Deeds Over Words
Extraordinary local mothers exemplify the potential inherent in women who lead with heart and heroism.
Mary Wollstonecraft set an extraordinary example for her daughter.
Renowned as a philosopher, writer, and advocate for the inherent and underrecognized capabilities of women, Wollstonecraft’s most vibrant, bold, and lasting work remains “A Vindication of the Rights of Woman.” Among the brilliance she shares in this 1792 work—much of which resonates today—she writes, “I wish to show that elegance is inferior to virtue.”
A brief sentiment with tremendous weight, Wollstonecraft’s words defy the idea that women should be limited to the aspirations of others. That “keeping up appearances” means far, far less than developing character and mind.
With such a role model in her mother, it’s no wonder that her daughter Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley, author of Frankenstein, achieved greatness beyond her time.
The mothers featured on the following pages exemplify that same strength, serving as strong and loving role models for their children, as well as keen minds who serve their communities, pursue justice, and work toward a better world for us all.
Heart of a Phoenix
Phyllis Sudman, co-founder of Simon’s Heart
Phyllis Sudman, co-founder of Simon’s Heart
More than 20 years later, Phyllis Sudman’s voice still wavers when she recalls the passing of her son, Simon, in early 2005.
“We had our daughter, Sally, and then we had Simon, and Simon was a seemingly healthy baby boy,” Sudman shares. “Everything—his Apgar, all of his scores, the standard tests that they take—everything was normal. He was taking a nap and never woke up. He was three months old.”
In the aftermath, the coroner and pediatrician told Sudman and her husband, Darren, to get their hearts checked. Testing revealed Sudman had a heart-rhythm disorder called long QT syndrome, which has the potential to cause sudden death. Given that she never would have been tested for the condition if not for what happened to her son, she says, “Simon saved my life.”
With hope and grief standing side by side, Sudman and her husband used the light of Simon’s brief life as a beacon for other families and found renewed purpose. She and Darren founded Simon’s Fund, now Simon’s Heart, and went to work applying $25,000 in donations to raising awareness about sudden cardiac arrest and death with children, and, when possible, supplying life-saving medical equipment to youth facilities.
“Sudden cardiac arrest and kids, it’s not something that people talk about,” Sudman says. “It’s been 21 years [since Simon’s death], but I would say that most people don’t get their hearts checked until they’re probably 40, maybe. I never had my heart checked until Simon passed away. … So, when we said, ‘How can we have the biggest impact?’, we focused on doing heart screenings.”
Today, the HeartBytes digital cardiac registry contains data points and ECG waveforms for about 20,000 students. Of those screened, nearly 250 children and their families have been alerted to potentially life-threatening abnormalities.
“We’re building a national youth cardiac registry,” she shares. “Also, as part of it, you hear of student athletes or students just collapsing, and I think the normal, immediate reaction is, ‘Oh, they’re just dehydrated.’ But fainting is the No. 1 symptom associated with sudden credit arrest.”
Another initiative, CPR Jukebox, teaches kids how to give chest compressions. A marathon fundraiser event is planned for November. The organization also works to connect youth facilities with automated external defibrillator machines via the GotAED campaign.
Ahead, Sudman looks toward screening and saving even more kids, as well as enjoying her time with Darren, Sally, and son Jaden.
“We could have just gone into a very dark place and not done anything, and I think we didn’t want to do that,” she shares. “This is, by far, a parent’s worst nightmare. And if there’s anything that I can do to help others and make sure that they don’t have a tragedy, absolutely. We don’t want another family to go through what we’ve been through.”
Supporting Survivors
Cortney Marengo, director of community outreach for Laurel House
Cortney Marengo, director of community outreach for Laurel House
Cortney Marengo connected with Laurel House shortly after moving to Philadelphia in 2007. A survivor of teen dating violence, Marengo began volunteering to help other domestic violence survivors, a move that became an integral part of her own healing journey.
Marengo volunteered in the DART (Domestic Abuse Response Team) program, which responds on nights and weekends for emergency calls. She also began working in community education with Laurel House, often sharing her own story with others. Even as a wife and busy mom of four boys, Marengo thrived as a volunteer for nearly 15 years before moving into a permanent position as director of community outreach.
“Understanding the psychology in the nuances of domestic violence, I know it is unlike other victimization,” she says. “It’s very personal. It’s very manipulative and coercive, and it’s kind of hard to explain to people who haven’t been through it. … Something that I was really personally passionate about was responding and helping people who are already dealing with that with empathy and trauma-informed care. Because I understood it.”
Marengo recently completed her Master of Public Administration coursework at Villanova University.
