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Leadership: The Play Posse

"Play is essential to development as it contributes to the cognitive, physical, social and emotional well-being of children and youth. Play also offers an ideal opportunity for parents to engage fully with their children."
(American Academy of Pediatrics, Clinical Report on Play, October 9, 2006)

Since 1976, Please Touch Museum has embraced this belief. We encourage children to play and grow through the myriad of experiences we offer. We know that play provides the foundation for basic life skills such as building relationships, cooperation, negotiation and compromise as well as providing opportunities for children to find out who they are and what they enjoy doing. Our leaders are experts in the value of play.


Nancy D. Kolb
President and CEO

Since 1988, Please Touch Museum has been led by President and Chief Executive Officer, Nancy D. Kolb, who has more than 30 years of museum management experience.  Under Ms. Kolb’s leadership, the museum introduced its Community Partners Program and in 2002 she accepted the Institute of Museum and Library Services’ National Award for Museum Service by First Lady Laura Bush at a White House ceremony. Ms. Kolb led the expansion of the museum at 21st Street and its effort to move to Memorial Hall.

Ms. Kolb has served on the boards of Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance, Mayor’s Cabinet on Children and Families, School District of Philadelphia, Philadelphia Housing Authority, American Association of Museums and the Association of Children’s Museums.  She has most recently been appointed to the Philadelphia Art Commission by Philadelphia Mayor John F. Street.  Prior to joining the Museum, Ms. Kolb was the Director of Historic Sites and Museums and the Assistant Executive Director at the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania and the Director of Pennsbury Manor, the country home of William Penn in Bucks County, PA. Ms. Kolb graduated with honors from Bucknell University with a BA in history and biology and is a graduate of The Getty Museum Management Institute.

Laura H. Foster
Executive Director

Laura H. Foster is the Executive Director of Please Touch Museum and has been at the Museum since 1991. She has previously held the positions of Senior Vice President and Chief of Staff, Vice President of Development, and Director of Development and Marketing. She has also served as President of the Association of Children’s Museums from 2006-2008.

Ms. Foster works closely with the president on all aspects of the management of the museum and its staff. She coordinates and serves as a resource for the senior management team of vice presidents and department directors. Ms. Foster is part of the lead management team for planning the expansion and relocation of Please Touch Museum at Memorial Hall.
Ms. Foster has a BA in anthropology from Barnard College and a JD from University of Baltimore School of Law, and she is a graduate of the Getty Museum Management Institute. She has over 30 years of management experience in nonprofits, government, and museums. Ms. Foster is an Adjunct Associate Professor in the Museum Studies Department at the University of the Arts where she teaches Museum Governance: Legal Issues, Ethics and Museums.

Concetta Anne Bencivenga, Chief Financial Officer and Vice President of Finance
Ms. Bencivenga is Chief Financial Officer and Vice President of Finance and Administration at Please Touch Museum. She joined the museum in November 2003, and she currently oversees finance, human resources, IT, retail store, admissions, and visitor services. Ms. Bencivenga is managing the museum’s financial plan for the Memorial Hall expansion and relocation project, for which she oversaw a $60 million tax exempt bond issue to finance the renovation of this National Historic Landmark. Prior to joining the museum, she was Deputy Director-Recruitment Manager for the New York Regional Office of the Peace Corps and served two years as a Peace Corps member in Thailand. Ms. Bencivenga has a Master’s Degree in Public Affairs with a concentration in public financial management from the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs, University of Texas at Austin, and a BA in history and political science from Loyola College, MD.

