Aleppo resident Frances Amatucci hopes to use her media, business and educational acumen for the betterment of the township.
She has an opportunity to do so as its newest commissioner.
“We enjoy a very high quality of life here,” Amatucci said in early March. “This area is lovely. It’s safe. It’s beautiful and I want to maintain that.”
Amatucci, 75, was unanimously appointed to the board of commissioners at a workshop meeting in February.
She first introduced herself to the board on Jan. 19.
How we got here
Amatucci fills a vacancy created by unfortunate events.
Commissioner Dan Darragh died Sept. 2. He was 78.
Appointed to the board in January 2016 for a two-year term, Darragh was elected to a four-year seat in November 2017 and again in November 2021, when he was the second top vote-getter behind commission President George Jones.
Resident Jed Michael was appointed to fill Darragh’s seat via a 3-0 vote at the September meeting. Commissioner Amy Richert was absent.
Darragh’s term was set to expire at the end of last year. He was still on the November ballot and won re-election.
Michael won a write-in campaign for a new term.
Amatucci’s appointment is for two years. She will have to run in the next municipal election to keep her seat.
Commission president Judy Haluka said Amatucci will make a fine addition to the board.
“Frances brings a lot to the table,” Haluka said March 11. “She is well versed in a number of areas including the environment, budgets and many more. She is active in the community and will make a wonderful and energetic addition to the commission.”
Resume and background
Amatucci was born in Braddock, lived in Irwin for a time and graduated from Bucks County Technical High School in 1968.
The oldest of six children, she credits her late father, Frank, a steel mill worker and entrepreneur, and mother Helen, with establishing a strong work ethic.
Her first job was at St. Frances Hospital in Trenton, N.J., as an EKG technician.
Amatucci moved to Massachusetts in 1976 and went to work in some of the major teaching hospitals in the area including UMass Memorial Medical Center and Brigham and Women’s Hospital.
She worked in health care for about 15 years prior to joining academia.
Amatucci has a bachelor’s in management/health care administration from UMass Boston, an MBA and a doctorate in strategic planning and policy from the University of Pittsburgh’s Joseph M. Katz Graduate School of Business.
“I didn’t have any money, and I didn’t even know if I would be able to go from year after year,” Amatucci said. “I would have loved philosophy, music, liberal studies, any of those kind of courses, but I was practical.
“Little did I know I was going to end up in academia. I studied business because it was practical and I could get a job if I majored in business. I knew I wanted to go forward.”
Amatucci had a stint at the University of New Brunswick St. John in Canada before moving back to Pennsylvania.
She serves as a professor at Slippery Rock University and teaches strategic planning and policy, entrepreneurship and sustainability at its Haverlack College of Business. She has been there for about 20 years.
“I’ve always had an interest in corporate social responsibility and ethics,” Amatucci said. “People say that business ethics is an oxymoron. I never believed that. One of the things I teach in my classes is the importance of social responsibility.”
Amatucci is excited about the new opportunity and serving the township.
“It’s very rewarding to work with these people, to be involved in the decision making,” Amatucci said. “There are things that I haven’t even thought about. Things that the commission does that I’m just learning. I’m new, but it’s fun so far and I’m really looking forward to it.”