Torsella, Joseph M., 1963-

<p>Joseph M. Torsella (born October 8, 1963) is an American politician and former diplomat, currently serving as the Pennsylvania Treasurer. Torsella was elected on November 8, 2016 to be the next Treasurer of Pennsylvania. He served as the U.S. Representative to the United Nations for Management and Reform (with the rank of ambassador) from 2011 to 2014. He previously served as President and CEO of the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia from 1997 though 2003 and again from 2006 through 2008 and as the Chairman of the Pennsylvania State Board of Education from 2008 through 2011.</p>

<p>After graduating from Wyoming Seminary, Torsella earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics and history from the University of Pennsylvania, graduating Phi Beta Kappa in 1986. As a Rhodes Scholar (1986–1990), he did graduate work in American History at New College, Oxford.</p>

<p>Torsella served as Philadelphia's Deputy Mayor for Policy and Planning for Mayor Ed Rendell (later Governor of Pennsylvania) from January 1992 to September 1993. He was not yet 30. Under Rendell, Torsella developed and implemented financial and labor reforms that led the city toward a fiscal rebound that the New York Times called "one of the most stunning turnarounds in recent urban history". The municipal renaissance was chronicled in journalist Buzz Bissinger's book A Prayer for the City, in which Torsella describes the Rendell administration's philosophy as "taking control of the government and restructuring it for effectiveness".</p>

<p>In 1988, the United States Congress passed and President Ronald Reagan signed the Constitution Heritage Act calling for the creation of a National Constitution Center to "disseminate information about the United States Constitution on a non-partisan basis in order to increase the awareness and understanding of the Constitution among the American people". The non-profit museum and education center was to be located in Philadelphia. But for almost a decade the project languished, financially troubled and inadequately focused.</p>

<p>By 1997, the Constitution Center was still not built and already had an operating deficit of $200,000 (Philadelphia Business Journal, January 3, 2003). That year, Philadelphia Mayor Ed Rendell asked Torsella to become President and CEO. Torsella raised $185 million in private and public funds, formed a board of trustees led by Vanguard Group founder John C. Bogle and got the project back on track. The National Constitution Center opened on July 4, 2003 in a modern glass-fronted 160,000-square-foot (15,000 m2) structure (designed by Henry H. Cobb of Pei Cobb Freed & Partners) located on the north end of Independence Mall.</p>

<p>In 2005, Torsella co-chaired the city of Philadelphia's bid for the 2016 Olympic Games, along with David L. Cohen, executive vice president of Comcast Corp , and Olympic gold medalist Dawn Staley. Chicago was ultimately selected as the U.S. Olympic bid city, but Torsella continued to serve as co-chairman of the Philadelphia Olympic and International Sports Project the successor organization to Philadelphia 2016 that attracted two Olympic team trial events, table tennis and gymnastics.</p>

<p>Torsella returned as President and CEO of the National Constitution Center in 2006, after his successor, Richard Stengel, left to become managing editor of Time magazine. Under Torsella's leadership, the Center became the permanent home of the annual Liberty Medal ceremony. The medal was presented in 2006 to former Presidents George H. W. Bush and Bill Clinton for their humanitarian work following Hurricane Katrina and the tsunami in Southeast Asia. In 2007, it went to Bono and DATA, the advocacy organization Bono co-founded for raising awareness about AIDS and extreme poverty in Africa. In 2008, the medal was presented to Mikhail Gorbachev to mark the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall.</p>

<p>In 2007, Torsella personally persuaded former President George H. W. Bush to serve as Chairman of the Board of Trustees, the only active board position President Bush then held. In 2008, Torsella announced that former President Bill Clinton would replace Bush as chairman as of January 1, 2009.</p>

<p>The Constitution Center also hosted key events during the 2008 presidential race. On March 18, 2008, then-Senator Barack Obama delivered his much-heralded speech on race relations in America at the Constitution Center, one that historians Garry Wills and Harold Holzer have compared to Abraham Lincoln's famous Cooper Union address. On April 16, 2008, the National Constitution Center hosted a Democratic presidential primary debate between Senators Obama and Hillary Clinton, the last and highest rated debate of the primary season. That evening, Torsella's appearance on The Colbert Report aired on Comedy Central, in a segment awarded "Best TV Performance" in Philadelphia Magazine's 2008 Best of Philly issue.</p>

