Robert F. Powelson

Robert F. Powelson serves as Chairman of the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission (PUC). Chairman Powelson was first nominated to the PUC on June 19, 2008, by Governor Edward G. Rendell to fill the remainder of an unexpired term. The Pennsylvania Senate unanimously confirmed Chairman Powelson to serve as Commissioner on June 30, 2008. Commissioner Powelson was renominated by Governor Rendell for a full five-year term on February 12, 2009, and once again unanimously confirmed by the Pennsylvania Senate on April 22, 2009.

On February 24, 2011, Governor Tom Corbett appointed Powelson Chairman of the PUC. Chairman Powelson’s term expires on April 1, 2014.

On March 8, 2011, Governor Corbett invited Chairman Powelson to serve as a member of the Marcellus Shale Advisory Commission. The Commission reviewed the Commonwealth’s existing statutes, regulations and policies and provided recommendations to ensure that Pennsylvania maximizes the opportunity that Marcellus Shale presents in the most responsible manner possible.

Chairman Powelson was appointed to the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC) Board of Directors on March 16, 2011.  In addition, Chairman Powelson is Chair of NARUC's Committee on Water. Chairman Powelson has been appointed to represent the Water Committee on NARUC’s Task Force on Climate Policy. He is also a member of the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) Advisory Board.

Previously, Chairman Powelson served as the President of the Chester County Chamber of Business & Industry, a 1,600-member business organization that he joined in 1994. During his tenure as President and CEO, the Accrediting Board of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce awarded the Chester County Chamber a Three Star Accreditation standard of excellence. In 2005, he was selected by the Eisenhower Presidential Fellows to be a U.S. fellow in Singapore and Australia.

Prior to joining the Chester County Chamber, Chairman Powelson was the Director of Government Relations for the Delaware County Chamber, where he helped to design the county’s economic development strategy. From 1990-1991, Chairman Powelson served as a Staff Assistant to Congressman Curt Weldon.

Chairman Powelson holds a Bachelor of Administration degree from St. Joseph’s University and a Master of Governmental Administration degree from the University of Pennsylvania with a concentration in public finance.  In 2012, Chairman Powelson was nominated to serve on the Board of Trustees at Drexel University.

A native of Delaware County, Chairman Powelson and his wife, Lauren, and sons, Ryan and Shane, reside in Kennett Square.

John F. Coleman Jr.

John F. Coleman Jr. serves as Vice Chairman of the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission (PUC).  Vice Chairman Coleman was first nominated to serve as Commissioner by Governor Edward G. Rendell on June 2, 2010, and subsequently confirmed by the Pennsylvania Senate on June 15, 2010. Vice Chairman Coleman was elected by his fellow Commissioners to the position of Vice Chairman on February 24, 2011. On February 17, 2012, Governor Tom Corbett renominated Vice Chairman Coleman, who was unanimously confirmed by the Pennsylvania Senate on April 2, 2012. Vice Chairman Coleman's term will expire April 1, 2017.

Vice Chairman Coleman serves as a member of the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC) Committee on Gas.  He is also a member of NARUC's Pipeline Safety Committee. Vice Chairman Coleman was appointed to the Pennsylvania Energy Development Authority (PEDA) for a two-year term on Sept. 1, 2011. He is also a member of the Board of Directors of the Mid-Atlantic Conference of Regulatory Utilities Commissioners.

Prior to joining the Commission, Vice Chairman Coleman served 12 years as the President/Chief Executive Officer of the national-accredited Chamber of Business and Industry of Centre County, the largest member-based business organization in Central Pennsylvania, based in State College. In this capacity, the Vice Chairman also served as the President and Chief Executive Officer of the Centre County Industrial Development Corporation, an entrepreneurial development and business finance corporation.

Vice Chairman Coleman graduated from Saint Francis University, with a bachelor’s of science degree in business management. He is a certified Economic Development Professional, and a graduate of the United States Chamber of Commerce Institute of Organizational Management at Notre Dame.

Vice Chairman Coleman is a founding investor and Corporate Treasurer of SilcoTek, a performance coating company headquartered in Bellefonte, Pennsylvania. He and his wife Julie live in Port Matilda, with their children Allie and Tyler.

Wayne E. Gardner

Wayne E. Gardner was nominated on June 19, 2008, by Gov. Edward G. Rendell to a five-year term on the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission (PUC). He was confirmed unanimously by the Pennsylvania Senate on June 30, 2008. His term is scheduled to expire on April 1, 2013.

