Fredrika M. McKain
President/Chief Executive Officer

Amy E. Skillman
Vice President/Director of Arts & Heritage Programs

Claudia L. Petruccio

Research and Community Program Specialist

Lisa Rathje

Arts & Heritage Specialist

Donna M. Humphries Rickard
Administrative Assistant

Shalom D. Staub, Ph.D.
Senior Diversity and Conflict Resolution Consultant

Sasha Jovic
GAIN Program Manager

Greta Knepper
GAIN Employment Specialist

Staff Biographies

Fredrika M. McKain
President/CEO

Fredrika assumed responsibilities as President/CEO as of July 1, 2004, and is responsible for overall organizational and program development.  For the past five years, she was ICP's Development Officer and Community Programs Specialist. 

Fredrika has over 20 years of experience within the health and human services field in the areas of program and resource development.

Fredrika is an active community volunteer at the regional and state level. Currently, she serves as Commissioner for the PA Commission for Women, Board member for the Family Health Council of Central PA and Chair of the Board of Trustees for the Sylvan Heights Science Charter School.

Fredrika is the mother of five adult children and has six grandchildren.

Amy E. Skillman
Vice President/Director of Arts & Heritage Programs

For eight years prior to joining ICP, Amy Skillman served as the director of State Folklife Program at the Pennsylvania Heritage Affairs Commission. Skillman was the coordinator for Cultural Heritage Programs at the Missouri Cultural Heritage Center for two years before moving to Pennsylvania in 1988. She is past President of the Middle Atlantic Folklife Association and convener for the Public Programs Section of the American Folklore Society. She received her Masters degree in Folklore and Folklife from the University of California, Los Angeles in 1979.

As a public folklorist, Skillman has curated eleven exhibitions. She recorded and produced a CD compilation and teacher's study guide of 16 different performing groups in Pennsylvania; six additional recordings of individual traditional performing groups; and Now That's a Good Tune, a recording of 14 old-time fiddlers in Missouri. Now That's a Good Tune, received two Grammy nominations in 1989, one for Best Traditional Folk Recording and one for Best Liner Notes. Other credits include serving as sound recordist and folklife consultant for Mone's Skirt, a documentary film about the importance and beauty of traditional Lao weaving in the United States and in Laos. She has published articles about Southeast Asian textiles, old time fiddling, cultural conservation planning, and public folklore research in numerous publications.

Skillman has served as a peer review panelist for the National Endowment for the Arts, the Michigan State Traditional Arts Program, the New Jersey State Council on the Arts, and the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts. She has also served as a site evaluator and consultant for the National Endowment for the Arts since 1988. She serves on the editorial board for New York Folklore, the journal of the New York Folklore Society.

Claudia L. Petruccio

Research and Community Programs Specialist

Claudia Petruccio joined the staff of ICP in November of 2005 as the Research and Community Programs Specialist. Her focus is on community-based health programming, and she co-ordinates ICP's participation in the Community-Centered Family Health History project. A native of Harrisburg, Claudia came to ICP from Pittsburgh, where she pursued her Ph.D. in Cultural Anthropology.

At the University of Pittsburgh, Claudia is a doctoral candidate in Medical Anthropology. Her research has been focused on cultural understandings of health and illness, healthcare disparities, and social approaches to science literacy. She recently completed her dissertation fieldwork in Florence, Italy, where she studied a mediation program that bridges cultural differences between immigrants and healthcare providers. In the course of her graduate work she has been involved in several public health projects in the Pittsburgh community, including an assessment of local Early Head Start programs and an evaluation of the self-care habits of older adults in Allegheny County.

Claudia lives in Harrisburg with her husband Ben and daughter Olivia.

Lisa Rathje

Arts &  Heritage Specialist

Lisa Rathje joined the staff of ICP in January of 2006 as the Arts and Heritage Specialist. She administers the Fellowships and Apprenticeships in Folk and Traditional Arts Program for Pennsylvania; including technical assistance, program management, site visits, and documentation. Rathje is also involved with multiple projects developing curriculum and youth programs using traditional arts and ethnographic process.

In an ongoing research project, Lisa Rathje is assisting a faculty member from the University of Missouri-Columbia with a documentary film on Afro-Cuban artist Nancy Morejón and others of her generation. Rathje's documentation through photos and film will form a part of the Afro-Cuban Special Collection housed at the University of Missouri.

