James E Nevels

James E. Nevels is chairman and founder of The Swarthmore Group, a Philadelphia investment advisory firm. He started his career as counsel in bond transactions with the law firm of Ballard, Spahr, Andrews, and Ingersoll in 1978 and was vice president of Prudential-Bache Securities and Smith Barney, Harris Upham & Co. from 1984 until 1991. In December 2001, the governor of Pennsylvania appointed Nevels as chairman of the Philadelphia School Reform Commission to oversee the turnaround of the financially distressed Philadelphia school system. He served in that position until September 2007. Nevels was also appointed by former President George W. Bush to the Advisory Committee of the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, where he served a three-year term from 2004 to 2007. Nevels is a member of the board of the Hershey Trust Company, Milton Hershey School, the Tasty Baking Company, Pro Football Hall of Fame, and the board of trustees of the Gettysburg Foundation. In addition, he is a member of the council of the Pennsylvania Society and also serves as the society's secretary. Nevels is a cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Bucknell University, the University of Pennsylvania Wharton Business School, and the University of Pennsylvania Law School.