AATLF Board of Directors
Executive Committee
Susan Tachau
President
Susan Tachau recently retired as CEO of Pennsylvania Assistive Technology Foundation (PATF), an organization she co-founded in 1998. With the support of PATF’s Board of Directors and friends, Susan founded Appalachian Assistive Technology Loan Fund and served as its first executive director. Susan has been active in the disability field for 42 years and continues to consult on projects related to access to affordable financing, assistive technology, housing, and employment for people with disabilities. She serves on the Boards of the National Disability Finance Coalition and the PA Statewide Independent Living Council, and is a member of the PA Employment First Oversight Commission. Susan received her BA from Colorado College and her MA from Rutgers University. In 2013, she received a Doctor of Humane Letters, honoris causa, from Colorado College; and in 2021, she received the Ned Gramlich Lifetime Achievement Award for Responsible Finance, Opportunity Finance Network. She is the mother of an adult son who has a disability. Susan was born and raised in Louisville and has many family members who live in Kentucky.
Sybille Damas
Vice President
Sybille Damas is the Managing Director of Human Resources at United Way of Greater Philadelphia and Southern New Jersey, which supports local nonprofits to work to end poverty and to expand opportunities so that every person in the community can thrive. Sybille has over two decades of experience in social services, human resources, and organizational management through her prior roles as Chief Operations Officer at Congreso de Latinos Unidos, and as Director of Operations at Ballinger, an architectural, engineering, and design firm. Her contributions to the non-profit sector have been recognized with several awards, including the Philadelphia Business Journal’s 2019 Woman of Distinction Award and Metro Philadelphia’s Philly Power Woman 2021. She has an MSW from Temple University and is a SHRM-certified Human Resources professional.
Mitch Bilker
Board Co-Secretary
Mitch Bilker is the Treasurer for the Hearing Loss Association of America as well as the Senior Director of Finance and Administration at the Curtis Institute of Music. He also serves as President of Glenn Rose Homeowners’ Association and is Co-Chair Walk Day and Registration Chair for the Walk4Hearing. Mitch recently served as the Treasurer of the AATLF Board and the Chair of the Finance Committee. He holds a BS in Accounting and Finance and an MBA from Rochester Institute of Technology. He is Deaf/hard of hearing.
Jeffrey W. Cooper
Co-Secretary
Jeff Cooper is Executive Director of the DREAM Partnership, which assists universities in establishing programs for students with intellectual disabilities and also provides scholarships. From 2001 to 2017 Jeff was President/CEO of UCP Central PA, a $32M non-profit advocacy and service organization of 1300 staff supporting children and adults with disabilities. He retired from the United States Air Force in 2001, as a Colonel. In his last assignment he was Chief of Medical Logistics (support of medical peacetime, aeromedical, and wartime operations). Jeff has a MBA from Florida State University and a MS in Logistics Engineering. He is a graduate of Air War College and Harvard’s Strategic Perspectives in Non-profit Management. Jeff and his wife Rayna (a registered dietician) have two daughters, Spring (Associate Professor CUNY) and Shayna (special education teacher in Boulder CO).
Additional Directors
Ryan Creech
Board Director
Ryan Creech serves as the Technical Assistance Coordinator at the University of Kentucky’s Human Development Institute. In that role, Ryan helps research projects create materials that are usable by people of all abilities. Ryan served with the Kentucky Office of Vocational Rehabilitation as an Assistive Technology Specialist for 12 years, helping Kentuckians with disabilities realize their employment goals. Ryan holds a Bachelor’s degree in English and Communication Arts from the University of the Cumberlands. Ryan also brings lived experience to the Board, experiencing spastic paraplegia resulting from an ATV accident in 2007.
Kenneth Jones
Board Director
Kenneth Jones is a retired teacher from the Kentucky School for the Blind, where he spent nearly 40 years. While serving as a teacher, he also sat on various statewide boards, such as the State Advisory Panel for Exceptional Children, Office for the Blind State Rehabilitation Council, and Interagency Council for Exceptional Children, and as Treasurer of the National Federation of the Blind in Kentucky. He serves as the President of the Kentucky Assistive Technology Loan Corporation. Kenneth received both his BS and graduate degree for Teacher Certification from the University of Louisville. Kenneth has low vision.
Heidi Sheehan
Vice President of Finance
Heidi is currently the Vice President of Finance at the Barber National Institute, an organization that meets the needs of children and adults with autism, an intellectual disability, and/or behavioral health disabilities. She began her career in public accounting and subsequently worked in several industries, focusing on non-profit, mission-based organizations. She became a founding family to establish the Montessori Regional Charter School in Erie, PA, which provides a tuition-free Montessori education. She served as the founding Treasurer for the Board and subsequently, Business Manager at the school. She then became the founding Director of Finance for the Erie Catholic School System with the Diocese of Erie, combining six individual parochial elementary schools into one standardized financial and educational system. Eventually, the opportunity presented itself to be a part of the newest community college in the United States as the founding Controller. She was the first full-time, permanent employee for the Erie County Community College of PA. She was an instrumental part of the implementation team, installing and configuring an ERP software system for various business functions, including IT, finance, student services and human resources. When not working, Heidi enjoys performing and choreographing for the local community theater, gardening, and traveling with her family. Heidi graduated from The Pennsylvania State University with a B.S. in Accounting and earned her MBA from DePaul University. She also serves on PATF’s Board of Directors and is the Treasurer for the Erie Playhouse board.
Evan Zuverink
Board Director
Evan Zuverink joined First Commonwealth Bank in 2015 and serves as the Senior Vice President & Corporate Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) Officer. In this role, Evan leads a team which drives the strategy and execution of the Bank’s community development lending, investment, and service platforms. Under his leadership, the Bank has implemented numerous creative and innovative programs which help the bank deliver on their commitment to community banking by serving underserved communities, and the Bank has deployed more than $1 Billion of capital to underserved communities.
Prior to serving in his current role, Evan held several leadership positions at the Bank, most recently as Head of Community Lending & Regional CRA Officer for Pittsburgh. Prior to joining First Commonwealth, Evan spent a decade in leadership positions with several nonprofit organizations across the Appalachian region, including Habitat for Humanity.
Evan is a tireless advocate for Asset-Based Community Development and takes pride in leveraging nationally-accredited solutions to maximize impact in the areas of affordable housing and economic development. Evan believes firmly that safe, affordable housing paired with quality living wage jobs are the keys to creating pathways out of poverty. He has received several awards for his leadership from organizations such as the Pittsburgh Community Reinvestment Group and the Federation of Appalachian Housing Enterprises.
Evan holds a Bachelor of Science in Political Science from Michigan State University and a Master’s Degree in Political Communications from Marshall University. Evan currently resides in Export, Pennsylvania with his wife Leslie and their sons Garrett and Easton along with two terrible but cute dachshunds named Hobbs & Marvin.