Educational Opportunity Centers of Pennsylvania
Diaz Cruz, Educational Opportunity Centers of Pennsylvania (SUBMITTED)
The center announced the appointment of Valerie Diaz Cruz to its board of directors.
A lifelong resident of Hazleton, Diaz Cruz brings a deep commitment to community advocacy and educational empowerment, the organization said. She is a 2011 graduate of Hazleton Area High School and went on to earn her bachelor’s degree from Temple University in 2014. She received her Juris Doctor from Temple University Beasley School of Law in 2019.
Today, she serves as a partner at Selingo Guagliardo, a personal injury law firm, where she advocates for individuals and families across Northeast Pennsylvania.
As a member of the board, Diaz Cruz will help guide EOC of PA’s strategic initiatives, supporting programs that provide crucial educational, career and financial guidance to qualified adults and prospective college students.
PA Supreme Court
Powell, PA Supreme Court (SUBMITTED)
Lackawanna County Common Pleas Judge Mark Powell has been appointed by the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania to serve as chairman of the Pennsylvania Continuing Legal Education Board in 2027. The CLE board oversees the accreditation of continuing legal education programs for attorneys throughout the state. Powell has served as a member of the CLE board since 2022.
Powell has devoted a substantial portion of his legal career to legal education and trial advocacy training. He has served as an instructor in numerous trial advocacy programs for the National Institute for Trial Advocacy at Temple University and Georgetown University, and received NITA’s Teaching Excellence Award. He also served on the executive board of the Pennsylvania District Attorneys Association and taught continuing legal education programs throughout Pennsylvania.
Before taking the bench, Powell served two terms as Lackawanna County district attorney. Prior to that, he spent decades as a trial lawyer in private practice, handling both criminal and civil cases. He holds the distinction of having been board-certified by the National Board of Trial Advocacy as a practicing attorney in both criminal trial law and civil trial law. Now, as a judge, he is an active Fellow in both disciplines.
Powell earned his undergraduate degree from Villanova University and his Juris Doctor from the Catholic University of America. He later earned a Master of Laws in Trial Advocacy with honors from Temple University.
The Wright Center
Spadaro, Wright Center (SUBMITTED)
Thomas-Hemak, Wright Center (SUBMITTED)
Howells, Wright Center (SUBMITTED)
Laura Spadaro, vice president of primary care and public health policy for the Wright Centers for Community Health and Graduate Medical Education, has been named one of Pennsylvania’s Trailblazers in Healthcare by City & State Pennsylvania, a multimedia news organization dedicated to covering the state’s politics and policy.
The list recognizes public officials, hospital and healthcare executives, nonprofit leaders, union leaders, academics and others making a difference by framing, influencing and changing the healthcare industry.
At the Wright Center, Spadaro leads federal and state regulatory strategy, health policy and government relations initiatives that expand access to high-quality primary and preventive health services and strengthen the healthcare safety net. Since 2021, she has directed more than 110 responses to proposed regulations and requests for information, helping shape Medicare, Medicaid and public health policy while amplifying the voices of patients and frontline clinicians.
Through collaboration with national partners and policymakers, she contributed to advocacy efforts supporting multiyear reauthorization and increased federal investment in the Teaching Health Center Graduate Medical Education program, growing annual funding from approximately $175 million to $225 million.
Previously, Spadaro served as executive adviser to the Pennsylvania secretary of health, focusing on strategic initiatives and cross-agency priorities.
Dr. Linda Thomas-Hemak, president and CEO of the Wright Centers for Community Health and Graduate Medical Education, received the inaugural 2026 Program Leader of the Year Award from the Cecil G. Sheps Center for Health Services Research’s ShepsGME (Graduate Medical Education) Technical Assistance Center, which runs two federal technical assistance centers supporting the U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration Rural Residency Planning and Development and Teaching Health Center programs.
The award recognizes an exemplary leader in graduate medical education who demonstrates exceptional leadership, advances innovation and continuous improvement, and shows an unwavering commitment to developing the physician workforce and expanding training opportunities.
Thomas-Hemak is a quintuple board-certified primary care physician in internal medicine, pediatrics, addiction medicine, obesity medicine and nutrition. Alongside her executive leadership, she continues to care for generations of patients and families at the Wright Center for Community Health Mid Valley in Jermyn, which is her hometown and the birthplace of first aid in America.
A graduate of Scranton Preparatory School and the University of Scranton, Thomas-Hemak went on to earn her medical degree as a Michael DeBakey Scholar at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, followed by completing Harvard’s Combined Internal Medicine/Pediatrics Residency Program in Boston. Guided by a profound sense of service to her community roots, she returned to Northeast Pennsylvania to practice primary care. She joined the Wright Center in 2001, became its president in 2007 and assumed the role of CEO in 2012.
Eileen Howells, director of medical education at the Wright Center for Graduate Medical Education, recently earned certification as a training administrator of graduate medical education programs through the National Board for Certification Training Administrators of Graduate Medical Education.
This professional credential validates the knowledge, skills and expertise of GME professionals, primarily residency and fellowship program coordinators and administrators. Having employees with this certification strengthens the Wright Center’s knowledge of Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education requirements, accreditation standards and regulatory compliance. It also demonstrates the Wright Center’s investment in its GME professionals, promotes consistency across programs, and supports its ongoing efforts to maintain accreditation and provide high-quality residency and fellowship training.
Howells, who joined the Wright Center in 2015, serves as administrator for ACGME-accredited residency programs in internal medicine, family medicine, and physical medicine and rehabilitation; the internal medicine-geriatrics integrated residency and fellowship pathway; and fellowship programs in cardiovascular disease, gastroenterology and geriatrics.
Wayne Memorial Community Health Centers
Walsh, Wayne Memorial (SUBMITTED)
The health center announced that advanced practice provider Tricia Walsh, PA-C, MS, has begun seeing patients at its Northern Wayne Family Health Center in Lake Como.
Walsh comes to WMCHC with eight years of experience as a physician assistant caring for pediatric and adult patients within both family medicine and urgent care settings in New Jersey. While at Northern Wayne, she will see patients age 6 months to geriatric.
Walsh earned a master’s degree in physician assistant studies from Philadelphia University and a bachelor’s degree in applied science and technology from Thomas Edison State University in Trenton, New Jersey. She also has an associate degree in medical laboratory technology from Harcum College, Bryn Mawr.