TCP is governed by a seven-member Board of Trustees. The board establishes policies and focuses on governance in a manner that is consistent with the mission of the program.

Daniel T. Perkins, Founder/Chairman of the Board
President, MTS Technologies, Inc.

As the Owner and Chief Executive Officer of MTS Technologies, Inc. (MTS), founded in 1991, Mr. Perkins is the senior executive responsible for all aspects of Firm’s business. In this capacity, he oversees day-to-day operations and administrative management; as well as directs marketing, and business strategy development efforts.

Prior to MTS, Mr. Perkins was employed by Dual & Associates as the Vice President of Administration and member of the Board of Directors. In this position, he managed all administrative functions for the Firm and in the absence of the President assumed responsibility for overall company management. He was employed with Dual for two years.

Mr. Perkins was with Booz•Allen & Hamilton, Inc. for thirteen years. During that time he served as Manager of Staffing. He was responsible for the strategy development and coordination of efforts to hire staff to satisfy employment openings in the technology arena. He also recruited senior professionals who had responsibility for building new business thrusts.

Mr. Perkins served as a commissioned officer in the United States Marine Corps. He was assigned as a Communications Officer, where he was responsible for long range, multi-channel and satellite communications. He was responsible for the management of equipment and staff to provide voice and digital communications support for the east-coast operational requirements. During his tenure, he also served as the Director of the Performance Counseling Center. In this position he provided substance abuse counseling and training to Marines and their dependents.

Mr. Perkins is a 1974 graduate of the University of Pittsburgh and has a Masters Degree from Pepperdine University.

Robert Eyer, Member
Managing Partner, Wessel & Company

Mr. Eyer has been the Managing Partner of Wessel & Company, Certified Public Accountants, 215 Main Street, Johnstown, Pennsylvania since 1982. Bob strongly believes in community involvement, which is something that he has tried to instill in the members of Wessel & Company. Currently, the members of the firm serve on 41 community organizations and committees.

Bob’s motivation for community service is simply to make our community a better place to live and work. He was very fortunate to have two parents that instilled in him "that if you live and work in a community, you must give something back."

Besides The Challenge Program, Bob is currently also involved in with the Greater Johnstown YMCA, the Vietnam Veterans Leadership Corp. and related veterans activities, the Greater Johnstown/Cambria County Chamber of Commerce, the Johnstown Area Regional Industries, and the Community Foundation for the Alleghenies.

Barton Whitman, Member
President and Chief Operating Officer of MTS Technologies, Inc.

Mr. Barton W. Whitman is Senior Vice President of MTS Technologies, Inc. (MTS). As the Firm’s Senior Vice President, he is responsible for managing the Firm’s administration as well as handling its congressional relations. MTS is a technology consulting firm specializing in research and development for the Department of Defense and other federal agencies. The Firm has offices in Arlington, VA; Johnstown, PA; San Diego, CA; Quantico, VA; Detroit, MI; Orlando, FL; Virginia Beach, VA; and Sparta, NJ.

He has also worked for LMI (a federally funded research and development center) as a research fellow conducting strategic studies for the Office of the Secretary of Defense, and at Booz•Allen & Hamilton an international management and consulting firm.

Mr. Whitman served as an Officer in the United States Navy for 28 years, retiring as a Captain in 2002. During his time in the Navy, Mr. Whitman was designated as a Surface Warfare Officer and participated in numerous deployments and exercises in the Mediterranean, Northern Europe, and Central American areas of operations. His last tour of duty was on the staff of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for C3I. Mr. Whitman is a graduate of several senior staff schools as well as the NATO Defense University in Rome, Italy.

Mr. Whitman is a 1974 graduate of the United States Naval Academy and has a Masters Degree in Business Administration from Bryant College.

Joseph V. Kuklis, Member
Principal, President and Chief Executive Officer, GSP Consulting

Joe founded GSP Consulting in February 2001, envisioning a lobbying and consulting company that opened doors for small- to medium-size companies, non-profit organizations and developers in D.C. and state capitols. Joe helped grow GSP from two employees to 30, while helping to raising over a half of a billion dollars for GSP clients in the process.

Prior to establishing GSP, Joe was the Deputy State Director for U.S. Senator Rick Santorum. In that capacity, Joe was the Senator's primary point of contact in PA for community and economic development groups, municipal and state leaders, and trade associations.

He received a B.A. from the University of Pittsburgh with a double major in Political Science and Western European Studies with a focus on Germany and with Minors in Economics, American History, European History and English.

