Events

Andres Morales, founder of the Lehigh Valley Steel Rockets, shares his philosophy on youth sports creating professional skills for success.  "How you VIEW what you do, will always affect how you DO what you do"

Coach Andres Morales was a 2006 graduate of liberty high school where he was a three year starter and letter winner finishing his high school football career by leading his team to a record of 28-5 that included two district championship appearances, one district championship gold medal, one state championship appearance, an eastern conference championship gold medal and a top ten national ranking. In terms of team goals coach Morales achieved all except for state championship gold. Individually coach Morales was a two time team captain, two time all state selection (second team ‘04 first team 05), two time all conference first team, and was selected to play in the Big 33 all star game vs Ohio (Pennsylvania’s premier all star football game). Academically coach Morales graduated with a 3.7 GPA, student government president, and was on the superintendent’s committee. ALL of those things earned Coach Morales a full athletic scholarship to Rutgers University where he played and graduated in four years. During his time in the banks he and the scarlet knights went to and won four bowl games, were ranked as high as 6th in the country, and were part of the “Pandemonium in Piscataway” victory over Louisville that was the most watched televised NCAA football game ever recorded. Coach Morales graduated jn 2010 with a 3.0 GPA and attended grad school at Bloomsburg University where he played his final college football season and helped lead the huskies to ten game winning streak that ended with a semi final playoff loss and a record of 11-3. Coach Morales had a few professional football appearances playing arena football with the Richmond Raiders and the Jacksonville Sharks. 

Coach Morales’s coaching career began in 2012 as an assistant with the Liberty Hurricanes. Then helping parkland win their first of six in a row district championships in 2013. In 2014 Coach Morales joined the Freedom staff helping them go 8-2 in the regular season after a 2-8 campaign the year before. In the spring of 2016 Coach Morales started the Steel rockets and had been full time ever since. In the meantime, he has also worked as a coach at FBU camps, various college camps including Temple and Lehigh, and is currently a scout for the Army All American Bowl, the nations biggest and longest lasting all star game. 

Andres Morales, founder of the Lehigh Valley Steel Rockets, shares his philosophy on youth sports creating professional skills for success.  

Coach Andres Morales was a 2006 graduate of liberty high school where he was a three year starter and letter winner finishing his high school football career by leading his team to a record of 28-5 that included two district championship appearances, one district championship gold medal, one state championship appearance, an eastern conference championship gold medal and a top ten national ranking. In terms of team goals coach Morales achieved all except for state championship gold. Individually coach Morales was a two time team captain, two time all state selection (second team ‘04 first team 05), two time all conference first team, and was selected to play in the Big 33 all star game vs Ohio (Pennsylvania’s premier all star football game). Academically coach Morales graduated with a 3.7 GPA, student government president, and was on the superintendent’s committee. ALL of those things earned Coach Morales a full athletic scholarship to Rutgers University where he played and graduated in four years. During his time in the banks he and the scarlet knights went to and won four bowl games, were ranked as high as 6th in the country, and were part of the “Pandemonium in Piscataway” victory over Louisville that was the most watched televised NCAA football game ever recorded. Coach Morales graduated jn 2010 with a 3.0 GPA and attended grad school at Bloomsburg University where he played his final college football season and helped lead the huskies to ten game winning streak that ended with a semi final playoff loss and a record of 11-3. Coach Morales had a few professional football appearances playing arena football with the Richmond Raiders and the Jacksonville Sharks. 

Coach Morales’s coaching career began in 2012 as an assistant with the Liberty Hurricanes. Then helping parkland win their first of six in a row district championships in 2013. In 2014 Coach Morales joined the Freedom staff helping them go 8-2 in the regular season after a 2-8 campaign the year before. In the spring of 2016 Coach Morales started the Steel rockets and had been full time ever since. In the meantime, he has also worked as a coach at FBU camps, various college camps including Temple and Lehigh, and is currently a scout for the Army All American Bowl, the nations biggest and longest lasting all star game. 

