Richard P. Vilello, Jr.
Deputy Secretary for Community Affairs and Development
Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development
Rick joined DCED in March of 2015 as the Executive Director of the Center for Local Government Services. In this capacity, Rick also directed the efforts of the Tax Equalization Division and the Resources Recovery Team. Before coming to DCED, Rick served four terms as Mayor of Lock Haven and was previously the President of Pennsylvania Municipal League.
As Deputy Secretary, Rick oversees the work of the entire deputate including the Center for Community Development, Community Services, and Compliance Monitoring and Training.
Kristofer "Bret" Bucklen, Ph.D.
Chief of Projections and Population Statistics
Pennsylvania Department of Corrections
Dr. Kristofer Bret Bucklen is the Chief of Projections and Population Statistics for the Bureau of Planning, Research, Statistics, and Grants in the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections. His office is responsible for directing ongoing planning, research, statistics and grant activities. This includes coordinating departmental research initiatives, preparing various planning and research reports based on correctional databases, implementing standards, guidelines, and procedures for state research and data analysis activities, identifying and defining correctional planning and research problems, preparing research models appropriate to the problem, developing instrumentation and procedures for data measurement, collecting and analyzing data, and submitting recommendations for departmental research and evaluation priorities.
Prior to his current position, he was employed in the Pennsylvania Management Associate (PMA) Program under the Governor’s Office of Administration, where he worked for the PA Board of Probation and Parole, the PA Department of Corrections, the PA State Police, the PA Commission on Crime and Delinquency, and the Justice Network (JNET) Project. Dr. Bucklen received his M.S. in Public Policy and Management from Carnegie Mellon University’s Heinz School of Public Policy and his Ph.D. in Criminology and Criminal Justice at the University of Maryland.
Brian Wright
Statistical Support Manager
Pennsylvania Department of Health
A 1992 Pennsylvania State University graduate, Mr. Wright has accumulated over 23 years experience in the field of data collection and statistical analysis. Since 2010, he has been managing a staff of 17+ professionals in the analyses and dissemination of statistical and quantified health data, primarily related to vital records (births, deaths, fetal deaths, marriages, divorces, abortions, reported pregnancies), cancer morbidity, and behavioral risk factors.
He coordinates and integrates multiple public health programs for the provision of comprehensive data, statistical support and program evaluation/management services to the Department of Health and other health and health-related data users. These programs include the state’s Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) program, technical support to Department programs and other data users, a multi-media public health statistics reporting and dissemination program, State Data Center affiliation program for Census activities, and coordination of the Department’s Geographic Information System (GIS) services.
Tiffany Chang Lawson
Executive Director
Governor's Advisory Commission on Asian Pacific American Affairs
Tiffany graduated from Dickinson College with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in a Self-Developed Major of Global Feminisms and a minor in Chinese Language. After graduating from Dickinson College in May of 2011 Tiffany began a career with New York Life Insurance Company (NYL) as a Financial Services Professional specializing in insurance, long term care and retirement planning.
In 2013, Tiffany transitioned into a career in Government when she was appointed as the Executive Director of the Governor’s Advisory Commission on Asian Pacific American Affairs. In this position, Tiffany provides strategic development for the Commission which is comprised of 27 Commissioners that have been appointed by Governor Wolf from across Pennsylvania. The Commission is the state’s advocate agency for the diverse Asian American and Pacific Islander communities across the Commonwealth and Tiffany travels across Pennsylvania to meet with community organizations, local, state and federal agencies. Tiffany also serves on the board of the YWCA of Greater Harrisburg whose mission is eliminating racism and empowering women.
Jennifer C. Gibbs, Ph.D. - Assistant Professor of Criminal Justice
Timothy Servinsky, Jr. - Project Manager, Center for Survey Research
Penn State Harrisburg
Jennifer C. Gibbs joined the faculty at Penn State Harrisburg in 2013 as an Assistant Professor of Criminal Justice in the School of Public Affairs. After finishing a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Keuka College and a Master’s degree in Criminal Justice Administration from Niagara University, Dr. Gibbs earned her Ph.D. in Criminology and Criminal Justice from the University of Maryland, College Park, where she completed her dissertation focusing on the influence of police and state legitimacy on terrorist attacks targeting police in 82 countries – research that won the Homicide Research Working Group 2012 Richard Block Outstanding Dissertation Award. Dr. Gibbs’ research interests include policing, terrorism, violence and victimization and the scholarship of teaching and learning, and her research has been published in journals such as Crime, Law and Social Change; Policing: An International Journal of Police Strategies & Management; Police Practice and Research: An International Journal; Violence Against Women; and Journal of Active Learning in Higher Education. Notably, her research, “Race and attitudes toward police: the mediating effect of social distance”, published in Policing: An International Journal of Police Strategies & Management was selected as a highly commended paper in the 2016 Emerald Literati Network Awards for Excellence. Dr. Gibbs is a member of the American Society of Criminology and the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences.
