Our Board of Directors
Meet the team of extraordinary leaders whose passion drives our mission to serve those in need.
Roosevelt Hairston
Roosevelt Hairston is the CEO of the Hairston Foundation. He is a former practicing attorney who tried complex civil cases for over 20 years before becoming a healthcare executive with a particular focus on Medicare and Medicaid. Mr. Hairston holds two law degrees: a Juris Doctorate and a Master’s of Laws in Trial Advocacy (LL.M.). In 1991, Mr. Hairston was one of five U.S. lawyers chosen to be a Pegagus Fellow to travel to England to in a three-month program to increase the ties between the British and American legal systems.
Mr. Hairston has been active on numerous professional, community and civic organizations, including holding board posts with the following organizations: Board chair of the Public Interest Law Center (PILCOP), Board chair of the Philadelphia Workforce Investment Board; Executive Board member for the Red Cross of Southeastern PA; Board member, Philadelphia Chapter of the National Black Child Development Institute; Board member of the Arthur Ashe Tennis Association (currently Legacy Tennis); Board of Trustees of Lincoln University; and Board member of Eagleville Hospital.
Gerald Young
Gerald Young is a successful attorney and entrepreneur with over two decades of leadership experience. Mr. Young is currently the Chief Executive Officer of the Hopewell Group, an affiliated group of healthcare related entities. Mr. Young previously was the Executive Vice President at Devon Health Services, the Regional Vice President/Chief Operations Officer at National Capital PPO, the General Counsel of Health Advocate, Inc. and the Regional Integration Manager with Aetna U.S. Healthcare, Inc. Mr.
Young started his professional career as an Information System’s Engineer with GE Aerospace. He received his law degree from Temple University School of Law (Juris Doctorate) and B.S. from Central State University.
Jerome T. Countee
Jerome T. Countee is Vice Chancellor of Educational Services and Institutional Effectiveness for the State Center Community College District, a multi-college district and California’s fifth largest community college district enrolling over 60,000 students annually in Fresno, California. Mr. Countee is a senior community college executive with over two decades of experience in higher education leading entrepreneurial initiatives, scaling organizational capacity, cultivating stakeholder relationships, and establishing community partnerships to advance institutional goals.
Mr. Countee has a Political Science Bachelor’s degree from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County and an MPA from Western Kentucky University.
Saira Hairston
Saira Hairston is a successful businesswoman and majority owner of Hands From The Heart Home Healthcare Services, a Medicaid certified home care agency with clients spanning the greater Philadelphia region to Harrisburg, PA. Ms. Hairston has grown Hands From The Heart over the past decade from a small start up to an organization with over 400 employees.
She is a devoted mother of four daughters and loves spending time with family when not working. Ms. Hairston holds a B.A. from Temple University and Masters of Urban Planning from the University of Pennsylvania.
Dr. Najia Shakoor
Dr. Najia Shakoor is the Director of Scholarly Activity, Internal Medicine Residency Program and Professor, Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Rheumatology, Rush University Medical Center. Dr. Shakoor is a board certified rheumatologist in Chicago, Illinois and is affiliated with multiple hospitals, including Loyola University Medical Center and Rush University Medical Center.
She received her medical degree from Northeast Ohio Medical University.
Christine Hunsberger
Christine Hunsberger is a proven healthcare administrator focused primarily on long term living programs. Ms. Hunsberger spent a decade working at the Montgomery County, Pennsylvania’s Department of Aging where she helped to manage a variety of programs.
Ms. Hunsberger is a lifelong athlete and strong proponent of diversity and inclusion initiatives.