Lesly L. Attarian, Vice President of External Affairs
Ms. Attarian has been at the museum since 1990 and has served in a variety of functions.  She began as the Special Event and Development Coordinator and was promoted to the Director of Development and Membership.  Ms. Attarian has served as the Vice President of External Affairs at the museum since 2005.  She is responsible for developing the annual marketing and public relations plan for the Museum and managing advertising and marketing budgets.  She is actively involved in developing membership, press and marketing plans for the museum at Memorial Hall.  Ms. Attarian also was Community Support Manager at WHYY, Inc. in Philadelphia.  She has a BA in radio, television and film from Temple University.  Ms. Attarian is a member of the Philadelphia Public Relations Association and has been a presenter and member of the programming committee for the Association of Children’s Museums conferences as well as a committee member for the 2009 American Association of Museum’s Conference. She is also a “Leadership Philadelphia” 2008 graduate.

Andrea Hoffman Jelin, Vice President of Community Services
Ms. Jelin joined the museum in March 2008. She has 35 years of experience working with Pennsylvania’s children. Prior to joining the Museum, Ms. Jelin served as the Director, Children and Youth Services and Chief of the Adoption Branch for Philadelphia Family Court and most recently was the Administrator, Office of Children and Families in the Courts of the Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts. Ms. Jelin collaborated with PTM staff and consultants for many years in the effectuation of the Family Court Visitation Initiative. Ms. Jelin is building on the museum’s history of excellent community programs and expanding programming opportunities for Please Touch. She has a BS in Elementary Education from Temple University and a MS in Administration of Justice from Shippensburg University. Ms. Jelin formerly chaired the Philadelphia Bar Association Family Law Section, Adoption Committee and taught Continuing Legal Education (CLE) courses for the Pennsylvania Bar Institute. She has served as a Board Member of the National Adoption Center and currently serves on the CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates) Board.

John T. McDevitt, Vice President of Operations, Memorial Hall
Mr. McDevitt has been responsible for overseeing admissions, building, Kids’ Store and exhibit maintenance at Please Touch since July 1999. He is currently the museum’s internal project manager for the construction project at Memorial Hall. Prior to joining the museum, Mr. McDevitt was the project manager at PCNY Construction, a General Contractor in the commercial and light industrial construction fields, in Staten Island, New York, and The East Coast Regional Director of Facilities for United Artists Theaters. From 1988-1993, Mr. McDevitt was VP, Operations and Construction at the Franklin Institute. Mr. McDevitt served as the Chairman of the Facility Committee and Construction Committee for the Smith Memorial Playground in Fairmount Park, Philadelphia. He is a graduate of The Getty Museum Management Institute.

Kelly Resinger, Vice President of Development
Ms. Resinger has been in the development field for the past 22 years. She became the museum’s Vice President of Development in August 2005. Ms. Resinger’s primary focus is leading the successful completion of the museum’s capital campaign. Prior to joining the Museum, she served as the Director of Development for the National Adoption Center in Philadelphia for six years and held development positions at Caring People Alliance, Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pennsylvania, Philabundance and the Balch Institute for Ethnic Studies. She also served as Associate Vice President of Schultz & Williams, a national marketing and development firm. Ms. Resinger is a member of the Association of Fund Raising Professionals, where she has served as a mentor and speaker. In the past, she served on the board of the Animal Welfare Association of Voorhees, New Jersey, where she chaired the development committee, and the board of Genesis Counseling Center in Collingswood, New Jersey.

Willard Whitson, Vice President of Exhibits and Education
Mr. Whitson joined the museum in January 2006. He has 25 years of experience in the design and management of exhibit projects. Prior to joining Please Touch, Mr. Whitson was Director of Exhibits at The Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia and Associate Director of Exhibits at the American Museum of Natural History in New York. Before working in museums, Mr. Whitson was an art teacher and painter, exhibiting extensively throughout the Southeast United States, particularly in his home town of Birmingham, Alabama. Mr. Whitson has had solo exhibitions of his paintings at the Birmingham Museum of Art and the Meridian Museum of Art in Meridian, Mississippi. Most recently he was invited to have an exhibition at his alma mater, Birmingham Southern College, as part of the institution’s 150th anniversary celebration. Mr. Whitson continues to paint and teach, most recently in the Graphics Department of Moore College of Art.