Author: Pennsylvania Press Club

Guest speaker – State Treasurer Stacy Garrity

Stacy Garrity is the 78th Treasurer of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, being sworn into office on January 19, 2021. She is a businesswoman and retired U.S. Army Reserve Colonel.

A graduate of Sayre High School in Bradford County, she earned a degree in finance and economics from Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania and later received a certificate from the Cornell University Business Management Institute.

While serving as a colonel in the Army Reserve, she was highlighted for her stellar performance as one of the officers in charge of an internment camp for enemy combatants in Iraq.

Stacy served three overseas deployments: in 1991 in Operation Desert Storm, in 2003 in Operation Iraqi Freedom, and in 2008 in Operation Enduring Freedom. She was awarded the Bronze Star twice for exceptional service and received the Legion of Merit before retiring from the Army Reserve with the rank of colonel.

While serving in the Army Reserve, she started work as a cost accountant at Global Tungsten & Powders Corp., a global supplier of refractory powders, and worked her way up to become the first of two female vice presidents at the company.

As Pennsylvania Treasurer, Stacy oversees an office of more than 300 employees and is tasked with protecting more than $115 billion in state assets. Among her many duties, she serves as a fiscal watchdog for the state, manages Pennsylvania’s 529 College and Career Savings Program and the PA ABLE Savings Program for disability-related expenses, and administers the state’s unclaimed property program.

In honor of the 20^th Anniversary of 9-11, our guests will be Mark Holman and Mark Campbell, former top aides to then Governor Tom Ridge.

For more than 35 years, Mark Holman has served as a senior manager and advisor within both the Federal legislative and executive branches, State executive branch, and in eight political campaigns. He managed Governor Tom Ridge’s first campaign for Congress in 1982 and later his first gubernatorial campaign. He was Governor Ridge’s Chief of Staff from 1995-2000,

He served as Deputy Assistant to the President in the White House Office of Homeland Security, assisting President George W. Bush and Governor Ridge with policymaking that ultimately led to the historic creation of the nation’s first Department of Homeland Security

He has served on the Republican Governors Association Finance Committee, the Board of Trustees of his alma mater, Indiana University of Pennsylvania, the Blue Ribbon Commission on Pennsylvania’s Election Security and the Federal Enforcement Homeland Security Foundation.

Since 1982, Mark Campbell has developed extensive experience in politics, public policy, and government decision making.

As a Chief of Staff for both Governor Tom Ridge and Governor Mark Schweiker, he oversaw every aspect of state government programs, policies, and budgets. He has served as a senior-level lobbyist with Harrisburg-based Greenlee Partners and The Swarthmore Group, a Philadelphia-based institutional asset management firm. He is also Chairman of Board of his alma mater, Allegheny College.

Pennsylvania Auditor General Timothy DeFoor

Timothy L. DeFoor was sworn in as Pennsylvania’s 52nd Auditor General on January 19, 2021.

He started his career in public service as a Special Investigator with the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Office of Inspector General, where he investigated government and contractor fraud, waste and abuse within state government. He then went on to become a Special Agent with the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Office of Attorney General, investigating Medicaid fraud and illegal prescription drug diversion. Later he became a Fraud Investigator and Internal Auditor for the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center – Health Plan and various federal contractors.

Growing up in Harrisburg, he currently serves on and is the former Chair of the Harrisburg Area Community College Foundation Board of Directors, State YMCA of Pennsylvania Board of Directors, and the Chris “Handles” Franklin Foundation Board of Directors. Tim is also a member of the Greater Harrisburg Area NAACP and the Pennsylvania State Fraternal Order of Police Lodge #78.