“I’ve always been really connected to law enforcement and the court systems,” says Marengo, who holds an undergraduate degree in criminal justice. “So when Stacy [Dougherty, executive director of Laurel House] and I had been talking, she really wanted me to focus on building that collaboration. Then, once I got into the MPA program, I started diving into the actual logistics of nonprofit managing, funding, budgets, program evaluation, and all those sorts of things.”
Marengo also works with the youngest and most vulnerable, serving as a liaison with Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia’s STOP Intimate Partner Violence program. She focuses on training CHOP’s medical providers regarding how to respond to anyone coming to the emergency department or to appointments who may be flagged as a possible victim of domestic violence.
From the prevention side, medical advocacy and community education focusing on topics such as healthy relationships and bystander intervention are of utmost importance, according to Marengo.
“As a community, we need to all come together and really focus on these issues,” she adds. “Domestic violence is not a relationship issue; it’s truly a public health epidemic. It’s really about power and control, and someone being in an abusive situation really affects community.”
It also affects a person’s immediate and extended family, their ability to do their job, and the healthcare system as a whole. In addition, the trauma of physical and emotional injury compounds the systemic barriers people face in terms of housing, personal finance, and pay equity.
“A lot of the challenges that we see are just helping people navigate systems,” Marengo says.
Considering the weight and consequence of the matters she deals with every day, Marengo says she is grateful for her supportive husband and children.
“I feel a real immense pressure and responsibility on not just making sure that my boys are safe in relationships, but explaining to them the proper way to treat someone in a relationship and consent,” she says. “I just don’t think people teach that. We have those conversations—within reason, of course, as is age appropriate. These are the realities of the world, and I want them to be empathetic to the things that people are experiencing.
“It was a full-circle moment when I was able to go into my own children’s middle schools and high schools and teach them and their friends about healthy relationships and boundaries and things like that,” she continues. “It really felt incredibly empowering.”
Caped Crusader
Kelly Gallagher, founder of The Superhero Project Inc.
Kelly Gallagher, founder of The Superhero Project Inc.
Kelly Gallagher was already a mother of two when in 2014, she and her husband learned they would be adding twins to their family unit.
“I had a pretty typical pregnancy and then around 32 weeks, things kind of went south,” Gallagher recalls. “I was admitted to the hospital and then, lots of tests and scares and 48 hours later, my two guys came out—two pounds 11 ounces, and five pounds one ounce.”
Even at their tiny size, babies Connor and Curran “rocked it from the start” in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), Gallagher says.
“My one little guy had to go on a ventilator, and basically for the next few weeks, just my whole life changed,” she adds. “When you have babies, normally you have the balloons and the celebrations, and it was just not there.”
Two days later, upon her discharge from the hospital, she sat in the elevator with a nurse and her husband. A self-described “talker” and “type A,” Gallagher was uncharacteristically at a loss for words.
“In the dead silence, I’m just holding it together,” she shares. “In the car on the drive home, I’m hysterical, just saying, ‘How are we going to do this? We have four kids, and two of them … I’m leaving them behind in the hospital. This feels so not normal.’”
Gallagher found strength in her husband’s comfort and the knowledge that her other two children, Addyson and Ryan, were waiting at home.
Gallagher found strength in her husband’s comfort and the knowledge that her other two children, Addyson and Ryan, were waiting at home.
“You have moments in your life that build up to being courageous,” she says. “For me, it was in that moment that I was, like, ‘All right, I’m going to do this.’”
For the next three weeks, she followed a routine: Drop off Addyson and Ryan at childcare, go to the hospital for the day, come home at night. The boys came home about four weeks later, though a few days apart. Her family of six finally complete, Gallagher felt an “ache” to give back. She transformed this yearning into action, first by creating gift baskets and snack trays for NICU families, and she continued to think about how to address the issues that plagued her most.
“I googled ‘innovative NICU technology’ and up popped AngelEye,” she says. “They basically provide bedside cameras at the isolette so that families can see their baby 24 hours a day just with a click.”
Inspired, she set up a GoFundMe the next day. Donations followed in a flash.
“When I woke up the next morning, there were a couple thousand dollars in donations,” she shares. “The community rallied. So I went to the hospital and told them my idea. Sure enough, they said, ‘Let’s do it.’”
Ten years have passed since The Superhero Project’s official formation as a nonprofit. Connor and Curran are 11, and the organization has raised over $2 million to support families across the country, from Philadelphia to Hawaii. Connor and Curran, well on their way to being active volunteers themselves, served as keynote speakers at the organization’s most recent gala.
“We have supported families with AngelEye technology, care package programs, and financial needs,” she says. “We’ve done baby showers for families who can’t afford it, and it’s really just been so rewarding to be able to put some purpose behind my own pain. Every time I get to help a family, it’s really just paying it forward for everything that was given to me.”
