New Officers Named for Pearl S. Buck International Board of Directors

New officers have been named for the Board of Directors of Pearl S. Buck International. They began their two-year terms on January 1, 2022.

Mateen Afzal has been named the new Board Chair, succeeding outgoing Chair David Navazio. Afzal, who previously served as Vice Chair, joined the Board in September 2015. He is the President of PDC Machines, Inc. in Warminster. The company is a leading manufacturer of equipment for the hydrogen and renewable energy eco-system which strives to make a transformative impact on the worlds global climate, through the reduction of carbon emissions.

In his eighteen-year career at PDC Machines, Afzal previously served as Chief Financial Officer and Director of Human Resources. Afzal is currently pursuing his Masters in Management with a focus in Executive Leadership and Strategic Management at Penn State University. He is also an active Board member of the Afzal Family Foundation and the Bucks County Workforce Development Board and is active in the community with local soup kitchens and child advocacy groups. Afzal is a Pearl S. Buck International child sponsor. Afzal is a lifelong resident of Bucks County and currently lives in Sellersville with his wife and three children.

Helen Ljungdahl Round will serve as the Board Vice Chair. Round, who previously served on the Board as Secretary, rejoined the Board in 2019. Round is President and CEO of Acarix, a Swedish Medical Technology company. She has more than 25 years of leadership experience in strategy, product innovation, business management, and marketing and sales in both the pharmaceutical and medical technology industry. Round has had many international managerial and executive roles within Merck & Co, Inc, working in North America, EU, Middle East/Africa, Latin America and Asia. Her career also includes roles as CEO of Amnicell, a biotech start-up based in New York City, and as Senior Vice President of Global Marketing & Business Development for GN Hearing Denmark.

Falesha Grasty will continue for a second term as Board Treasurer. Grasty, who joined the Board in October 2018, is Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Officer at Penn Community Bank. She previously held the position of Senior Staff Accountant II. Grasty held staff accountant positions at Capmark Finance/Capmark Bank, MortgageRamp, and First Union National Bank. Grasty is a member of the Philadelphia chapter of the Financial Managers Society.

Susan Berrodin has been named the new Board Secretary. Berrodin, who joined the Board in January 2019, is also the President of the Pearl S. Buck Volunteer Association. She has been a volunteer since 2013. Susan is a retired pediatric physical therapist who split her career between hospital-based care and pediatric care in educational settings. She recently served as a support group leader in the Philadelphia chapter of The Facial Pain Association.

Continuing in their current roles as Directors on the Board are:

• Mary Adamow
• Timothy Boyle
• Kathleen Brunner
• A. N. M. Shamsul Huda
• Monika Misiuta
• Charles W. Quann
• Emma Strausser

Three new Directors are also starting terms on the Board this year:

• Marian Chiesa
• Maxine Romano
• Jared Utz

For a full list of Pearl S. Buck International Board members, emeritus Board members, and advisory council members, please go to https://pearlsbuck.org/about/board-and-staff/