Directors' & Others' Bios

Directors and Others Bios

Harrison Bink, Director

Harrison Bink is a U.S. Registered Architect in several Mid Atlantic and New England States, currently expanding to an international practice in collaboration with architects in Maharashtra, India. Harrison was born in Pennsylvania to Harry Luther Bink, the Architect son of the Pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church in Camp Hill and mother Jean Fergusson from Wormleysburg. An art major from Cedar Cliff High School, and an Architecture graduate of Rhode Island School of Design, he studied in Rome in the European Honors Program in the ‘70’s, and in Beijing in the 80’s as a guest of the Architecture Department of Tsing Hua University, with Construction Project Management certificates as continuing education at Harvard GSD, and numerous conferences on Education, most recently CEFPI in Columbia University last year.
He has worked for both large and small Architecture, A/Interiors and A/Engineering firms, most recently as the Director of Design for the international firm of Buchart Horn. After starting his own firm of LPBA/Architects in Boston in the 80’s, he returned to Pennsylvania to work with his father and partners at Bogar, Bink and Kuntz, then Bink Associates, ultimately acquiring sole ownership of Bink Architectural Partnership, an award winning mid-sized Architecture and Interiors Firm for the next 21 years. Harrison is the sole proprietor of Bink Architects currently.
Mr. Bink is also a LEED Accredited Professional and a member of US Green Building Council, the Council for Educational Facility Planners International and the National Council of Architectural Registration Boards #45800. As a current American Institute of Architecture member since the 70’s, he served ultimately as the Central Pennsylvania Chapter Board President, and served on several non-profit Boards, currently as an officer of the South Central Assembly.
Along with Nicole and his two children, Jack and Charlotte, he enjoys the adventure of travel to exotic destinations, fine food and wines, theater of all types, and irreverent and joyful optimism!

Philip Briddell, Director

Philip W. Briddell is a project manager and real estate consultant for Susquehanna Real Estate (SRE) of York, PA. He previously served in the same capacity for the Susquehanna-Pfaltzgraff Co. since 2000. SRE is a real estate development and management company whose primary focus has been in the cities of Central Pennsylvania. The company has been an active and award winning developer of loft condominiums in York and Wilkes-Barre, industrial warehousing in York, mixed use commercial/hotel/residential in State College, and commercial projects in York, Harrisburg, Elizabethtown and Lancaster. Phil has enjoyed the process of creating new market opportunities and the associated challenges with all aspects of project development and construction. He has also served as an advisor to various property owners ranging from colleges, non-profits, public and private interests on real estate acquisition, developmental analyses, and disposition.
Prior to his association with SRE, Phil, following a family tradition of entrepreneural pursuit, was the co-owner of a manufacturing business in York, PA for 20 years. His early career began with a position as Sr. Planner for the City of York with a primary focus on the implementation of community and economic development projects associated with the CDBG program.
This early involvement with city and the greater York area led to a life-long participation in various community-based interests. The diverse nature of each of these civic associations has been a privilege, a personal growth opportunity, a social experience and, at times, the most exasperating experience ever. Nevertheless, it was a thoroughly enjoyable and rewarding ride.
Twelve years as a Commissioner for York Township, eight President; ten years as a Commissioner for the York Area Regional Police, four as Chairman; three years on the PA Municipal Officers Police Training & Education Commission; twenty-five years as a member of the York City Sewer Authority, ten as Chairman; and six years on the Chesapeake Bay Program Local Government Advisory Committee, three as Chair of the Pennsylvania Representatives.
Currently Phil is enjoying the fruits of hands-on participation by serving on the Boards of the York Habitat for Humanity, the Jewish Community Center, and the Redevelopment Authority for the County of York.
Mr. Briddell is a graduate of Union College in Schenectady, NY with a B.S. in Biology & Economics and later obtained a Masters of Urban & Regional Planning from Penn State Univ. in Middletown, PA. He lives in York Township with his wife, enjoying his time with friends, the yard, photography, and an occasional ski trip with his two grown daughters.

Matthew Candland, Director

Matthew Candland serves as the Carlisle Borough Manager where he oversees the daily operations of the Borough along with ensuring the implementation of Borough Council legislation and policy. Prior to this, he served as Town Manager for the Town of Sykesville, MD for over 17 years.
Mr. Candland has considerable experience in downtown revitalization, historic preservation, and Brownsfield property redevelopment.
He lives in Carlisle with his wife and children. His interests include American history, antique auto restoration, woodworking, and spending time with his family.
Mr. Candland holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in English and American Studies from Brigham Young University, a Master of Public Administration degree from North Carolina State University, and a Master of Business Administration from Frostburg State University.

