Authority_October_2020

6 October 2020 - The Authority John Ber ti, Vice President John is the Data Processing and IT Manager at the Wyoming Valley San- itary Authority wastewater treatment plant in Wilkes-Barre, PA. He has served on the PMAA Confer- ence Committee, the Legislative Com- mittee (Chair), and as Region Director 3 from 2014-2019. His personal interests include running, cycling, and music. John is a graduate of Misericordia University with a Bachelor’s degree in Management of Information Technol- ogy and resides in Dallas, PA, with his wife, Kimberly. Melissa Komar, 2nd Vice President Melissa is a 2001 graduate of the University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown where she obtained a Bachelor of Sci- ence degree in Geography. After working in Pittsburgh as an environmental specialist for GAI Consultants she returned to Johnstown to raise her family. Melissa worked through the ranks within municipal government starting as the GIS Spe- cialist, Land Management Coordina- tor, Assistant City Manager and spent 2016 as the Interim City Manager. She is currently the Executive Director of the Johnstown Redevelopment Au- thority. The Authority also oversees Johnstown Regional Sewage. The Johnstown Redevelopment Authori- ty exists and operates for two public purposes: the elimination of blighted areas for residential, recreational, commercial, or industrial reuse; and to provide a suitable living environ- ment as well as adequate employment opportunities for the citizens of John- stown. ference in the region by taking positive action to invest in the community and sees social responsibility as an integral part of success. In 2017, Melissa was honored by the Young Professionals of the Alleghe- nies with the award for community involvement, as well as one of PA Business Central’s Foremost under 40. Melissa was also named the “2 Woman of the Year” in the category of “professional” by the YWCA of Great- er Johnstown. She serves on the John Murtha Johnstown – Cambria County Airport Authority, and the Greater Johnstown Community YMCA board of directors. Melissa serves on PMAA’s Women Innovation Networking (WIN) Steer- ing Committee, and was Region 6 Director. Its mission is to undertake urban re- newal and the continued revitalization of the City of Johnstown, using unified public and private partnerships while engaging citizens in a community vision for growth. In 2019, the Johnstown Redevelop- ment Authority was honored by the Cambria Regional Chamber of Com- merce with the Community Impact Award. This award recognizes an organization that is truly making a dif-