Guest Speaker Series

A new feature of our monthly meetings will be our guest speaker series. These will be local residents with expertise and insight into issues that affect our community.

January 7 – Tom Casey – Proposed Sunoco Pipeline in Goshen Township

Tom is director of the Chester County Community Coalition, a local not-for-profit group working to inform residents about Sunoco Pipeline’s quest for public utility status for its Mariner East Project. Construction of this pipeline will run adjacent to East Bradford Township and will include a newly constructed pumping station in West Goshen Township.

February 4 – Kim Slocum – Term Care—Healthcare’s Bermuda Triangle

Kim will be speaking on the benefits of Long Term Health Care, the issues and challenges facing long term health care policy, some of the existing responses and a national-level policy solution. Kim is the author of ‘Consumer Directed Health Care, A 360 Degree View’, and President of KDS Consulting, LLC. His work involves health care policy and strategy and he advises health plans, providers, medical technology firms, and industry trade associations on emerging issues in the field. Mr. Slocum is a Fellow Member of the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) as well as a former member of the Society’s Board of Directors. He is also the Chairman Emeritus of the Board of Trustees of the Texas Health Institute in Austin. He received his BA from the State University of New York at Geneseo and his Master’s in Business Administration from Xavier University. He has addressed audiences such as the National Governors’ Association, the National Lieutenant Governors’ Association, the Deputy Commissioners of the Food and Drug Administration, US Senate Staffers, and several state legislatures.

March 4 – Bret Binder – Brandywine Valley Business Council

Bret will be speaking about the startup business group, Brandywine Valley Business Council, a business group friendlier to Democratic ideals than the Chamber of Commerce, of which he is a co-founder. Bret is also the founder and managing member of Binder & Canno, LLC, a law firm located in East Bradford Township. Before founding his law firm, Bret was law clerk to Justice Sandra Schultz Newman of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court. He credits his interest in the law to his father, David F. Binder, Esquire (author of “The Hearsay Handbook” and “Binder on Evidence”). He was the Democratic candidate for the 156th District State House in 2012. He frequently hosts Democratic events at Windon Hall, his historic home in East Bradford Township.