Bev Cigler, Director

Bev Cigler, Ph.D., is a Professor of Public Policy and Administration, Penn State Harrisburg (PSH) and an elected Fellow, National Academy of Public Administration. She specializes in intergovernmental relations, especially state-local relations, multi-community collaboration, alternative service delivery, emergency management, public finance, and general issues of governance.
Bev is an active researcher, writer and editor and has had leadership positions with national professional organizations. Much of her published work has received national and state funding and includes approximately 165 peer reviewed articles/chapters, several co-authored books, and dozens of professional essays. Dr. Cigler has served on 15 editorial boards, many for the leading journals in her field, and has presented dozens of academic conference papers. She has delivered approximately 225 speeches, workshops and testimony to national, regional, and state associations of officials, government organizations, and state legislatures and is frequently interviewed by the media.
Cigler received the PSH Faculty Excellence in Research Award; the Donald Stone Award for Intergovernmental Scholarship and Research from the American Society for Public Administration; and awards for public service—Friend of County Government Award, County Commissioners Association of Pennsylvania; Honor Roll of Distinguished Women in PA; and Special Recognition Award, Academy for Excellence in County Government. She received a Distinguished Alumna Award from Thiel College, a National Service Award from the Rural Economic Development for Community Self-Reliance Program, an MS Leadership Award and, a Legislative Citation from the PA House of Representatives. Bev was a NASPAA-FEMA Fellow (National Association of Schools of Public Affairs and Administration-Federal Emergency Management Agency). She was also a Visiting Scholar in the Office of Legislative Research Liaison (LORL) of the PA General Assembly and was later a Faculty Research Associate there. She has testified at many legislative hearings on numerous occasions, organized legislative briefings, and prepared written research reports.
Cigler is Secretary of the Board of Directors of the Keystone Research Center in Harrisburg, PA. She sits on advisory committees for the state associations of municipal managers, county elected and appointed officials, as well as the National Center for the Study of Counties. She serves on advisory committees of the Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center and the Metropolitan Policy Center at the University of Pittsburgh. She served on board of directors of the Bureaucrat, Inc., Washington, DC.

Ray D'Agostino, Director

Ray D’Agostino is the Executive Director of the Lancaster Housing Opportunity Partnership (LHOP), a county-wide community benefit organization that is focused on affordable and fair housing education, financing and advocacy. Previous to serving as the Executive Director, he served on the Board of Directors. Previous to his current position, Ray served as the first Chief of Staff for State Senator Smucker and spent 17 years in municipal and authority management. He is a retired veteran of the armed forces having served 22 years in the U.S Naval Reserve and PA Army National Guard.
In his role as municipal manager he has overseen the development and implementation of several community strategic comprehensive plans and co-authored a chapter in a recently published book on regional planning. Ray has also been extensively involved in developing and refining municipal finance practices and policies, including operations and capital improvement budgeting, documenting internal controls and administrative procedures. He sits on several boards and commissions including the Lancaster County Planning Commission, Lancaster County Smart Growth Coalition, the Lancaster County Transportation Coordinating Committee and the South Central PA Assembly.
Ray holds an MPA and BSEd, both from Shippensburg University and is a certified Housing Development Finance Professional. He lives in Lampeter with his wife and two children.

Beth Ellis, Director

Beth is a Regional Housing Coordinator with the Self Determination Housing Project of Pennsylvania. She serves Perry, Cumberland, Dauphin, Franklin, Adams and York Counties as a resource and advocate for affordable and accessible housing for people with physical disabilities.
Prior to her current work, Beth was an Urban Planner for the City of Harrisburg for over seven years. Her focus was historic preservation planning and accessibility for historic buildings.
Beth is originally from Wisconsin, having received her BA from the University of Wisconsin – Eau Claire, with additional graduate work at the University of Wisconsin and the University of Oregon. She earned her Master’s Degree in Historic Preservation from Goucher College in 2007.
Beth serves on the Cumberland County Housing Trust Fund Board. She lives in Camp Hill with her husband, Chris, and two sons.

George Klaus, Director, Secretary

George is currently a Board member of the Housing Alliance of Pennsylvania, the South Central Assembly, and the York Housing Advisory Commission. He is active with the York Housing Task Force and Penn State University’s Economic Development Course Advisory Board.
Retired from federal service in 2010 as Southeast Area Director, USDA Rural Development, where he managed staff and financial assistance serving southeast Pennsylvania communities through single and multi-family housing, community facilities, infrastructure, energy and business development programs.
From 1969 to 1996, he served the Pennsylvania Department of Community Affairs in several capacities: Director of the Bureau of Local Government Services, Chief of DCA’s Municipal Training and Municipal Consulting Divisions, and Acting Secretary and later Acting Deputy Secretary of DCA.
From 1996 to 1998, he organized and was Director of the Pennsylvania Municipal Training Partnership and Director of Education for the Pa State Assn. of Boroughs.
From 1998 to 2002, he served as Community Builder, U.S. Dept. Housing & Urban Development, covering 26 central Pennsylvania counties.
He received a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science from Alfred University and a Master’s in Public Administration from the Maxwell School at Syracuse University.
George has lived on a small farm in Dillsburg, York County for the last 33 years, raising bamboo, Christmas trees, and an occasional ruckus.

