Governor Corbett Appoints New Members to Delaware River Port Authority

HARRISBURG, Pa., Feb. 28, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- – Governor Tom Corbett today announced that he would be appointing new members to the Delaware River Port Authority, or DRPA. The new members are:

• Joann Bell, head of the Philadelphia office of the government relations firm of Pugliese Associates. Bell was the first appointed executive director of the Governor's Advisory Commission on African American Affairs in 1992 under then-Governor Robert P. Casey.
• Joanna Cruz, an attorney with the law firm of Kerns, Pearlstine, Onorato & Hladik in Upper Gwynedd. Cruz, a former public defender, is a member of the Montgomery County and Pennsylvania Bar Associations as well as the Pennsylvania Hispanic Bar Association.
• Walter D'Alessio, vice chairman of NorthMarq Capital, a real estate investment banking firm, and senior managing director of NorthMarq Advisors, a real estate consulting group, with offices in Philadelphia. Throughout his career, D'Alessio has served on various corporate and non-profit boards and committees.
• William Sasso, board chairman at the Stradley Ronon Stevens & Young law firm in Philadelphia. Sasso is a well-known civic leader in the region and is active in an array of community organizations.
• David Simon, senior vice president and general counsel for Jefferson Health System in Philadelphia. Simon formerly served as general counsel to the Pennsylvania Insurance Department.

Gov. Corbett also named himself to the authority.

The Delaware River Port Authority of Pennsylvania and New Jersey is a regional transportation agency. DRPA owns and operates the Benjamin Franklin, Walt Whitman, Commodore Barry, and Betsy Ross bridges. All four bridges are part of the E-ZPass Electronic Toll Collection network. Through a subsidiary, the Port Authority Transit Corp., DRPA runs PATCO, and also owns the RiverLink Ferry and the Philadelphia Cruise Terminal.

Media contact:  Kevin Harley, 717-783-1116

SOURCE Pennsylvania Office of the Governor