ELECT CABINET APPOINTMENTS

OFFICE OF THE GOVERNOR Katie McGinty – Chief of Staff Katie McGinty has more than twenty-five years of experience in public service. Since 2008, McGinty has been a leader in the clean energy and environmental engineering space. She has led a global business cleaning up and redeveloping contaminated properties and developing renewable energy, and she has served on the Boards of Directors of publicly traded and privately held corporations.

McGinty began her career in the office of then-Senator , where she worked on initiatives to strengthen patent protections, encourage manufacturing, and support science education. McGinty also contributed to the reauthorization of the landmark Clean Air Act.

McGinty served President as his Deputy Assistant and then as Chair of the White House Council on Environmental Quality -- the first woman to head the office. In 2003, McGinty was nominated by Governor Edward G. Rendell to become the first woman to lead the Department of Environmental Protection, where she worked on clean water and mercury reduction initiatives and encouraged job growth in the energy sector, including solar and wind jobs.

John Hanger - Secretary of Planning and Policy Born in Nairobi, Kenya, came to America in 1970 as an immigrant from Ireland. After graduating from Duke University in 1979, where he majored in Public Policy and History, John attended the University of Pennsylvania School of Law and then became a legal services attorney at Community Legal Services in .

John was appointed as the Public Advocate for customers of Philadelphia's municipal utilities prior to being nominated by Governor Casey as a commissioner of the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission. John served as commissioner at PUC from 1993 to 1998, where he expanded low-income and energy conservation programs and led efforts to restructure Pennsylvania's electricity and gas industries.

From 1998 to 2008, John was the president of Citizens for Pennsylvania's Future and then served as secretary of the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection from 2008 to 2011. Since then, John has been an attorney at Eckert Seamans. John resides in Hershey, Pennsylvania.

Mary Isenhour - Secretary of Legislative Affairs began her career as a staffer in the House of Representatives, where from 1991 to 1995, Mary was chief of staff to the Democratic Leader. It was here where Mary worked across party lines to advance legislation that improved the lives of the citizens of Kansas.

Mary worked with leadership and committee members to develop and implement committee and floor strategies, and she worked on developing legislative strategy and building coalitions that resulted in legislation in numerous areas. Mary also served as liaison between the Leader and other elected officials, agencies, and political entities.

From 1995 to 1999, Mary served as a national political director for the Washington, D.C. based Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee, and from 1999 to 2003, Mary served as executive director of the Pennsylvania House Democratic Campaign Committee (HDCC). Following her time at HDCC, Mary served as executive director of the Pennsylvania Democratic Party and as state director for 's Presidential Campaign.

Mary owns a consulting firm and served as senior strategist to Tom Wolf for Governor. Currently, Mary is co-chair of Governor-elect Wolf's Inaugural Committee.

Obra S. Kernodle IV - Deputy Chief of Staff and Director, Office of Public Liaison Born and raised in Philadelphia, Obra S. Kernodle IV is a graduate of Roman Catholic High School. He obtained his Bachelor of Arts in Education from Florida Agricultural & Mechanical University in 2002. Before serving in his current position as senior advisor for Governor-elect Tom Wolf’s transition team, Obra played a key role on the Wolf campaign as both deputy campaign manager and political director.

Before joining the Wolf for Governor campaign, Obra worked in Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter’s Administration as deputy of legislative affairs, helping to coordinate the city’s Actual Value Initiative. In 2012, Obra was part of President Obama’s reelection effort as the Pennsylvania southeast political director. Obra previously served as the political director for both Mayor Nutter’s 2011 reelection bid and District Attorney Seth Williams’ race in 2009.

Randy Albright - Secretary, Office of the Budget Randy Albright has nearly three decades of experience in Pennsylvania state government, and he brings a detailed knowledge of the state budget and finances. Albright has drafted numerous pieces of job creation legislation, including the Machinery and Equipment Loan Fund. He has also played a key role in developing cost-savings and passing revenue generating policies over four administrations.

Randy is currently the executive director of the Senate Democratic Appropriations Committee, serving in that role since 2009. From 1986 to 2008, Albright was a budget analyst, then senior analyst, for the Senate Democratic Appropriations Committee, where his responsibilities included budget and policy analysis for the Departments of Community and Economic Development, Education, Labor and Industry, Corrections, and Transportation.

