SPC Elects New Regional Leadership
Rich Fitzgerald, Tony Amadio and Leslie Osche
Elected Chairman, Vice Chairman and Secretary-Treasurer
Pittsburgh — The Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission (SPC) Board has elected Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald as its new Chairman, Beaver County Commissioner Tony Amadio as Vice Chairman, and Butler County Commissioner Leslie Osche as Secretary-Treasurer. The team will play integral roles in coordinating economic development and transportation infrastructure investment decisions in Southwestern Pennsylvania.
“County Executive Fitzgerald, Commissioner Amadio and Commissioner Osche will be a strong team for the challenges ahead. SPC is the place to make real progress and this team knows the value of coming together at the regional table,” said Jim Hassinger, SPC Executive Director.
SPC’s new Chairman, Mr. Fitzgerald, is in his third and final term as Allegheny County Executive. Widely recognized for his work ethic, Rich is also well known for bringing together people and organizations on regional issues.
“The region has a diverse economy which relies heavily upon the transportation infrastructure,” Fitzgerald said. “Working together through the SPC and other unique partnerships, we will continue to advocate for transportation funding at the federal and state levels and lobby the state for other revenue options for out counties to provide investments in their own infrastructure to meet our local goals.”
In addition to serving as Chair of the SPC, County Executive Fitzgerald also holds a number of statutory board appointments and memberships, is a member of the board of the County Executives of America and the Remake Learning Council and is part of the National Association of County Officials (NACo) Large Urban County Caucus.
Beaver County Commissioner Tony Amadio has been elected as SPC’s Vice Chairman. Tony Amadio took office for his first term as a Beaver County Commissioner on January 4, 2008 and was honored to be selected as Chairman of the Board of the Beaver County Commissioners at that time. A career public servant, Mr. Amadio brings over three decades of experience as a teacher and twenty-four years of experience as a township supervisor to the Beaver County Courthouse.
Commissioner Amadio helped successfully negotiate the building of a multi-billion dollar petrochemical complex in Beaver County, which in turn prompted additional development. This helped bring thousands of construction jobs to the county. In addition, he worked closely with PennDOT and other officials to ensure the completion of Crow’s Run Road, a more efficient route from Beaver County to Cranberry Township.
Butler County Commissioner Leslie Osche has been elected as SPC’s Secretary-Treasurer. Commissioner Osche is currently serving as Chairman of the Board of Commissioners for the County of Butler. Her career spans 30 years in non-profit leadership serving in executive roles with United Way of Butler County, Butler County Chamber of Commerce, St. Barnabas Health System, Lifesteps, Inc. and the Three Rivers Arts Festival in Pittsburgh. She is a graduate of Butler High School and Duquesne University with a B.A. in Journalism and a minor in Honors English.
As Commissioner, she also serves on the Executive Board of the Tri- County Workforce Investment Board. She is a member of the Board of Fellows for the University of Pittsburgh’s Institute of Politics. She represents the Board of Commissioners on the Area Agency on Agency Committee; Parks and Recreation Committee; Children and Youth Advisory Board and the Emergency Communications Council. She and her fellow Commissioners were recently awarded the inaugural “Moe Coleman Let’s Work Together” Award, along with County Executive Fitzgerald, for demonstration of civil discourse and non-partisan cooperation.
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The Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission (SPC) is the region's forum for collaboration, planning and public decision-making. As the designated Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) for the ten-county region including the City of Pittsburgh and the counties of Allegheny, Armstrong, Beaver, Butler, Fayette, Greene, Indiana, Lawrence, Washington, and Westmoreland, SPC is responsible for planning and prioritizing the use of state and federal transportation funds allocated to the region. As the Local Development District (LDD) and Economic Development District for Southwestern Pennsylvania (as designated by the U.S. Appalachian Regional Commission and the U.S. Department of Commerce), SPC establishes regional economic development priorities and provides a wide range of public services to the region.