Since joining the PUC Commissioner Gardner has focused on reliability, price competitiveness, security of supply, and customer service for the consumers and utilities of the Commonwealth, as well as other policies as developed by the legislature and specifically Act 129. Commissioner Gardner serves on the board of directors for the Environmental Quality Board, the Mid-Atlantic Conference of Regulatory Utilities Commissioners (MACRUC), and the Electricity Committee of the National Association of Regulatory Utilities Commissioners (NARUC).  Commissioner Gardner also is a member of the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (Natural) Gas Pipeline Safety Standards Committee.

Immediately prior to joining the PUC, Commissioner Gardner partnered in developing wind power projects in Namaqualand, Northern Cape Province, South Africa.

From April 2002 to December 2005, Commissioner Gardner served as vice president and general manager of Franklin Fuel Cells Inc., where he oversaw its formation, development and day-to-day operations.

Previously, Commissioner Gardner served in several operational and managerial capacities over a 20-plus-year career at PECO Energy Company, including investments, strategy, new business development, field service and power plant operations. Upon formally retiring from Exelon Corporation in 2002, Commissioner Gardner joined EnerTech Capital Partners as a venture partner, where he facilitated investment transactions in the energy and telecom technology sectors, and worked as an operational consultant to EnerTech companies on an interim basis.

Commissioner Gardner holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from Drexel University in Philadelphia, is chairman emeritus of the Distributed Power Coalition of America (DPCA), and served on the Steering Committee - Distributed Resources Task Force for the Edison Electric Institute. He also has earned certificates from studies at The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, Cornell University, and the American Management Association in Chicago.

Commissioner Gardner was born in Birmingham, Alabama, and attended high school in Philadelphia. Commissioner Gardner resides in Downingtown, Chester County, PA.  He is single with no children (except for Corey, Fatima, Sophia, Natalie, Tahira, Thu, Yamil and of course Natalya. He is also Pop-Pop to DeCor, Madison, Savanah and Hannah).

James H. Cawley

Commissioner Cawley is a 1967 graduate of St. Bonaventure University and a 1970 graduate of Notre Dame Law School. He began his legal career in 1970 as one of the seven original law clerks serving the judges (in his case, Judge Glenn E. Mencer) of the newly-created Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania. He was later appointed Majority Counsel to the Pennsylvania Senate Consumer Affairs Committee where he drafted several major amendments to Pennsylvania’s public utility laws and assisted with codification of those laws. In 1977, he was appointed Chief Counsel to the Senate Majority Floor Leader. Thereafter, he was twice nominated and confirmed as a member of the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission, serving from November 1979 until September 1985. He then practiced law with a concentration on administrative law and appellate practice. His clients included a wide array of public utilities and competitive telephone, electric and natural gas providers.

He currently serves as Adjunct Professor of Administrative Law at Widener University School of Law.  In 2009, he received the school's Adjunct Faculty Distinguished Service Award.  For many years, he has been a faculty member of Pennsylvania Bar Institute courses on appellate advocacy, public utility law and ethics.

He returned to the Commission in 2005, serving as both Vice Chairman and Chairman, and received an additional term ending March 31, 2015.

On January 27, 2010, he was appointed by the Federal Communications Commission to serve as one of the four state utility regulators on the Federal-State Joint Board for Universal Service created by Congress in 1996 to ensure the availability of telecommunications services throughout the nation.  He was elected State Chairman of the Board in January 2011.

Pamela A. Witmer

Pamela A. Witmer took the oath of office as a Pennsylvania Public Utility Commissioner on June 30, 2011. She was nominated to serve as Commissioner by Gov. Tom Corbett on June 7, 2011, and unanimously confirmed by the Senate on June 27, 2011. Commissioner Witmer’s term will expire April 1, 2016.

In her confirmation hearing remarks, Witmer promised she would be a “strong, independent Commissioner, thinker and decision-maker on behalf of Pennsylvania’s consumers.”

Witmer most recently led the energy and environment practice for Harrisburg-based Bravo Group, a governmental and public relations firm. She also recently served on the Corbett Transition Team’s Energy & Environment Committee.

From 2000 to 2007, she was President and CEO of the Pennsylvania Chemical Industry Council, a trade association. She formerly served in the Department of Environmental Protection under Gov. Tom Ridge as the lead legislative liaison, where she successfully steered legislation through the General Assembly to create the Department of Environmental Protection and the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources. She also previously worked as a research analyst for the Pennsylvania House of Representatives.

Commissioner Witmer has served as a member of Women in Pennsylvania Government Relations and the Pennsylvania Association for Government Relations, and has been involved with the Historical Society of East Hanover Township, the YMCA Youth and Government Program, and the Escape Center for Domestic Violence.

Witmer earned a bachelor’s degree in public service from the Pennsylvania State University.

A native of Altoona in Western Pennsylvania, Commissioner Witmer resides in Susquehanna Township, Dauphin County.