Albright has a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree in public administration from Pennsylvania State University. He lives in East Pennsboro with his wife, Kim. His daughter, Megan, is currently completing her third year of law school at Temple University.

Denise Smyler – General Counsel. is the founding attorney and owner of the Smyler Firm, which united with Wadud Ahmad and Joseph Zaffarese to form Ahmad, Zaffarese & Smyler, LLC in September 2013.

In 2011, Mayor Michael Nutter appointed Denise to the Philadelphia Redevelopment Authority Board. Mayor Nutter also picked Smyler to serve on the nominating panel for the Board of Property Assessment Appeals. Previously, Denise worked as an assistant district attorney and as legal counsel to the Philadelphia Prison Commissioner before being appointed chief legal counsel to the Philadelphia Police Commissioner. While serving as counsel to the Prison System and Police Department, Denise also advised and represented the city in State and Federal Court proceedings relative to labor matters and worked on drafting and negotiating contracts on behalf of city agencies.

Denise has a degree from New York University and earned her J.D. from Georgetown University.

Sharon Minnich – Secretary, Office of Administration. Sharon Minnich has extensive experience in state government and is well-versed in issues including budget and finance, tax and revenue, procurement, administration, and information technology. Minnich has led efforts at the state to improve operations, and she managed significant process and system changes, as well as oversaw the implementation of a new financial shared services model for Pennsylvania, the implementation of Pennsylvania’s tax amnesty project, which collected $261 million, and the state’s ERP implementation. While in the Office of Budget, Sharon reduced purchase order invoice processing from 45-60 days to approximately 7 days, which resulted in approximately 30 percent processing savings.

Sharon Minnich has extensive experience in state government in the areas of administration, information technology, budget, tax and revenue, and procurement. She has served as the assistant chief information officer for the Commonwealth; chief information officer for the Department of Revenue; deputy secretary for financial administration in the Governor’s Office of the Budget; and deputy secretary for procurement at the Department of General Services. In these roles, Minnich improved operations and managed significant process and system changes. She led the implementation of a new financial shared services model for Pennsylvania, the implementation of Pennsylvania’s tax amnesty project, and the state’s ERP implementation.

In addition to her work in state government, Minnich, 45, has worked as a consultant in the private sector, specializing in procurement and technology. Her experience includes positions at Highmark Blue Cross/Blue Shield, Meridian Bank, SAP Business Consulting, Phoenix Consulting Services and Deloitte Consulting, LLP, where she is currently employed. Minnich has a Bachelor of Arts in Economics and Political Science from Albright College and a Master’s Degree in Government Administration from the University of Pennsylvania.

STATE AGENCY HEADS (in order of their announcement)

Dennis M. Davin - Secretary, Department of Community and Economic Development is the director of Allegheny County Economic Development (ACED). Dennis also serves as the director of the Allegheny County Redevelopment Authority and executive director of the Industrial Development Authority, Hospital Development Authority, Higher Education Building Authority, and Residential Finance Authority.

Dennis is also an active board member of the Allegheny County Airport Authority. Before serving as director of ACED, Dennis was regional director of the Governor’s Action Team for Southwestern Pennsylvania. Prior to that, he worked at the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) for eight years before becoming the URA’s director of housing. Dennis also served as the Pittsburgh Housing Development Corporation’s deputy executive director.

Eileen H. McNulty – Secretary, Department of Revenue Eileen McNulty served as the quality assurance director in the Office of Comptroller Operations, part of the Office of the Budget, for Pennsylvania from 2011 to 2013. Prior to that, she was the deputy accountability officer for the commonwealth’s Stimulus Accountability Office. Before becoming deputy accountability officer, McNulty was the chief financial officer with the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board.

From 2003 to 2006, McNulty served as executive deputy secretary of the Pennsylvania Department of Revenue, and she served as revenue secretary under Governor Robert P. Casey from January 1991 through January 1995. McNulty graduated cum laude from Michigan State University with a B.A. in Economics.

