Local Man Named Head of Bridge Commission

From the Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission:

Ending a six-month search and review process, the Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission recently announced the appointment of Joseph J. Resta of Langhorne as the agency's new executive director.

Resta, 52, brings more than 30 years of public and private experience in capital project management, strategic planning, governmental administration, and operations leadership. He most recently served as project executive for the Pennsylvania Convention Center Expansion Project in Philadelphia, PA. - the largest public works project ever undertaken by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

The Commission anticipates that Resta will begin employment in mid-February. His starting salary will be $165,000.

"Joe Resta is a proven, talented leader with significant public-service and capital-projects experience," said Chairman David DeGerolamo. "We have every reason to believe that he will be a tremendous asset in guiding the Commission's transportation-service mission going forward."

"Every Commissioner agrees that Mr. Resta was an exceptional candidate for this position and we consider ourselves fortunate to have found an individual with such proven experience, strong credentials, and multiple accomplishments," said Vice Chairman Gaetan J. Alfano, Esq. "He's a perfect fit for the job responsibilities he will shoulder as this agency's new executive director."

Resta was one of 40 individuals who applied for the position after the Commission launched a national search last summer. A selection committee of Commissioners initially narrowed the field of job candidates to six and then to two.

"The Commission attracted a strong field of 40 candidates from a number of states and Joe Resta really stood out," said Commissioner Joseph Uliana, who spearheaded the executive director search effort. "It was an impressive field of applicants. But, in the end, Mr. Resta's expertise, record of successand strong leadership skills set him apart as the best person to leadthe Commission at this time."

As executive director, Resta will have administrative charge of all Commission activities. He serves directly under the agency's 10-member Board of Commissioners - five each from the states of New Jersey and Pennsylvania. The agency owns and operates 20 bridges - seven of which are toll crossings - between the two states. Other facilities include approach roadways and approach bridges, toll plazas, two open-road-tolling gantries, maintenance garages, and administrative offices. Commission bridges handled more than 139 million vehicles last year. The 2012 annual operating budget was $47.3 million and the agency has roughly 350 employees.

Resta has worked for the Pennsylvania Convention Center Authority since 2007, overseeing the award-winning 1-million-square-foot expansion of the convention center in Philadelphia. He delivered the project within the authorized budget and ahead of scheduled.

Prior to the convention center expansion project, he worked from 2005 to 2007 as the deputy secretary of public works for Pennsylvania's Department of Government Services. He has further prior experience in both the public and private sectors, including:

• Senior Consultant for Alta Management LLC in Philadelphia from 2000 to 2005;
• 1st Deputy Director of in the Capital Program Office for the City of Philadelphia from 1993 to 2000;
• Deputy Procurement Commissioner for the City of Philadelphia's Procurement Department from 1996 to 1998.

Married with four children, Resta holds a bachelor of arts in political science from Temple University, where he graduated cum Laude. He has served on Pennsylvania's State Registration Board of Professional Engineers, Land Surveyors and Geologists, and he has served as a member of the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation's Consultant Selection Committee.

Upon Resta's assumption of executive director duties next month, the current Acting Executive Director Arnold J. Conoline will resume his prior full-time duties as the Commission's Chief Administrative Officer.

"We were fortunate to have someone on staff like Arnie Conoline to guide the Commission while the search for a new permanent executive director was conducted," said Vice Chairman Alfano. "Arnie promises to be a valuable resource for Mr. Resta once he takes the reins of his new post."