Timothy Servinsky, Jr. is a project manager at the Center for Survey Research at Penn State Harrisburg. Mr. Servinsky works with a variety of data collection modes, including web surveys, telephone surveys, and focus groups. His areas of primary data expertise include study design and operationalization, questionnaire development, and data analysis. In addition to his work at the Center for Survey Research, he is also a graduate student in Applied Statistics at Penn State and is a member of the American Statistical Association.
Jonathan Lee, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Criminal Justice
Penn State Harrisburg
Dr. Lee holds bachelor's degree in Economics and master's and doctoral degrees in Criminal Justice. He specializes in quantitative research for crime analysis, police behavior, and sociology and psychology of deviance. Dr. Lee is a consultant to Dauphin County law enforcement agencies and is the Principal Investigator of Harrisburg Crime Prevention Project funded by U.S. Department of Justice. Prior to entering academe, he retired from the Army (1st Ltn.) and worked as a business negotiator.
Alfonso Yáñez Marillo
Research Analyst
Center for Land Use and Sustainability at Shippensburg University
Alfonso Yáñez is a Biologist, and a Forest Engineer, specialized in Landscape Ecology and Connectivity, and has a Masters in Environmental Management and Administration. He has worked in a wide range of environmental consultancy projects in Spain, including the application of GIS models in planning assessments. At the Center of Land Use and Sustainability, he currently develops tools for urban growth forecasting and supports research projects related to climate change, hydrography and species distribution.
Lise Levin - VP of Community Investment
Elyse Pollick - Community Investment Officer
York County Community Foundation
Lise joined York County Community Foundation as Vice President of Community Investment in June, 2015. As a member of the Foundation's leadership team, Lise helps advance the mission of the Community Foundation through high-impact grantmaking programs and strategic community leadership and improvement initiatives. Lise came to the Community Foundation after many years working in development, creating fundraising programs at the York County Bar Foundation, Harrisburg Area Community College (HACC) York Campus, and the York Jewish Community. She holds a BA from Trinity College, and has a history of long-term community volunteer work.
Elyse joined York County Community Foundation in October 2015. She works in conjunction with volunteer advisory committees to ensure the smooth operation and implementation of the Foundation's high-impact grantmaking programs. She also compiles and analyzes data from the nonprofit community to help maximize and promote community impact. Elyse received her BA in Political Science with Honors from Goucher College in Baltimore, and her Master's Degree in Irish Studies. She learned research and evaluation skills from Temple University’s International Nonprofit Training & Leadership Program. Elyse has worked or volunteered with nonprofits all over the globe for over 13 years.
Kevin Eaton
GIS Coordinator
County of Franklin, PA
Mr. Eaton is a native of Central Pennsylvania and has been serving as Franklin County GIS Coordinator since 2013. Since his hiring, Franklin County has expanded their GIS capabilities many times over, enhancing the delivery of government services to County citizens. In addition to his work at Franklin County, Kevin serves in numerous regional and statewide GIS organizations including the PA State Geoboard - Governance Task Force [Vice Chair], the South Central Task Force GIS Working Group [Co-chair] and the PA County GIS Pros [Region 6 Director, Training Committee Chair, Website Committee Member].
Joseph Hafer
Research and Evaluation Analyst
Pennsylvania Department of Corrections
Mr. Hafer has served as a Research and Evaluation Analyst at the Department of Corrections for two years. He has spent the prior ten years in various positions in county and state government focused on improving the quality of behavioral health care in Pennsylvania. He has a Master’s in psychology from Villanova University and is a Doctoral Candidate in the Public Administration program at the School of Public Affairs, Penn State Harrisburg.
Paul Dioguardo
Information Technology Generalist Administrator
Pennsylvania Department of Health
Mr. Dioguardo is an information technology and geospatial professional serving on the Business Intelligence – Data Warehouse team within the Division of Health Informatics. He delivers solutions by working in close collaboration with the Department of Health’s program areas to define and meet their business needs and goals. He designs, builds and manages web and geospatial applications, databases, ETL processes, and reporting and analytics tools in support of the enterprise data warehouse (EDW). He also coordinates the system administration of the EDW and the department’s Geographic Information Systems (GIS) technology, as well as the Health GIS User Group.
After graduating with a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science from Rutgers University, he has gained over 30 years of experience in a diverse range of disciplines, including State and County government, Environmental Public Health Tracking, Land Records, Addressing, Emergency Services, Planning, Health, Transportation, Civil & Environmental Engineering, Landscape Architecture and Surveying. Prior to joining the Health Department in 2010, he served as the GIS Technology Manager at the County of Chester for 10 years.
Göktuğ Morçöl
Professor of Public Policy and Administration
Penn State Harrisburg
Göktuğ Morçöl is a Professor of Public Policy and Administration and the coordinator of the Ph.D. Program in Public Administration at Penn State Harrisburg. He teaches courses on public policy analysis and research methods. His research interests are complexity theory, metropolitan governance, business improvement districts, and research methodology. He has authored, edited, and co-edited seven books and several articles in academic journals in these areas. He is an editor-in-chief of the journal Complexity, Governance & Networks. He served as the founding chair of the Section on Complexity and Network Studies of the American Society for Public Administration.