VIP’s Board Elects Officers and Three New Directors

Philadelphia VIP’s Board of Directors elected the following Board members to officer positions for 2026: Robert S. Tintner, Partner at Fox Rothschild LLP, Board President-Elect; Bethany R. Nikitenko, Partner at Feldman Shepherd Wohlgelernter Tanner Weinstock Dodig LLP, Board Vice President; and Robin C. V. Holts, Associate General Counsel at Vanguard, Board Equity Officer.

VIP also welcomed three new Directors to the Board this year: Ethan Heller, Associate at Cozen O’Connor; Marko W. Kipa, Deputy General Counsel at Comcast; and the Honorable Viktoria Kristiansson of the First Judicial District.

View the full Board of Directors here and get to know our new Board members below.

Ethan Heller

Ethan is an Associate at Cozen O’Connor, where he counsels publicly traded and privately held companies, private equity funds, and strategic investors on a broad spectrum of corporate law issues. Ethan is passionate about helping businesses succeed, and he volunteers with VIP to counsel undercapitalized Philadelphia small businesses in need of guidance with general corporate and transactional legal issues.

“I am thrilled to join the VIP Board of Directors. Philadelphia is my home, and I am excited to help ensure that our neighbors and small businesses have access to the high-quality legal representation they deserve.”

Marko W. Kipa

Marko is Deputy General Counsel at Comcast and leads its Government Contracts Legal Compliance team. Prior to joining Comcast, he was a senior lawyer and trust & compliance officer at IBM, an attorney at Sheppard Mullin LLP, and a judicial law clerk at the U.S. Court of Federal Claims. Marko recently completed a three-year term on the Board of the Association of Corporate Counsel of Greater Philadelphia. He continues to co-chair the Chapter’s Ethics & Compliance Practice Area Network.

“Over the past several years, I have had the privilege of working closely with VIP. It has been an incredibly rewarding experience. I am excited about the opportunity to serve on the Board, to further advance VIP’s mission and expand its impact, and to help ensure that its clients continue to receive the vital legal representation they deserve.”

The Hon. Viktoria Kristiansson

Judge Kristiansson is a judge of the Court of Common Pleas of the First Judicial District. Prior to her service on the bench, Judge Kristiansson was an Attorney Advisor at AEquitas: The Prosecutor’s Resource on Violence Against Women. She began her legal career as an Assistant District Attorney in Philadelphia, where she focused on the prosecution of cases involving sexual assault, intimate partner violence, and child sexual and physical abuse. She later served as a Deputy Attorney General and Special Assistant to the Attorney General of New Jersey.

Judge Kristiansson has authored 15 peer-reviewed articles and an addendum to the Benchbook on Crimes of Sexual Violence used by PA judges for cases involving campus sexual assault. She serves on the Advisory Board of the Villanova Law Institute to Address Commercial Sexual Exploitation. Before becoming a judge, she was a volunteer attorney at the Support Center for Child Advocates.