Lisa Rathje received her MA and is a PhD candidate in Folklore from the University of Missouri-Columbia. While in Missouri she worked closely with the Missouri Folk Arts Program, assisting with archival work, fieldwork, grant panels, photography, as well as being an outside evaluator for their statewide Traditional Arts Apprenticeship Program. Rathje taught university classes in ethnographic research methodologies and folklore studies, served as Assistant Editor for the Journal of American Folklore, and worked as the Assistant to the Director of the Center for Arts and Humanities. In 2005, she conducted cultural survey research for the Smithsonian's Latino Chicago folklife program, and worked as a presenter with "Nuestra Musica" at the 2006 festival.

Lisa lives in midtown Harrisburg with her partner Rob, and their three cats.

Donna M. Humphries Rickard

Administrative Assistant

Donna Rickard assumed responsibilities as Administrative Assistant as of November 15, 2004, and is responsible for the day-to-day operations of the office. Prior to joining the staff at ICP, she worked for the Synod of the Trinity, Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) for 14 years.

Ms. Rickard is an accomplished administrative professional with over 20 years of diverse program and office operations experience, as well as in depth knowledge of management, payroll, employee benefits, and bookkeeping practices, complimented by exceptional interpersonal and counseling skills.

Donna Rickard is an ordained Minister and since 1992 serves as a volunteer within the state and county prison system. Currently, she serves as Associate Minister for Walking The New Life Christian Fellowship, Director of Women's Services for Walking The New Life Ministries, and Founding President for HeavenGates Ministries, Inc.

Donna has one daughter and two granddaughters.

Shalom D. Staub, Ph.D.
Senior Diversity and Conflict Resolution Consultant

Shalom Staub was the founding President and CEO of the Institute for Cultural Partnerships. After serving in this position for nearly nine years, Staub now continues his affiliation with ICP as Senior Diversity and Conflict Resolution Consultant, even as he has taken a new position as Assistant Provost for Academic Affairs at Dickinson College in Carlisle , PA.

A native of New York City , Shalom Staub received his B.A. and M.A. in Anthropology from Wesleyan University , and holds a Ph.D. in Folklore and Folklife from the University of Pennsylvania . He has additional training in Movement Analysis; Cultural Diversity Awareness, Prejudice Reduction and Conflict Mediation. He also has training in Bowen Family Systems Theory from the Center for Family Process's Leadership Seminar and the Georgetown Family Center 's Post Graduate Seminar in Systems Theory. He has certification as a mediator through the Mediation Training Institute International.

Staub lives in Harrisburg. He has two grown children. Staub holds a 3rd degree Black Belt in Tae Kwon Do, World Tae Kwon Do Federation. He is an avid skier and bicyclist, and enjoys outdoor activities and Tai Chi.

Sasha Jovic
GAIN Program Manager

Sasha Jovic joined ICP 2003 as GAIN Employment Specialist. He was attracted to the organization's unique approach to community service and to the way it valued the stories, experiences and heritage of people from many different backgrounds

He is currently working as GAIN Program Manager serving our clients and managing data reporting/collection at the state level, as well as assisting in the development of new employment services initiatives designed to help refugees upgrade their employment status. He provides support to newcomers in the Central PA region area by equipping them with skills necessary for a successful job search.

Mr. Jovic works closely with local employers and training providers to help our clients achieve better self-sufficiency. Prior to joining ICP, Sasha was employed by Tressler Lutheran Refugee & Immigration Services of Mechanicsburg, And Lutheran Children and Family Services in Lancaster where he worked with refugees to ensure health and well being during transition and resettlement.

Prior to his extensive experience with refugee programs, Sasha worked on several projects involving the Bosnian community in Central Pennsylvania, including economic development and anti-smoking programs. He has completed training in medical and legal interpretation and works as an interpreter for Bosnian, Serbian, Croatian and German languages.

Sasha is married and has two sons, and has been involved in soccer since 1980, both as a player and a coach.

Greta Knepper
GAIN Employment Specialist

Greta Knepper joined the staff of ICP in May 2007 as a part-time Employment Specialist under the Gain Program. Greta is working with Gain's Lancaster clients. She is helping to equip her clients with the necessary skills and trainings in order to get better jobs, and then assisting them in finding these jobs.

Currently, Greta is living in Lancaster City, but has lived many different places. In 2001-2004, she lived overseas in Wales (UK) working for a church as a youth worker/youth pastor. Greta's others previous jobs and experiences have centered around teaching children and young people, some administrative work, and working with internationals.

Greta loves to travel and has visited 15 countries. She has a love and interest in peoples from other countries, and has been blessed by and learned much from her international friends over the years,..and more recently from her refugee friends here in Lancaster. In fact, hearing and knowing their struggles and experiences as refugees, were what drew her to seeking a job where she could work more intentionally and spend more time helping and serving refugees.

She looks forward to the adventures and experiences of this new position!!