Guest Speaker
Sen. Kim Ward
PA Senate Majority Leader

Senator Kim Ward currently serves as the Senate Majority Leader for the Senate of Pennsylvania. She is the first woman in the history of the Pennsylvania Legislature to serve as Majority Leader in either the Pennsylvania House or Senate.

In 2008, Senator Ward won the Pennsylvania 39th Senatorial District seat and was the first woman ever elected to that seat. She was re-elected in 2012 & 2016, and most recently in 2020.

During the 2019-2020 legislative session, she was appointed to the Majority Caucus Administrator position in the Senate. Prior to her election to the Senate, she served as a Westmoreland County Commissioner in 2008, and on the Hempfield Township Board of Supervisors from 2002-2007 where she was Chairwoman of the Board for the final three years.

Most recently, Senator Ward has had several of bills she introduced to address the COVID-19 pandemic pass the General Assembly. Signed into law was her legislation requiring the Pennsylvania Department of Health to share the location of COVID-19 positive cases with emergency responders so they can better protect themselves and their communities. Senator Ward’s amendment to the Pennsylvania Constitution, prohibiting the Governor from extending an emergency declaration beyond 21 days without legislative approval, received the first of two legislative approvals needed before it can be placed on the ballot at the next election.

She is a member of Our Lady of Grace Catholic Church in Hempfield Township, the Italian Sons and Daughters of America and the NRA.

Guest Speaker
Chancellor Dan Greenstein
Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education

Dr. Daniel Greenstein became the fifth chancellor of Pennsylvania’s State System of Higher Education in 2018. In that role, he serves as chief executive officer of the State System, which operates Pennsylvania’s 14 public universities, serving nearly 100,000 degree-seeking students and thousands more enrolled in certificate and other career-development programs.​

Previously, Greenstein led the Postsecondary Success strategy at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, where he worked with other higher education leaders across the country on initiatives designed to raise educational-attainment levels and to promote economic mobility, especially among low-income and minority students.

Before joining the foundation, Greenstein was Vice Provost for Academic Planning and Programs for the University of California system. In that role, he oversaw system-wide academic planning and programs, including the University of California Press; the California Digital Library; the UC system’s Education Abroad Program; internship programs in Washington, D.C., and Sacramento; and UC Online Education.

He holds both bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Pennsylvania and a Doctorate in Philosophy the University of Oxford.

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.