2018 Annual Meeting

Partner at K & L Gates LLP

David Raphael is a partner in the Environmental, Land and Natural Resources practice of the firm’s Harrisburg office. Prior to joining K&L Gates, Mr. Raphael served as Chief Counsel of the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) where he provided legal counsel to the Secretary and executive staff of the DEP. In this role, he oversaw a statewide team who represented the department on a variety of environmental compliance, litigation and transactional matters. His experience as an environmental practitioner – both in the public and private sectors – spans 20 years.

Mr. Raphael has represented clients in environmental litigation matters before the Environmental Hearing Board, various state and federal courts, and administrative boards. He has also provided environmental counsel on complex transactions and a wide range of environmental compliance issues, including the implementation of environmental compliance and audit policies.

CEO, Ridge Global LLC; Former PA Governor, First Secretary of Homeland Security

Tom Ridge is the CEO of Ridge Global, LLC. As the company’s chief executive, Ridge leads a team of international experts that help businesses and governments address a range of needs throughout their organizations, including security and infrastructure protection, emergency preparedness and response, energy, strategic growth, maritime management and other issues that encompass a diverse portfolio. He also serves as chairman of Ridge Insurance Solutions Company, which he launched in October 2014 partnering with five Lloyds of London syndicates to provide an innovative cyber insurance offering designed to help clients’ manage digital risk more effectively. He is the co-founder of the strategic advisory firm, Ridge Schmidt Cyber, an executive services firm that helps leaders in business and government navigate the increasing demands of cyber security. And, he is a founding partner of the Ridge Policy Group, a full service government affairs firm with offices in Washington, D.C. and Harrisburg, PA.

Following the tragic events of September 11th, 2001, Ridge became the first assistant to the President for Homeland Security and, on January 24, 2003, became the first Secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. The creation of the country’s 15th Cabinet Department marked the largest reorganization of government since the Truman administration and another call to service for the former soldier, congressman and governor of Pennsylvania.

During his tenure, Ridge worked with more than 180,000-plus employees from a combined 22 agencies to create an agency that facilitated the flow of people and goods, instituted layered security at air, land and seaports, developed a unified national response and recovery plan, protected critical infrastructure, integrated new technology and improved information sharing worldwide. Ridge served as Secretary of this historic and critical endeavor until February 1, 2005.

Before the events of September 11th, Ridge was twice elected governor of Pennsylvania. He served as the state’s 43rd governor from 1995 to 2001. Known for his commitment to high standards and results, Ridge delivered on his promise to make Pennsylvania “a leader among states and a competitor among nations.” Ridge’s aggressive technology strategy helped fuel the state’s advances in economic development, education, health care and the environment.
Born in Pittsburgh’s Steel Valley, Ridge was raised in a working-class family in veterans’ public housing in Erie. He earned a scholarship to Harvard, graduating with honors in 1967.
After his first year at Penn State University’s Dickinson School of Law, he was drafted into the U.S. Army, where he served as an infantry staff sergeant in Vietnam, earning the “Bronze Star for Valor”, the “Combat Infantry Badge” and the “Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry”. After returning to Pennsylvania and to Dickinson, he earned his law degree and was in private practice before becoming assistant district attorney in Erie County.

Ridge was elected to Congress in 1982. He was one of the first Vietnam combat veterans elected to the U.S. House of Representatives and was overwhelmingly re-elected by Pennsylvania voters five times.

An engaging and dynamic speaker, Ridge regularly addresses audiences throughout the world on issues, such as security, terrorism, global engagement, leadership, technology and more. Additionally, the first U.S. secretary of Homeland Security serves on the boards of the Institute for Defense Analyses, the Center for the Study of the Presidency and Congress and other private and public entities, and serves as chairman of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s National Security Task Force and the National Organization on Disability. Ridge continues to contribute to matters concerning our nation’s veterans and, along with General Tommy Franks (Ret.), serves as national co-chairman of the Flight 93 Memorial Fundraising Campaign.

Ridge and his wife, Michele, have two children.

Deputy Secretary for Highway Administration

George McAuley was appointed to the position of Deputy Secretary for Highway Administration for the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation on December 5, 2016. His 30-plus-year career includes engineering position progression in PennDOT’s District 10 in Indiana, Pa., holding the title of Assistant District Executive for Construction, and for the past 10 years as Assistant District Executive for Maintenance. McAuley also served briefly as Assistant District Executive for Design in District 10, and Acting Director of PennDOT’s Bureau of Project Delivery.

McAuley evolved as an ISO 9001 Quality Management System in District 10’s construction unit; developed an ISO-like Quality Management System in the district’s maintenance unit; and led an effort in cooperation with the Pennsylvania Asphalt Pavement Association and the Federal Highway Administration to pilot a similar approach to quality management for asphalt paving labeled Pasin. He has also been a long-standing member of the Asphalt Pavement and the Concrete Pavement Quality Improvement Committees.

