Meet Our Team
Peter Grollman
Director, Government Affairs, Community Relations and Advocacy
Joining The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia in 2007, Peter's role is to develop and implement an annual legislative agenda for the CHOP community; serve as a liasion between CHOP and public sector officials; and monitor and respond to legislative and regulatory matters impacting CHOP operations in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware at the federal, state and local levels of government.
Peter graduated in 1995 from The Pennsylvania State University with a bachelor's degree in Political Science. In 2001, he graduated from the University of Pennsylvania-Fels Institute of Government with a master's degree in Government Administration.
Prior to joining CHOP, he served as an aide in the United States Senate before joining a Washington, DC based public affairs firm specializing in healthcare advocacy.
Suzanne Geissel
Public Affairs Manager
Suzanne's role is to develop internal and external communications that support institutional advocacy plans and objectives. Suzanne also works to help bridge the Hospital's communications strategies with action-oriented advocacy goals to help further CHOP's role as a leading child advocacy organization.
Suzanne is a graduate of Temple University and holds a bachelor's degree in Communications. In 2008, she graduated from Widener University with a master's degree in public administration.
Maribel Maldonado
Government Affairs Projects Coordinator
Joining the Hospital in 1998, Maribel's role is to coordinate community projects, special events and assist in organizing advocacy initiatives. In addition to her government affairs duties, Maribel also provides administrative support to the Senior Vice President of the Department.
Karen Hudson
Community Relations Coordinator
Karen M. Hudson, MSW, LSW, received a BA in Sociology from Boston University and an MSW from the University of Pennsylvania School of Social Work. She is a pediatric social worker with over 25 years of experience in working with families both in the hospital and in the community. In addition to leading the Hospital’s Homeless Health Initiative (HHI), Karen serves as the Community Relations Coordinator for the Office of Government Affairs, Community Relations & Advocacy. In this role she serves as a hospital ambassador to the community by helping to facilitate the delivery of CHOP programs that meet important child health and wellness needs. Karen is also responsible for establishing and managing new and existing partnerships with community-based organizations in effort to extend the hospital’s support within the communities we serve and beyond.
The Homeless Health Initiative is a volunteer health outreach program that provides free health care and dental screenings and health education to children and families in homeless shelters. Karen has served the HHI since 2001 and serves as the bridge from the Hospital to the community for both the families and the healthcare volunteers. She is a doctoral student in Public Health and also serves as a faculty member of the CHOP Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental and Related Disabilities (LEND) program and as Lecturer of Social Work at the University of Pennsylvania School of Social Policy and Practice. Karen is a Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia INSIGHTS Forum minority leadership training program alumni, a Robert Wood Johnson Community Health Leaders Award nominee and is the 2009 University of Pennsylvania Women of Color faculty award recipient.
Michele Gabris
Department Head Secretary
Michele has been with CHOP since 2002. Her role is to support the Government Affairs department. Michele is currently pursuing her bachelor's degree in Business Administration.
Jennifer E. Rosen
Government Affairs Intern
Jennifer is a graduate student at Temple University in the Master in Public Health program. She received her BS in Biology from The University of Michigan. Her areas of interest include pediatric obesity, diabetes interventions and social marketing.
Joel A. Fein MD, MPH
Medical Advisor to Government Affairs,
Associate Professor of Pediatrics and Emergency Medicine
Dr. Fein received a BA from Wesleyan University, an MD from The NYU School of Medicine, and an MPH from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. He completed his pediatrics residency and Pediatric Emergency Medicine Fellowship at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. Dr. Fein is an Associate Professor of Pediatrics and Emergency Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine and is the Director and PI of the CDC-funded Philadelphia Collaborative Violence Prevention Center. His research focuses on violence prevention, mental health, and procedural pain management.
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