2023 Alumni Award Recipients

Chris Saello is the President & CEO of United Way of Chester County since 2019. He previously served as Senior Vice President of Resource Development for the organization. and is responsible for approximately $3million in annual fundraising.  Prior to joining the United Way in 2010, Chris served almost twenty years within the YMCA system, holding positions including Vice President of Financial Development for YMCA of the Brandywine Valley and Brandywine YMCA Executive Director.  

He currently serves on the Chester County Workforce Development Board, Chester County Partnership to End Homelessness Board and Executive Committee, and United Way of Pennsylvania Board, Executive Committee and Public Policy committee.  He has previously served on many boards including Brandywine Hospital, Penn State Great Valley, Penn State HHD Alumni Society, Youth Mentoring Partnership, Downingtown Communities That Care, Sweet Janes Wish Foundation, Downingtown Main Street Association, Downingtown Community Education Foundation, Beacon of Knowledge Ministries and several others.  

He has received recognition from several organizations including Penn State HHD Alumni Society Board Member of the Year, Penn State RPTM Deb Kerstetter Outstanding Alumni Award, Chester County District Attorney’s Commendation, Social Innovations Journal, YMCA Triangle Integrity Award, and most recently led the organization to Non-Profit of the Year recognition from a local Chamber. 

Saello holds a Bachelor of Science Degree and a Master of Management-Business Administration Degree from Pennsylvania State University. He is a life-long resident of Chester County, currently residing in East Brandywine Township with his wife Therese. He has two children Andrew and Lauren. 

Jacob Corey is a 2020 graduate from the College of Health and Human Development with a B.S. in Kinesiology with Honors. In his current position, Corey is a coverage Physical Therapist at the University of Delaware where he is a PhD candidate studying biomechanics. His current research focuses on using exergaming technology to promote motor development for individuals with Autism.  

In collaboration with Penn State Professor Jonna Belanger, Corey co-founded Happy Valley FitLink in January 2020. Happy Valley FitLink is a not-for-profit organization that provides a free inclusive wellness program for individuals with intellectual/developmental disabilities. As the President, Corey leads weekly group exercise classes over zoom and collaborates with Dr. Belanger to deliver in-person classes and educational seminars serving the State College community. Additionally, Corey provides mentorship to Penn State students in health and wellness fields such as Kinesiology and Rehabilitation and Human Services interning with Happy Valley FitLink. To date, their program has served 150+ individuals in the State College region and across the country in States such as Tennessee, Michigan, California, and Delaware. Corey has presented on Happy Valley FitLink nationally, most recently at the 2022 American Academy of Cerebral Palsy and Developmental Medicine Conference where he discussed the benefits of inclusive community programming and steps organizations can take to become more inclusive.  

Corey credits his ability to lead his non-profit to the education and mentorship provided by the Kinesiology department and he looks forward to many more years of service to the community and College.  

Dr. Zheng is Associate Professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of Alberta. He received his Ph.D. and M.S. in Human Development and Family Studies, as well as a M.A.S. in Applied Statistics, from Pennsylvania State University. His research focuses on the development and prevention of child and adolescent behavioral and emotional problems with the ultimate goal of informing intervention to promote physical and mental well-being. A large body of Yao’s research focuses on health disparity among disadvantaged and racialized populations, as well as understudied populations from the Majority World. He is the recipient of the 2021 Rising Star Award from the Association for Psychological Science, the 2021 Early Career Award from the Society for the Study of Human Development, as well as the 2022 University of Alberta Martha Cook Piper Early Career Research Award. He has received over 1.5 million Canadian dollars of grants as the principal investigator. Yao currently serves on the International committee as well as the Publication committee of the Society for Research on Adolescence, and is an institute advisory board member of the Canadian Institute of Health Research (Institute of Human Development, Child and Youth Health). 

Dr. Jacob I. Feldman is a speech-language pathologist and research fellow at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. Dr. Feldman is a proud alum of Penn State, where he first realized his interest in communication sciences and disorders (CSD) as a student working in the labs of Dr. Pamela Cole (Psychology) and Dr. Krista Wilkinson (CSD). He graduated with honors in Psychology while double majoring in CSD and psychology and was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa.  

 Since graduating from Penn State, Dr. Feldman has completed a master’s in Speech-Language Pathology and a PhD in Hearing and Speech Sciences at Vanderbilt University. He has trained in three research laboratories at Vanderbilt, and his research has led to advancements in the areas of sensory, reading, and communication development and intervention in children diagnosed with autism, language disorders, and developmental dyslexia. He has disseminated his research findings in 28 peer-reviewed articles in top-tier journals and over 80 presentations at national and international conferences. 

 Dr. Feldman’s early career contributions have resulted in numerous awards, including the Distinguished Early Career Professional Certificate from the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association and the Warren Lambert Memorial Award from the Vanderbilt Kennedy Center. Most recently, Dr. Feldman was recognized for his strong record of teaching and mentoring undergraduate and graduate students with the Vanderbilt University Postdoctoral Mentor of the Year Award. Dr. Feldman has a pending pathway to independence grant at the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders, which will enable him to continue his career at a research-intensive university.