Additionally, McAuley aided in the advancement of Pennsylvania’s Rapid Bridge Replacement Public Private Partnership (P3) contract, intended to deliver 558 bridges statewide. The Design, Build, Finance, Maintain Contract requires complete replacement of the assigned structures, an availability payment structure and includes a 25-year maintenance term. This first large P3 transportation contract for Pennsylvania is the first to provide such a scope in the United States.

A Pennsylvania State University graduate of civil engineering, McAuley spent his early career as a construction project manager for Texas DOT in Houston, and then for GAI Consultants on I-78 in Bethlehem, before signing on with PennDOT District 10.

​Administrator, Coal Mine Safety and Health​

Kevin G. Stricklin was appointed Administrator Coal Mine Safety and Health (CMS&H) on April 29, 2007. As Administrator, Mr. Stricklin oversees 11 districts with about 1,000 employees who enforce regulations contained in 30 CFR to approximately 600 underground mines and 750 surface mines. There are about 125,000 miners in the United States.

Previous to permanently being named Administrator, Mr. Stricklin acted in the position for the past 7 months. Prior to that, he was the District Manager in Morgantown, West Virginia, from May of 2004 to October of 2006. He has also held Assistant District Manager positions in both Enforcement and Technical Services along with being a health supervisor. Prior to working in CMS&H, Mr. Stricklin worked in Technical Support’s ventilation division from 1980 – 1990 where he was involved in many mine emergencies.

Mr. Stricklin comes from a family with a rich history of coal mining and is a graduate mining engineer from the University of Pittsburgh.

Robert Braun, Airmatic Inc.

Larry Nothstein, ASGCO "Complete Conveyor Solutions"

Greg Donecker, Kemper Equipment

Jeff Taylor and Derek Bowen, Sauls Seismic

Steve Somerville, BASF Construction Chemicals

Ken Yuhas, GCP Applied Technologies

Daniel Regad, SIKA Corporation

Ken Crank, Pennsylvania Aggregates & Concrete Association

​Deputy Secretary for Active and Abandoned Mine Operations​

John J. Stefanko is the Deputy Secretary for Active and Abandoned Mine Operations at the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection. As Deputy Secretary, Mr. Stefanko oversees the Active and Abandoned Mining Operations Deputate, which includes the Bureaus of Mining Programs, Abandoned Mine Reclamation, Mine Safety, and District Mining Operations.

Mr. Stefanko has been with the Department since 1987 and has served in a number of roles in the Deputate including Deputy Secretary, Executive Assistant, and Senior Advisor. He has also served as the Executive Deputy Secretary for Programs, and as Chief of DEP’s Divison of Contracts, Procurement and Bonding within the Bureau of Office Services, where he managed bidding, awarding and management of the activities of all construction contracts and the procurement of goods and services for the Department. Prior to that, John was a Project Designer for the Department’s Bureau of Abandoned Mine Reclamation, Division of Acid Mine Drainage Abatement, where he reviewed and created engineering designs for departmental mine reclamation, water supply replacements, mine fire control, subsidence control, abandoned mine lands projects, and other associated facilities.

Mr. Stefanko holds an Associate Degree in Mechanical Engineering from Pennsylvania State University, Altoona Campus, and a Bachelor’s Degree in Civil Engineer Technology from the University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown.

Deputy Chief of Staff

Sam Robinson joined the Wolf Administration in January 2015, serving in several roles in the Governor’s Office of Policy and Planning before being appointed deputy chief of staff in July 2018. Prior to joining the Wolf Administration, Sam served as an assistant city solicitor with the Philadelphia Law Department. A proud Philadelphian, Sam received his J.D. from The College of William & Mary and his bachelor’s degree in political science from Earlham College.

Senior Vice President and Chief Economist

Edward Sullivan is Chief Economist and Senior Vice President of Market Intelligence for PCA. He directs all PCA’s forward market assessments that support the industry’s planning efforts and market research. Ed’s analysis and views regarding the construction, cement and concrete industries is widely used in corporate planning efforts, the financial industry, and media. Ed’s analysis also supports the cement industry’s advocacy efforts in Washington, D.C. and to this end has testified before Congress.

Ed has been cited by the Chicago Federal Reserve as the most accurate forecaster among 30 top economists. Various other forecasting surveys have placed Ed among the most accurate construction economists in the country. Over the years, Ed has been named a “key influencer” in the domestic and international cement and concrete industry by various trade magazines. Ed is often sought as a keynote speaker at various industry events throughout the year.

Ed has more than 30 years of industrial economic analysis in support of senior executives and has played an important role in several U.S. Government automotive trade policy decisions. In the past, Ed has held the position of Vice President at Chase Manhattan Bank Economics, Standard & Poor’s, and Wharton Economics where he worked with Nobel Lauriat, Lawrence Klein. His background also includes positions as a senior intelligence officer at the Central Intelligence Agency, where he was awarded a commendation from Bob Gates (then Deputy Director of Intelligence and later Secretary of Defense). He was also an economist within the Office of Senator Edward M. Kennedy.

Ed has taught economics at St. Joseph’s and Villanova Universities in Philadelphia, Fairfield University in Connecticut, as well as Columbia and Fordham Universities in New York City.