Pedro Cortés - Secretary of the Commonwealth Pedro Cortés, a native of Puerto Rico, began his career in 1993 at the Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare. From 2003 to 2010, Pedro served as secretary of the Commonwealth under Governor Edward G. Rendell, making him the first confirmed Latino cabinet member and longest serving secretary of state in Pennsylvania history. Prior to being appointed secretary of the Commonwealth, Pedro served as executive director of the Governor’s Advisory Commission on Latino Affairs for three years beginning in March 2000.

Currently, Pedro is a partner with the law firm of Haggerty, Goldberg, Schleifer and Kupersmith. He holds a J.D. from Penn State Dickinson School of Law, M.P.A. from Penn State Harrisburg and B.S. in Hotel, Restaurant and Travel Administration from the University of Massachusetts. Pedro currently resides in Harrisburg with his wife, Lissette Lizardi-Cortés, and their daughter, Gabriela.

John Wetzel - Secretary, Department of Corrections John E. Wetzel, 45, has served as secretary of the Department of Corrections since 2011. Secretary Wetzel is responsible for the management and operations of the Department of Corrections which houses more than 51,000 inmates, has approximately 15,000 employees, and a nearly $2 billion budget. With more than 25 years of experience in the corrections field, his career began in 1989 as an officer at the Lebanon County Correctional Facility, followed by a transfer to the Berks County Prison.

Over the course of his career he has held the positions of correctional officer, treatment counselor, supervisor of treatment services, and training academy director, before being appointed to the position of warden of the Franklin County Jail in 2002. Previously, Secretary Wetzel served as the corrections expert to the Pennsylvania Board of Pardons from June 2007 until his confirmation as secretary of corrections in 2011.

Wetzel earned a bachelor of arts in psychology from Bloomsburg University and has done master's level coursework in applied psychology at Penn State University. He lives in Chambersburg with his wife, Theresa, and their four daughters.

Curt Topper - Secretary, Department of General Services , 47, currently leads Georgetown University’s purchasing and contracting functions, including responsibility for construction services and accounts payable. He is the former deputy secretary for procurement at the Department of General Services, and he has more than 20 years of experience in the public and private sectors. Before Georgetown, Topper worked as a director at KPMG.

As deputy secretary for procurement for the Pennsylvania Department of General Services from 2005 to 2008, Topper led the department’s new shared services centers for procurement, warehousing, and print production. Topper also negotiated key contracts and reduced costs for the commonwealth by more than $200 million annually.

Topper has a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and Government from Brown University and a Master’s Degree in Public Policy and Management from Carnegie Mellon University.

Teresa Miller - Secretary, Department of Insurance Teresa D. Miller, 39, is a partner at Crowell & Moring in the Health Care Group where she focuses on matters related to the implementation and enforcement of the (ACA).

Miller had served as acting director of the State Exchanges Group, the Oversight Group, and the Insurance Programs Group at the Center for Consumer Information and Insurance Oversight at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services within the Department of Health and Human Services.

Prior to her time with the federal government, Miller was the administrator of Oregon’s Insurance Division. Earlier in her career, Miller worked for the Oregon Department of Justice, Portland General Electric, the Tresidder Company, among other organizations. Miller also served as legislative director to former Oregon Governor Ted Kulongoski.

Miller received her J.D. from Willamette University College of Law, and her B.A., magna cum laude, from Pacific Lutheran University. She currently lives in Washington, D.C.

Russell Redding - Secretary, Department of Agriculture Russell C. Redding has served as the dean of the School of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences at Delaware Valley College (DelVal) since 2011. In his role, he provided academic oversight for programs including plant science environmental science, landscape architecture, dairy science, animal science, equine science, agribusiness and food science.

Redding served as Pennsylvania’s secretary of agriculture from 2009 to 2011, where he led the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture in all aspects of program implementation, administration, policy development, advocacy, and federal farm policy development. Redding spent a total of 16 years at the Department of Agriculture.

Previously, Redding served as agricultural policy advisor and executive assistant to U.S. Senator . Redding currently serves as Chair of the USDA Advisory Committee on Biotechnology and 21st Century Agriculture.

He has a B.S. in Agriculture Education and a M.S. in Agriculture and Extension Education from Penn State University. Redding resides in Adams County with his wife, Nina, and sons, Garrison and Elliot.