Amy O’Neill Richard is the Acting Senior Coordinator for Public Engagement and a Senior Advisor in the State Department’s Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons. An original member of the office, she was instrumental in developing its foundational goals and policies. She currently oversees a team focused on public engagement, strategic communications, public diplomacy, and survivor engagement. This team also works on the Department’s annual Trafficking in Persons Report (TIP Report), its rollout, and its TIP Report Heroes program. Ms. Richard engages foreign governments, international organizations, civil society, and the private sector to leverage expertise and resources to raise awareness of and prevent human trafficking.  She serves as the co-chair of the U.S. Government’s Senior Policy Operating Group’s Committee on Research and Data. Previously, Ms. Richard led the Reports team and its work on the annual TIP Report. Her own research on trafficking to the United States has earned her State Department awards, and her findings were used to support the drafting of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act and became an initial baseline for assessing the U.S. Government’s anti-trafficking efforts. Ms. Richard formerly worked in the State Department’s Bureau of Intelligence and Research’s Office of Terrorism, Narcotics, and Crime where she received the Analyst of the Year Award for developing the transnational organized crime portfolio.

Kolbe Academy welcomed its first students in August 2019.  In its short time of existence, it is building a school and creating a life-giving culture together - providing personal care, compassion, accountability, and structure for each student.

The school's mission is to provide individualized academic programs in a safe, compassionate Christ-centered school for high school students in recovery from substance addiction. The school's faculty and administration have begun to create an environment that promotes life-long recovery and educational success. Kolbe Academy is a place where students can recover, succeed, and transform!

Erika Riddle Petrozelli, CPA, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Lehigh Valley Community Foundation, will share where/how the foundation allocates people, time and financial resources to issues of importance within our community (currently, nonprofit capacity building, the arts, and youth empowerment.)

Erika succeeded Bernie Story as Chief Executive Officer on January 1, 2021. Erika joined the Foundation in 2014 as Director of Donor Services with a focus on maintaining and expanding philanthropic relationships of the Foundation.  For the past year, she has served as Vice President of Philanthropy, contributing to strategic decisions and community leadership activities, particularly in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.  A Certified Public Accountant, she provides professional knowledge and advice about charitable giving to a wide range of Lehigh Valley residents, from individuals and families to their trusted advisors and local businesses. 

Prior to joining the Foundation, Erika was Vice President of Investor Relations at Magnitude Capital, LLC, a fund of hedge funds based in New York City.  In this role, she was responsible for client service and content management for the firm's global investor base.  Prior to joining Magnitude, Erika was a Senior Audit Associate in the Banking and Capital Markets sector at PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP.

Erika has had several thought pieces and op-eds published in local publications including Network Magazine, Lehigh Valley Business, and The Express-Times. She has contributed to news stories in The Morning Call, and has appeared on television broadcasts including WLVT PBS39, WFMZ 69 News, WBPH TV-60, and on radio programs at WDIY 88.1 FM.

Erika was selected for a 2018-19 Rider-Pool Foundation Collective Impact Fellowship, an intensive, nine-month Fellowship program that trains and equips non-profit leaders to address complex community needs and develop stronger cross-sector partnerships.  In 2016, Erika completed the Leadership Lehigh Valley program at Northampton Community College.

Erika is a member of the Board of Managers of the Bach Choir of Bethlehem (2018 – Current) and the Board of Directors of the Estate Planning Council of the Lehigh Valley (2017-Current).  In addition, she is a member of the Junior League (2010 – Current), previously in New York City and currently in the Lehigh Valley.  In October 2017 Erika was Honorary Co-Chair of the Rotary Club of Bethlehem’s Taste & Tunes event to support the Junior League of the Lehigh Valley.

A Bethlehem native, she graduated from Lehigh University with a major in Accounting.  She was awarded the President’s Scholarship and went on to earn her Masters in Accounting and Information Analysis.