Meet the New Staff in Luzerne County

Jim Ferry was recently appointed as the Executive Director of the Luzerne County Planning/Zoning Department, filling the position most recently held on an interim basis by Lee Puskar, and previously by Nancy Snee.  He joins the Luzerne-Lackawanna MPO as a planning partner with Steve Pitoniak of Lackawanna Regional Planning. He most recently was with the Zoning and Code Enforcement Department of the City of Hazleton as supervisor of day to day operations of code enforcement, licensing and permits, and Zoning Officer. He attained a Juris Doctor degree from West New England University, previously graduating from Penn State. His experience in the legal field included advising various municipal agencies, including zoning hearing boards, a planning commission, a redevelopment authority, a school district, child protective services, a government study commission, and many public officials.

Daniel Butch joined the Lackawanna/Luzerne MPO as the new Transportation Planner for the Luzerne County Planning/Zoning Department. Daniel earned an M.A. in Geography and Planning from West Chester University.  He most recently worked with the Luzerne County Transportation Authority utilizing planning software for analysis and application for transit planning, and overseeing a program to provide public transportation to a target population.  Previously he did GIS analysis and application of data for Environmental Resource Management, Inc., and prepared maps for environmental analysis, and use by planners and engineers. He has brought an enthusiasm that is sure to be a positive contributor to the work of the MPO and its committees.