<p>In 2008, on the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the Constitution Center launched an International Engagement Program to promote constitutional principles in emerging democracies by using the civic learning and educational initiatives it developed at the Constitution Center. The Program sought to bolster civil society in Afghanistan through partnerships with the Ministry of Education, the Marefet School and non-governmental organizations. The Constitution Center supported Nasim Fekrat, Afghanistan's leading blogger, to strengthen citizen journalism in the country. In addition, the Constitution Center provided Afghan students with digital cameras and camcorders to capture the sights and sounds of freedom, religious expression and other civic themes as part of its Being "We the People" exhibit project, which opened at the Constitution Center on August 24, 2009.</p>

<p>On December 11, 2008, Torsella announced that he would be stepping down as President and CEO of the Constitution Center at the end of January 2009. The Philadelphia Inquirer described his tenure as a "resounding success" and called him a "modern-day founding father."</p>

<p>In 2004, Torsella ran for a seat in the U.S. Congress in Pennsylvania's 13th congressional district. Torsella received endorsements from the region's major newspapers, including the Philadelphia Inquirer, but was outspent by close to $1 million, and lost in a close Democratic Party primary to Allyson Schwartz.</p>

<p>In 2009, Torsella announced his candidacy for the Democratic nomination in the 2010 U.S. Senate race in Pennsylvania. Tosella withdrew from the race after incumbent Senator Arlen Specter switched party affiliations from Republican to Democrat, citing a desire to avoid a potentially negative primary fight that would weaken Democratic chances in the November 2010 general election.</p>

<p>In 2016, Torsella was elected to Pennsylvania State Treasurer, beating Republican Otto Voit of Berks County. As Treasurer, Torsella is responsible for overseeing more than $100 billion in public assets, but his bigger challenge comes with changing the public perception. The position of treasurer was previously held by Timothy A. Reese, who was nominated and confirmed in June 2015 following the resignation of Rob McCord.</p>

<p>On August 13, 2008, Governor Edward G. Rendell named Torsella the Chairman of the Pennsylvania State Board of Education.</p>

<p>Under Torsella's leadership, the State Board passed a landmark reform strengthening high school graduation requirements on August 13, 2009; the reform requires students to demonstrate proficiency in core subjects such as math, science, English and social studies prior to receiving a diploma. When an earlier proposal for graduation testing ran into heavy opposition from statewide education groups and was reversed by the legislature, Torsella brokered a compromise initiative that was approved by the state's Independent Regulatory Review Commission on October 22, 2009 and took effect beginning with the 2010–2011 school year.</p>

<p>On June 10, 2010, Governor Rendell tapped Torsella to lead Pennsylvania's participation in Complete College America, a 22-state effort to significantly increase college completion and accessibility by 2020.</p>

<p>On November 15, 2010, Torsella was nominated by President Barack Obama to the position of U.S. Representative to the United Nations for Management and Reform, with the rank of Ambassador; on January 5, 2011, he was renominated after a lame duck session ended without his confirmation. He had a second hearing before the U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations on March 16, 2011 (with Sen. Robert Casey, Jr. acting as chairman) and was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on April 19, 2011.</p>

<p>Torsella was the architect and chief public spokesperson for the Obama Administration plans, released in 2012, for reform of the $36 billion UN system. In his testimony to the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Torsella said the UN "at its best" could be a "powerful tool" but that "too often, we have seen [the UN] at its worst," and criticized "waste, inefficiency…abuse…[and] political theater."</p>

<p>In 2015, Torsella announced his candidacy for State Treasurer of Pennsylvania. It was an open seat election. The position of treasurer was being held by Timothy A. Reese, who was nominated and confirmed in June 2015 following the resignation of Rob McCord. Reese promised not to run for election, when nominated for the appointment.</p>

<p>On November 8, 2016 Torsella was elected to Pennsylvania State Treasurer, defeating Republican Otto Voit III of Berks County. Torsella captured 50.66% of the vote, winning by a larger margin (380,593 votes) than any other statewide candidate.</p>

<p>Torsella was sworn in as Pennsylvania's State Treasurer on January 17, 2017.</p>

<p>His first act as Treasurer was instating a formal ban on third-party placement agents. In his first week in office, Torsella implemented the Treasury Department's first ever code of conduct policy. The policy covers all personnel involved with investment activities and their immediate family members. That same week Torsella reduced the size of the Department's vehicle fleet by more than half, returning eleven vehicles to the Commonwealth.</p>

<p>Torsella appointed the Department's first ever Chief Integrity Officer in February 2017. He appointed Kenya Mann Faulkner to the position. She served as Pennsylvania's Inspector General under Tom Corbett’s Administration. Torsella continued his pursuit of integrity and accountability with new pre-payment auditing practices for the Treasury's Bureau of Fiscal Review. The new practices save more than $50 million annually.</p>

