities: the Defender Association of Philadelphia, and the Philadelphia Equity Alliance and is active in the Women’s Non-Profit Leadership Initiative. Epps is a former deputy city attorney for the City of Los Angeles and assistant United States attorney for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. Her term on the board runs until November 2024.

Brian J. McCormick, Jr., Esq., is a partner with the law firm of Ross Feller Casey, LLP in Philadelphia. He has a national practice that includes representing whistleblowers in qui tam and fraud actions involving the waste of government funds and resources, as well as representing individuals and their families who have suffered catastrophic injury or been the victims of sexual abuse or harassment. Mr. McCormick received his J.D. from Rutgers University School of Law and is a graduate of the University of Richmond. Before being appointed to the Board of Ethics, Mr. McCormick was selected by Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter to serve on the Mayor’s Task Force for Campaign Finance and Ethics Reform, which produced a final report in late 2009. A number of the recommendations in that report have been enacted in Philadelphia. Mr. McCormick formerly served as a member of The Committee of Seventy, the Philadelphia nonpartisan watchdog group. Before attending law school, Mr. McCormick served as an analyst with the FBI in its Philadelphia office, and also worked as a newspaper reporter in the Philadelphia area. Mr. McCormick’s term on the Board runs until November 16, 2026.