Anthony Salomone, Director

Graduated from Kent State University (B.A., 1968)(M.P.A., Public Administration, 1969); Served as an Assistant Professor at Ohio Northern University; Former Chief of the Municipal Consulting Division, Department of Community Affairs; Former Director of the Office of Policy Development; Former Executive Director of the Public Employee Retirement Commission; and currently is the Chairman of the Public Employee Retirement Commission and Chairman of the Susquehanna Township Authority.

Stephen Scanlon,
Assembly Coordinator

Stephen Scanlon currently serves as the Assembly’s part-time generalist/coordinator. He joined the Assembly in 2004 to provide support to its housing, predatory lending, and human services initiatives.
Stephen is passionate about regional collaborative efforts through research as an evaluator, cultural geographer, and community and regional planner, and through his work with community benefit organizations. During the day, he is employed with the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services.
He holds a B.A. in Anthropology from McGill University, a Masters of Liberal Arts with emphasis in cultural geography from Boston University, and has done graduate coursework with the Community and Regional Planning program at Temple University in Harrisburg. Stephen sleeps in Marietta, Lancaster County but is wedded to the south central region of Pennsylvania.

Ann Simonetti,
President

Ann has served on Marysville Borough Council since 1999; assisted DCED with the establishment of the Perry County Council of Governments; serves on the Local Government Advisory Committee for the Chesapeake Bay Program since 2004; serves on the Local Technical Advisory Committee for PennDOT’s LTAP program since 2006; and, presently is employed as the Executive Director of the Capital Region COG since 2011.
She is the proud recipient of the 2007 Recipient of the Governors Award for Local Government Excellence; 2013 COG Recipient - Governors Award for Local Government Excellence; served as PA State Association of Boroughs president 2006-07 and, PA Council of Governments president 2003-04.
Ann enjoys gardening and quilting in additional to local governance. She especially enjoys time spent with family who live around the globe. She said that gives her more places to visit.

Stephen Snell,
Vice President

Steve has served as the Executive Officer of the REALTORS Association of York & Adams Counties since 1985.   The association and its staff provide a variety of business services to real estate professionals and support housing policy in the community.
Steve serves on the York City/County Housing Advisory Commission and has served on the boards of the York County Economic Development Corporation, the local NAACP, his church and as President of York County CrimeStoppers. He chaired the housing task force of the Healthy York County Coalition and also served in 2010 and 2011 on the campaign cabinet for the United Way of York County.   He is an active member of Rotary.
He attended Susquehanna University, earned his undergraduate degree from the University of Kentucky and his MEd from Millersville University.   Steve and his wife live in Red Lion.

Tim Whelan, Director

Tim Whelan has served as the Vice-President for Community Impact with the United Way of the Capital Region since February 2001. In this capacity, he is responsible for implementing the United Way’s “community building” activities which focus on developing the Capital Region’s capacity to respond to human service needs. In addition, he oversees the organization’s fund distribution process, Volunteer Center and community research activities.
Tim previously served as Executive Director of the Ned Smith Center for Nature and Art and the South Central Pennsylvania Food Bank. In addition, he worked as the first Eastern Region Coordinator for Second Harvest, the National Network of Food Banks and for the American Red Cross, Baltimore Regional Chapter in Disaster Services.
Whelan holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Frostburg State College in History, Far Eastern Concentration and a Master of Social Work degree from the University of Maryland at Baltimore.
A native of Washington, D.C., he resides in Harrisburg, PA with his wife Barbara Miller. His son, Noah is a teacher and resides in Pittsburgh, PA, and stepdaughter, Sara Miller is pursuing her doctorate at Boston College and resides in Brighton, MA.

Craig Zumbrun, Director

Wm. Craig Zumbrun has worked in the fields of housing, planning, and community development for over 40 years. He has worked at the city, county, regional, and state levels and has led consulting work on land use, housing policy, and tax implications of land use. His experience includes training for NCHM on housing development and on sustainable and green development for HUD.
He studied Humanities and Urban and Regional Planning at the graduate level at Penn State Harrisburg and has an undergraduate degree in English from Shippensburg University. As Deputy Executive Director, Mr. Zumbrun currently directs planning and development at York Housing Authority and their affiliated non-profit entities.
Craig served as the South Central Assembly’s first executive director from 1998 until 2008. He serves on a number of boards dedicated to state housing policy, historic preservation, regional transit initiatives, smart growth, and sustainable community development. Craig lives in the City of York. He pursues a continuing interest in musical performance and performs with his Celtic folk band, From the Well.