<p>In April 2017, Torsella transitioned all public equity investment holdings to a low-cost, index investment strategy. The action is estimated to save taxpayers $5 million a year. The move to index investments reduces fees and risk on investments while improving returns for taxpayers.</p>

<p>In June 2017, Torsella led a bipartisan effort of fellow state treasurers to help protect American families and their ability to save for retirement.</p>

<p>Torsella has served as a trustee or advisor to many civic and non-profit organizations, including the Philadelphia Convention and Visitors Bureau; the Holocaust Awareness Museum; Historic Philadelphia, Inc.; the Pennsylvania Heritage Foundation; the Springside School; and the Knight Foundation. He has written widely on historical and contemporary issues, with some of his work published in the New York Times, the Philadelphia Inquirer, the Cleveland Plain Dealer, and the Miami Herald. Torsella is a sought-after public speaker, and has appeared frequently in national broadcast media, including appearances on ABC's Nightly News, Good Morning America and the Colbert Report.</p>

<p>In 1994, Torsella developed the Spaghetti Smock, a linen bib for adults.</p>

<p>In 2004, he founded a business consulting firm called 743 Ventures.</p>

<p>He and his wife, Carolyn Short Torsella live in Flourtown, Pennsylvania have four children.</p>

<p>The 77th treasurer of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania brings a record of leadership and integrity to Treasury that spans 25 years of public service. Ambassador (Ret.) Joseph M. Torsella was elected on November 8, 2016, and was sworn into office on January 17, 2017.</p>

<p>As the treasurer of Pennsylvania, Torsella oversees an office of 360 employees, which protects nearly $100 billion in state assets. The Pennsylvania treasurer or his designee serves on approximately 20 boards on Treasury’s behalf and chairs the Board of Finance & Revenue. He administers the unclaimed property program, manages the state’s 529 College and Career Savings Program and safeguards the financial health of the state.</p>

<p>Previously, from 2011-2014 Torsella served as the U.S. Representative to the United Nations, for budget and management reform. He was the architect and chief public spokesperson for the Obama Administration plans for reform of the $36 billion United Nations system. Between 2011 and 2014, Torsella advocated for United Nations budget restraint and achieved an unprecedented level of transparency, including webcasting of UN meetings and publication of United Nations audits.</p>

<p>Torsella also served as chair of the Pennsylvania State Board of Education. Under Torsella’s leadership, a milestone reform meant to strengthen high school graduation requirements was passed, requiring students to demonstrate proficiency in core subjects such as math, science, English and social studies before they can receive a diploma. Additionally, the Board took steps towards improved school safety and accessibility and affordability of higher education.</p>

<p>Torsella was the founding president and CEO of the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia, a non-profit museum and education complex. In 1997, after nearly a decade of financially troubled planning following the signing of the Constitution Heritage Act by President Ronald Reagan, Torsella spearheaded the project by raising $185 million in private and public funds and forming a board of trustees, and the National Constitution Center opened on July 4, 2003. Under his leadership, the Center became the permanent home of the annual Liberty Medal ceremony, which has celebrated former U.S. Presidents George H. W. Bush and Bill Clinton. Torsella’s tenure at the National Constitution Center has been described by the Philadelphia Inquirer as a “resounding success” by a “modern-day founding father.”</p>

<p>As Philadelphia’s deputy mayor for policy and planning under then-Mayor Ed Rendell in the early 1990s, Torsella helped develop initiatives to resolve the city’s $1.25 billion deficit in “one of the most stunning turnarounds in the nation,” as stated by the New York Times.</p>

<p>In addition to his career in public service, Torsella served a co-chair of the Greater Philadelphia bid for the 2016 Olympic Games, is a former successful small business owner, has served on several corporate boards and was a Distinguished Visiting Fellow in Public Policy at Drexel University.</p>

<p>Raised in Berwick, Pa., Torsella is a graduate of Wyoming Seminary preparatory school and an honors graduate of the University of Pennsylvania, Phi Beta Kappa, with a degree in economics and history. He studied American History at New College, Oxford, as a Rhodes Scholar. He lives in Flourtown with his wife Carolyn, and they are proud parents to four children.</p>

<p>Torsella has spent his career as a voice for smart policy, fiscal responsibility and public integrity on issues that will shape the future of Pennsylvania. From Philadelphia’s City Hall to the National Constitution Center to the halls of the United Nations, his work is a reflection of his background in public service and leadership, which has earned him a reputation as a voice of purpose, honor and vision.</p>