Robin Wiessmann - Secretary, Department of Banking and Securities served as Pennsylvania State Treasurer from 2007 to 2009. During her tenure, she served as the primary fiduciary and custodian of $120 billion and created a new strategic framework for the office.

From 1990 to 1999, Wiessmann was a founder and president of Artemis Capital Group, the first female- owned investment banking firm on Wall Street. Prior to founding Artemis, Wiessmann was a vice president at Goldman Sachs and a deputy managing director for the City of Philadelphia. Most recently, she has served on the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board (MSRB).

She graduated cum laude from Lafayette College and received her law degree from Rutgers University.

Leslie Richards – Secretary, Department of Transportation is currently the vice chair of the Montgomery County Board of Commissioners, chair of the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission, and a member of the SEPTA Board. Richards heads the planning, transportation, and economic development initiatives in the county. Having advocated and executed projects for municipal, county, state, and federal governments, and with her experience serving as Chair of the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission, Richards has a detailed understanding of funding resources for all phases of transportation projects. She played an active role working with state legislators to educate them on the importance of passing Act 89 and provided official testimony to the Pennsylvania House Democratic Policy Committee.

Before being elected commissioner, Richards served as the chair and vice chair of the Whitemarsh Township Board of Supervisors. In the private sector, Richards served as a senior project manager at a woman-owned civil engineering firm. As a consultant, she received special recognition for minimizing the negative impacts of construction, detours, and road closures on the local business community. Richards has built a reputation professionally and politically of finding common ground and moving forward. Her experience in both the public and private sector gives her a unique perspective on understanding stakeholder issues.

Richards is a graduate of Brown University, where she concentrated in economics and urban studies. She received a master’s of regional planning from the University of Pennsylvania. Richards and her husband, Ira, have lived in Whitemarsh Township for 19 years. They have three children, Ben, Sophie, and Rebecca.

John H. Quigley – Secretary, Department of Environmental Protection From 2009 to 2011, John Quigley served as secretary of the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources. He was instrumental in creating a national model — an advanced, collaborative, interagency approach to recreation, conservation, and community enhancement around specific regional landscapes. He also led the efforts that re-engineered DCNR’s grant program, creating a user-friendly, efficient online system that emphasizes green practices. Quigley also oversaw the completion of the country’s first high resolution digital statewide map (PAMAP) which is being used extensively by energy companies and other businesses, public safety agencies, planners, state agencies, and by the federal government in updating statewide floodplain maps.

John H. Quigley is currently the principal of John H Quigley LLC. From 2009 to 2011, Quigley served as secretary of the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR). Prior to his appointment as secretary, Quigley worked for DCNR in several capacities, including overseeing strategic initiatives and operations, and as chief of staff. Quigley has had a diverse career in the nonprofit, public, and private sectors, including eight years as the mayor of the City of Hazleton, government relations manager with Citizens for Pennsylvania’s Future, and management positions with industry-leading companies.

He is a graduate of Bloomsburg University with a degree in economics, and holds a Master of Public Administration degree from Lehigh University.

Cindy Dunn – Secretary, Department of Conservation and Natural Resources is a former deputy secretary at the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, where she led the department’s Conservation Landscape program and oversaw the community conservation partnerships grant program, which provides $30 to $60 million annually for conservation and recreation throughout the commonwealth. She also worked closely with local communities to revitalize local parks and trails.

Cindy’s experience makes her well-suited to take advantage of Pennsylvania’s huge opportunity to continue to grow these sectors of the economy through a revitalized State Park and State Forest system. Cindy Dunn is currently president and chief executive officer of PennFuture. Previously, Dunn served as deputy secretary of conservation and technical service for the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR). In that capacity, she led DCNR’s Conservation Landscape program and oversaw the community conservation partnerships grant program, which provides $30-$60 million annually for conservation and recreation throughout the Commonwealth.

Dunn served in various roles at DCNR including leading the Bureau of Recreation and Conservation as well as the Office of Communications, Education and Partnerships. Prior to joining DCNR, Dunn served as the executive director of Audubon Pennsylvania from 1997-2003, and was the Pennsylvania program director for the Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay for 10 years. Dunn was also the director of community relations during the Ridge administration when the agency was formed.

Dunn holds a master’s degree in biology from Shippensburg University. She and her husband, Craig, reside in Cumberland County.