MIDDLETOWN, Pa. — Penn State Harrisburg has announced the recipients of the college’s annual Alumni Achievement Awards. One graduate from each of the college’s five academic schools earned the accolade thanks to their outstanding professional accomplishments.
A ceremony to recognize award recipients was held on Oct. 6.
2022 Alumni Achievement Awards Winners (l to r): Tom Stoessel, Tracy Brundage, and Scott Kupper (Not pictured: Jacquelyn Anderson and John Saich).
Tracy Brundage, class of 1997, Master of Education in training and development, School of Behavioral Sciences and Education
Brundage holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Gettysburg College, as well as a Master of Education in training and development from Penn State Harrisburg and a doctoral degree in workforce education and development from Penn State.
She has 30 years of experience in a wide variety of academic and operational leadership, strategic planning, and organizational development positions both in higher education and the private sector.
Before beginning as president of Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College in Tifton, Georgia, this summer, Brundage served as the president of Keystone College in La Plume, Pennsylvania, where she also served as provost and vice president for academic affairs.
Prior to Keystone, she served as vice president of workforce development at the Pennsylvania College of Technology in Williamsport. She is also a former faculty member at Penn College and the Harrisburg Area Community College, and she served as director of Continuing Education at Penn State York.
Jacquelyn Anderson, class of 2000, Bachelor of Arts in professional accountancy, School of Business Administration
Anderson received her Bachelor of Arts in professional accountancy from Penn State Harrisburg in 2000. She is a CPA and chartered property casualty underwriter and in 2021, she completed the advanced finance program at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School. Anderson is the senior vice president, CFO, and treasurer at Penn National Insurance, and has been employed by the company since December 2012.
She is responsible for the company’s strategic direction in the areas of finance, investment, treasury, accounting, and actuarial and enterprise risk management. Prior to joining Penn National Insurance, she worked as a certified public accountant for Brown, Schultz, Sheridan, and Fritz.
Anderson volunteers her time by serving on many different nonprofit boards, including the Dauphin County Library System’s, where she is a Board of Trustees member and treasurer; the United Way of the Capital Region as a finance committee member; the YWCA, where she is an association board member; and the Shiloh Church of God In Christ as an executive board member.
Tom Stoessel, class of 1995, Bachelor of Humanities in communications, School of Humanities
Stoessel is the executive vice president and chief strategy and transformation officer for the Penn State Health system. His role is focused on the development and execution of Penn State Health’s strategic plan, driving clinical program expansion and partnerships with regional community systems, physician practices and industry partners. He prepared for that role through more than 25 years of leadership and executive management experience in the health care environment.
Stoessel earned his Bachelor of Humanities in communications at Penn State Harrisburg in 1995. He took his first classes in journalism, media theory, advertising, and crisis communications, classes that would serve him in his career development and help develop his interest in business strategy. He further honed his skills as a Penn State Smeal College of Business Master of Business Administration student, graduating from that program in 2011.
Prior to joining Penn State Health, Stoessel served the former PinnacleHealth as senior vice president, strategic planning and business development. He was responsible for developing the high-level strategic direction for the organization, incremental strategies and annual plans of execution.
John Saich, class of 1998, Master of Public Administration, School of Public Affairs
Saich received his bachelor’s degree from Penn State in 1991, and his Master in Public Administration from Penn State Harrisburg in 1998.
He has worked in the healthcare field for more than 31 years. He began working at Select Medical, which is headquartered in Mechanicsburg, in 1998. He now serves as Select’s executive vice president and chief administrative officer. In that role, Saich is responsible for overseeing all aspects of the human resources and employment services functions for Select’s more than 53,000 employees nationwide. Among the responsibilities in his portfolio are oversight of shared services, outpatient and inpatient rehabilitation, outpatient provider-based rehabilitation, occupational medicine, and inpatient critical illness recovery hospitals.
His role also includes the oversight of leadership development; organization dynamics and organizational development; strategic planning and execution; employee engagement; succession planning; recruitment and retention of talent; payroll services; tax services; employee safety; benefit services; and management of employee relations. In addition, he partners with executive leaders in Information Services, Construction and Procurement, Communication and Branding, Flight Services, and the Outpatient Rehabilitation division to collaborate and align with evolving business and operational needs.
Saich was recognized by Select Medical with its Legend Award in May 2018. Additionally, he was honored with the Human Resources Excellence Award in 2007. He has served on and, throughout his career, contributed to the Client Adviser Board for Fidelity and TalentPlus, and has served the TalentPlus Legacy Leaders Program since 2019. Since 2008, Saich has served the community as a member of the Board of Trustees for Junior Achievement of South Central Pennsylvania.
Scott Kupper, class of 1993 and 1996, Bachelor of Science in electrical engineering technology and Master of Engineering Science, School of Science, Engineering, and Technology
Kupper earned a Bachelor of Science in electrical engineering technology from Penn State Harrisburg in 1993, and then returned in 1996 to complete a Master of Engineering Science program. Additionally, he earned a technical leadership certificate from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2019.
With more than 28 years of experience, and as founder and president of Kupper Engineering, he specializes in renewable energy and distributed generation projects, including solar, cogeneration/combined heat and power, and landfill gas generation sites up to 200 megawatts. He started Kupper Engineering in 2004 as a commercial and industrial consulting engineering firm and has grown the business to include renewable energy and a systems integration/controls division.
In 2020, Kupper Engineering became a member of the Asplundh/UtiliCon family of companies. Since the acquisition, Kupper’s team has grown to over 60 employees, with Kupper continuing to serve as president.
He holds professional engineering licenses in 34 states and is a member of the Association of Energy Engineers, National Fire Protection Association, Institute of Electronics and Electrical Engineers, National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying, and the National Society of Professional Engineers.
In support of Penn State Harrisburg electrical engineering students, Kupper Engineering established an endowed scholarship in 2018. Most recently, the company has gifted 25 solar panels in support of the college’s Solar Decathlon project, helping to provide students with practical experience in the renewables industry.
