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New Board of Trustees Members
MPS is grateful to our three new volunteer board members. We’d like to introduce them to you.
Dr. Alice Edwards is a professor of Spanish at Mercyhurst University, where she has taught for the past 28 years. During her tenure, Dr. Edwards has served as department chair, associate dean for the School of Arts and Humanities, coordinator of the Fulbright Teaching Assistant program, supervisor for the Spanish/French education program (supervising student teachers in the field), vice president of the Faculty Senate and chair of the Task Force on Women and Leadership. She is also a board member for the Multicultural Community Resource Center.
Dr. Edwards values the early teaching experience she received as a Spanish teacher at MPS from 1986-89, mentored by Deborah Laughlin and Kathy Donovan. Her relationship with MPS has continued throughout the years with cooperative efforts between the university and high school language faculties, with her role as MPS parent and spouse of art teacher Dr. Jamie Borowicz, which she jokes should not be held against her.
Alice holds a BA from Gannon University, an MA from Middlebury College and a PhD from the University of Pittsburgh. Her daughter Maia is a 2013 graduate of Mercyhurst Prep.
Stephen P. Kovacs, DO, FCCP graduated from Mercyhurst Prep in 1995 and completed his undergraduate work at Gannon University, graduating with honors and earning a Bachelor's Degree in biology as well as minors in Chemistry, History, and Philosophy. Many of the credits that went toward his minors were earned from the International Baccalaureate classes from MPS.
Dr. Kovacs then moved to Philadelphia, where he earned his Doctor of Osteopathy Degree at Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine in 2003. He remained at the PCOM Hospital Consortium for Internal Medicine residency serving as both Chief Intern and Chief Medical Resident and being one of the only physicians to earn the Intern of the Year and Resident of the Year awards in consecutive years of training.
He was accepted into the Pulmonary and Critical Care program at the Drexel University College of Medicine/ Hahnemann University Hospital, becoming Chief Fellow and graduating in 2009. He and his family moved back to Erie after graduation. Dr. Kovacs has been practicing Pulmonary/Critical Care Medicine and was recently employed by UPMC Hamot to be the Co-Director of the newly formed Lung Center.
He is nationally recognized for his work with minimally invasive diagnostics in early stage lung cancer, training physicians from all over the world in the various technologies and techniques.
Dr. Kovacs is co-founder of Medical Opinion Systems, a new local startup that arranges online medical second opinions with physicians from all over the country. He also serves on the Board of Trustees at Erie Day School.
Harold (“Skip”) Simmons earned a BA from Michigan State University and an MBA from Columbia University. His experience includes working as an associate in corporate finance and assistant vice president for the Industrial Bank of Japan, now Mizuho Financial Group, in New York City. He was vice president and president of Viking Plastics in Corry, PA, and then served as CFO of Omega Polymer Technologies, Inc. in Aurora, OH. He acquired Viking Plastics (one of three operating companies owned by OPTI) and served as CFO and president. Mr. Simmons purchased Abbatron, LLC in Meadville, PA with two partners, acquired G&H and sold the combined companies in 2015. Mr. Simmons is currently the business developer for EnTech Plastics, Inc., a custom injection molder in Corry, PA.
Mr. Simmons' vast non-profit board experience includes Stairways Behavioral Health, Highmark Caring Foundation, Northwest Industrial Resource Center, Holy Cross Church Parish Council, Pennsylvania Steelhead Association and the Second Harvest Food Bank. His daughter Amanda is a 2013 MPS graduate.
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