Under Joe's watch, GSP has twice been honored by making Inc. Magazine's Top 5000 Fastest Growing Privately-Held Companies in America list, has been voted as one of the Best Places to Work in Western PA by the Pittsburgh Business Times in both 2006 and 2008, and made the Pittsburgh Business Times' Pittsburgh 100 list as one of the region's fastest-growing companies in 2007. GSP was also named by the Pittsburgh Technology Council as Service Provider of the Year in 2006 and was a runner-up in 2003, 2004 and 2005 for its work with many of the region's technology companies. In 2007, Joe was named a finalist in the Ernst & Young's Entrepreneur of the Year Awards. In 2001, shortly after starting GSP, Joe was honored by Pittsburgh Magazine as one of Pittsburgh's 40 Under 40 award recipients.

Barbara A. Grandinetti, Executive Director
The Challenge Program, Inc.

Prior to joining The Challenge Program, Ms. Grandinetti was Vice President of Special Projects for Pennsylvania Real Estate Investment Trust in Philadelphia, PA heading the transition team in the acquisition of a $1 billion dollar company.

Barbara spent 32 years at Crown American, a shopping mall developer and later a Real Estate Investment Trust Company. She became the first woman Vice President of the company in 1986. In 1999, she was recognized by Shopping Center Business Magazine as one of the top women executives in the shopping mall industry.

In 2003, while leasing space in the Crown American Building to MTS Technologies, Inc., she met Dan Perkins. Barbara served on the school board at a local high school and Mr. Perkins expressed his interest in providing an incentive to excel to high school students as well as giving back to his hometown community.

A pilot program was created at Bishop McCort High School for the 2003-2004 school year. Because of the accomplishments during our pilot year, The Challenge Program is now recognized as a Non-Profit Organization 50l(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code with contributions to the program being deductible under Section 170 of the Code. Barbara holds the position of Executive Director of the program.

Timothy S. Burns, Esq., Legal Counsel
Attorney at Law, The Burns Law Firm.

Mr. Burns is the founder of a general practice law firm based in Ebensburg (Cambria County). Prior to opening his own law practice, he served as a judicial law clerk to two Cambria County Judges and was an associate attorney in the prominent Johnstown-based law firm of Spence, Custer, Saylor, Wolfe and Rose.

Mr. Burns is an active member of his local community, serving as the solicitor for a number of non-profit organizations and churches, including the Roxbury Bandshell Preservation Alliance. He also serves on the Cultural Affairs Committee of the Greater Johnstown Chamber of Commerce, and has held a number of leadership positions in the Pennsylvania Bar Association, including State Chairperson of the Association’s Young Lawyers Division.

Mr. Burns has been recognized by Johnstown Magazines as an “Up and Comer 35 and Under,” by Johnstown Business Weekly in its “Success by 35” column, and by Philadelphia Magazine and Law and Politics Magazine as a “Rising Legal Star Under 40” from 2005-2009. In 2005, he was the youngest recipient of the Cambria County Bar Association’s President’s Award for Community Service. He received his BS in Political Science and Certification in Secondary Education from St. Vincent College in Latrobe, Pennsylvania, and earned his Juris Doctorate from Duquesne University in Pittsburgh.

Brian T. Hoffman, Member
Manager, Central Data Management, CONSOL Energy, Inc.

Brian joined the Strategic Planning group of CNX Gas in 2008 after relocating with his wife back to the Pittsburgh area. Following a consolidation of management between CNX Gas and CONSOL Energy, Brian was given the opportunity to establish and lead the Central Data Management department within the company. He and his group are responsible for reporting critical information across the company in regard to its core values - safety, compliance, continuous improvement, production, and cost.

Before joining CONSOL, Brian served in the San Francisco Mayor's Office of Community Development for the former mayor and current Lieutenant Governor of California, Gavin Newsom. Prior to that, he spent seven years with DuPont in operations, sales, and marketing.

Brian holds a B.S. in Chemical Engineering and a M.S. in Public Policy and Management both from Carnegie Mellon University.

Brian's wife, Lissa, is structural engineer with CH2M Hill and they have two children, Molly and Lea.

Joseph Totten, Member
Vice President, HDH Group, Inc.

Joe is a Vice President with the HDH Group, Inc and Managing Director of the Pittsburgh Technology Council Corporate Coverage Group. In that role his primary focus is developing relationships with business owners and executives who value the consultative approach The HDH Group provides. These opportunities include Property & Casualty brokerage services, loss control services and full circle Employee Benefit Solutions. His areas of expertise focus on privately held clients within the Aviation, Manufacturing, Technology and Professional Service marketplace. Joe travels regularly to meet the needs of clients around the country and is very active in several community organizations.

Prior to joining the HDH team, Joe developed his financial and accounting knowledge base through several diverse opportunities. Working as a Compliance Intern for PNC Financial Services he played an active role in the post-merger of the Riggs Bank acquisition. Continuing the Audit & Finance development he joined Meaden & Moore as an Audit Claims intern following the 2004 & 2005 Hurricane Seasons. This experience enabled Joe to witness the catastrophic claim process working with the Insurance Carrier Claims adjuster.