Department of General Services Secretary Curt Topper will be leaving his position on June 30 and on June 10, Gov. Tom Wolf announced that he plans to name Joseph Lee the Acting Secretary in his place.
“Curt is an innovative and forward-thinking leader, and in his time at the Department of General Services he has overseen ground-breaking projects to lower costs while improving services,” Gov. Wolf said. “The work of the Department of General Services often takes place behind the scenes, but it plays a crucial role in supporting the mission of every other commonwealth agency. I am grateful for Curt’s service to our commonwealth. Under Curt’s leadership, Pennsylvania has lowered the cost for goods and services purchased by state agencies, increased opportunity for small, diverse and veteran-owned businesses, received national recognition for the modernization of the commonwealth’s construction management process, and so much more.”
Secretary Topper has been the secretary since 2015 and before that he was the deputy secretary of procurement for the commonwealth of Pennsylvania from 2005 to 2008, according to Wolf’s announcement. Prior to his time working for the state, he was at Georgetown University, where he renegotiated service and supply arrangements while also being involved in improvements in the university’s business process and system that lowered operating costs by $1 million. Wolf praised Topper for his work for the state.
“It has been an extraordinary honor to serve Pennsylvania and the Department of General Services as secretary,” Topper said. “Thank you, Governor Wolf, for the opportunity you have given me to lead the best department in all of Pennsylvania state government. I also want to thank all the staff at DGS who have served with me over the past seven and a half years. You do hard, important work that often goes unrecognized. I hope you know how much I appreciate each and every one of you, and all that you do to keep our commonwealth running every day. I’m proud of you, and of all that we have accomplished over the past seven years. Together, we’ve changed the way the commonwealth does business.”
Since 2019 Lee has been with the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry. He has served as the special assistant to the secretary as well as the deputy secretary for administration. I the past he was a management consultant for North Highland. Lee graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with a Master of Public Administration degree.
“I thank Governor Wolf for allowing me to continue serving the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania at the Department of General Services,” Lee said. “It is an honor. I look forward to working with the DGS staff to continue their great work.”
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