Gallagher wants to continue to grow the organization, but is mindful that heart and the human touch are often what NICU families need most. For those looking to support in style, tickets for The Superhero Project’s annual January fundraiser go on sale May 1.
“Women take on a lot,” Gallagher observes. “I think working mothers are superheroes. I think that working dads are, too, but working moms sometimes don’t get enough credit.”
Unstoppable
Not only do these women model excellence in their respective fields—business, real estate, medicine, the law—but they also thrive in the role of what many consider life’s most important job: parent. None would say the experience of being a working mother has been easy, but they would also likely say any sacrifices they made were worth it because of the joy and love they got in return.
Not only do these women model excellence in their respective fields—business, real estate, medicine, the law—but they also thrive in the role of what many consider life’s most important job: parent. None would say the experience of being a working mother has been easy, but they would also likely say any sacrifices they made were worth it because of the joy and love they got in return.
Colleen Bell
A highly successful Brigantine, New Jersey-based Realtor since 2006, known for top-tier service and a profound love of her family; “my children are my world,” she says. colleenbellhomes.com
A highly successful Brigantine, New Jersey-based Realtor since 2006, known for top-tier service and a profound love of her family; “my children are my world,” she says. colleenbellhomes.com
Jennie Carr
Co-owner of Carr Home, a hugely successful and growing home-renovation enterprise based in Chalfont, who doubles as the doting mother of four young children. carrhome.com
Co-owner of Carr Home, a hugely successful and growing home-renovation enterprise based in Chalfont, who doubles as the doting mother of four young children. carrhome.com
Alexandria Crouthamel
Attorney and founder of Crouthamel Law Offices in Bethlehem, plus the mother of a toddler (and another on the way) who also maintains a home full of “fur babies.” crouthamellaw.com
Attorney and founder of Crouthamel Law Offices in Bethlehem, plus the mother of a toddler (and another on the way) who also maintains a home full of “fur babies.” crouthamellaw.com
Lydia Fabbro Keephart
Partner and veteran family law attorney with Pellettieri Rabstein & Altman, as well as the proud mother of a son who went on to become an accomplished attorney in his own right, and a loving Nonna to three precious grandchildren. pralaw.com
Partner and veteran family law attorney with Pellettieri Rabstein & Altman, as well as the proud mother of a son who went on to become an accomplished attorney in his own right, and a loving Nonna to three precious grandchildren. pralaw.com
Susan M. Gibson
Attorney at the helm of Gibson Family Law in Doylestown and devoted mother whose commitment to education and community drove her to serve others, currently as VP of the Central Bucks School District Board of School Directors. gibsonfamilylaw.com
Attorney at the helm of Gibson Family Law in Doylestown and devoted mother whose commitment to education and community drove her to serve others, currently as VP of the Central Bucks School District Board of School Directors. gibsonfamilylaw.com
Stacy Hilman
Seasoned Realtor and co-founder of Thomas Hilman Real Estate Team, driven by a desire to make a lasting difference in the lives of others, including her own two daughters. bucksbestrealtor.com
Seasoned Realtor and co-founder of Thomas Hilman Real Estate Team, driven by a desire to make a lasting difference in the lives of others, including her own two daughters. bucksbestrealtor.com
Dr. Sheedeh Madani
Lead practitioner and founder of Bala Kids Dentistry in Bala Cynwyd, as well as a mother to a growing family, compelled by a desire to help local children develop good habits pertaining to their health. balakidsdentistry.com
Lead practitioner and founder of Bala Kids Dentistry in Bala Cynwyd, as well as a mother to a growing family, compelled by a desire to help local children develop good habits pertaining to their health. balakidsdentistry.com
Sue Thomas
Co-founder of Thomas Hilman Real Estate Team and one of the area’s most proficient Realtors, with 40 years of experience, and the proud mother of two grown sons. bucksbestrealtor.com
Co-founder of Thomas Hilman Real Estate Team and one of the area’s most proficient Realtors, with 40 years of experience, and the proud mother of two grown sons. bucksbestrealtor.com
Sherri L. Warfel
Attorney, unrelenting client advocate, and chair of the Nursing Home Abuse and Neglect practice of Pellettieri Rabstein & Altman, who has worked hard to lead by example for her two college-age sons. pralaw.com
Attorney, unrelenting client advocate, and chair of the Nursing Home Abuse and Neglect practice of Pellettieri Rabstein & Altman, who has worked hard to lead by example for her two college-age sons. pralaw.com
Published (and copyrighted) in Suburban Life, April 2026
